The Kodak Digital Camera System is a series of digital single-lens reflex cameras and digital camera backs that were released by Kodak in the 1990s and 2000s, and discontinued in 2005. [1] They are all based on existing 35mm film SLRs from Nikon, Canon and Sigma. The range includes the original Kodak DCS, the first commercially available digital SLR.
In 1975, Steven Sasson developed Kodak's first prototype digital still camera, which used a Fairchild 100 x 100 pixel CCD. [2] [3] By 1986 Kodak had developed a sensor with 1.4 million pixels. [4] It was used in what is believed to be the world's first Digital Single-Lens Reflex (D-SLR) camera, known as the Electro-Optic Camera, which was designed and constructed by Eastman Kodak Company under a U.S. Government contract in 1987 and 1988. [5]
A number of other improvements were made to increase image quality and usability, including improvements in sensor technology, the first raw image format known as DCR (Digital Camera Raw), [6] and host software to process the DCR images. The original Kodak DCS was launched in 1991, and is based on a stock Nikon F3 SLR film camera with a CCD image sensor mounted in the film gate. It uses a 1.3-megapixel Kodak KAF-1300 sensor, and a separate shoulder-mounted processing and storage unit.
The DCS 200 series, introduced in 1992, condenses the storage unit into a module which is mounted onto the base and back of a stock Nikon 8008 SLR film camera. It was the first digital camera to use the Bayer color filter pattern. The module contains a built-in 80 megabyte hard drive and is powered with AA batteries. It was followed by the upgraded DCS 400 series of 1994, which replaces the hard drive with a PCMCIA card slot. The DCS 400 series includes the 1.5-megapixel DCS 420, and the 6-megapixel Kodak DCS 460, which retailed for $28,000 on launch. [7] In common with Kodak's later 6-megapixel models, the DCS 460 used the award-winning APS-H Kodak M6 sensor. [8] A modified version of the DCS 420 was also sold by the Associated Press as the Associated Press NC2000. [9] In parallel with the DCS 400 series Kodak also sold the analogous Kodak EOS DCS range, which was based on the Canon EOS-1N SLR. With the exception of the original DCS 100, these early models do not include LCD preview screens.
Kodak's subsequent models integrate the digital module with the camera body more thoroughly, and include LCD preview screens and removable batteries. The DCS 500 series of 1998 is also based on the Canon EOS-1N, and comprises the 2-megapixel DCS 520 and the 6-megapixel DCS 560, which initially had a suggested retail price of $28,500. [10] These models were also sold by Canon, as the Canon D2000 and D6000 respectively, and were the first digital SLRs sold under the Canon name. Kodak used the same electronics package for the DCS 600 series, which is based on the Nikon F5. The DCS 600 range includes the Kodak DCS 620x, a high-sensitivity model with an upgraded indium tin oxide sensor and a cyan-magenta-yellow Bayer filter, which has a then-unique top ISO setting of ISO 6400.
Kodak concluded the initial DCS range with the DCS 700 series, which comprises the 2-megapixel DCS 720x, the 6-megapixel DCS 760, and the 6-megapixel DCS 760m, which has a monochrome sensor. By the time of launch, Kodak faced competition from the popular Nikon D1 and Nikon D1x, [11] which were physically smaller and cheaper. The DCS 760's initial list price was $8,000.
Kodak final generation of DCS cameras was launched with the Kodak DCS Pro 14n, a 14-megapixel full-frame digital SLR, in 2002, and continued with the upgraded DCS PRO SLR/n in 2004. These two cameras are based on a Nikon F80 body, and are considerably more compact than previous Kodaks. They use sensors designed by Belgian imaging company FillFactory. The DCS PRO SLR/n was also accompanied by the Canon-compatible DCS PRO SLR/c, which is based on a Sigma SA9 SLR. Kodak discontinued the SLR/n and SLR/c in May 2005, [12] to concentrate on compact digital cameras and high-end medium format digital backs for Leaf, among others.
Kodak continued to design and manufacture CCD image sensors, including the full-frame 18-megapixel KAF-18500, which is used in the Leica M9 digital rangefinder, until its image sensor division was sold to Platinum Equity in 2012. This image sensor company operated under the name Truesense [13] and was later acquired by ON Semiconductor in 2014. [14] On Semiconductor began closing the former Kodak CCD manufacturing facility in 2019. [15]
All models based on Nikon body and use Nikon's F mount.
All models use Canon's EF lens mount.
Canon EOS is an autofocus single-lens reflex camera (SLR) and mirrorless camera series produced by Canon Inc. Introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650, all EOS cameras used 35 mm film until October 1996 when the EOS IX was released using the new and short-lived APS film. In 2000, the D30 was announced, as the first digital SLR designed and produced entirely by Canon. Since 2005, all newly announced EOS cameras have used digital image sensors rather than film. The EOS line is still in production as Canon's current digital SLR (DSLR) range, and, with the 2012 introduction of the Canon EOS M, Canon's mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera (MILC) system. In 2018 the system was further extended with the introduction of the EOS R camera, Canon's first full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens system.
A digital single-lens reflex camera is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor.
The Kodak Professional DCS Pro SLR/n is a 13.5 megapixel full-frame 35mm digital SLR produced as a collaboration between Nikon Corporation and Eastman Kodak. It was an improved version of the Kodak Professional DCS Pro 14n series, and was based on a modified Nikon N80 film SLR and thus compatible with almost all Nikon F mount lenses. The camera was announced in early 2004 and became available to purchase mid-year. A monochrome variant named Kodak Professional DCS Pro SLR/n m of the camera existed as well.
Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 30.15 mm field diameter. It is therefore also equivalent in size to the Super 35 motion picture film format, which has the dimensions of 24.89 mm × 18.66 mm and Ø 31.11 mm field diameter.
The Canon EOS 5D is a 12.7 megapixel digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera body produced by Canon. The EOS 5D was announced by Canon on 22 August 2005, and at the time was priced above the EOS 20D but below the EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1Ds Mark II in Canon's EOS digital SLR series. The camera accepts EF lens mount lenses.
The Kodak Professional DCS Pro SLR/c is a 13.5 megapixel digital SLR camera produced by Eastman Kodak. It is full frame—it uses an image sensor that is the full size of a 35 mm frame. It is compatible with Canon EOS lenses. The camera was launched on March 18, 2004, and incorporates the internal systems of the previous Nikon-compatible SLR/n in a Sigma SA9 SLR body.
The Nikon D1 is a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) that was made by Nikon Corporation introduced on June 15, 1999. It features a 2.7-megapixel image sensor, 4.5-frames-per-second continuous shooting, and accepts the full range of Nikon F-mount lenses. The camera body strongly resembles the F5 and has the same general layout of controls, allowing users of Nikon film SLR cameras to quickly become proficient in using the camera. Autofocus speed on the D1 series bodies is extremely fast, even with "screw-driven" AF lenses.
The Kodak Professional DCS Pro 14n is a professional Nikon F80 based F-mount digital SLR produced by Eastman Kodak. It was announced at the photographic trade show photokina in Germany during September 2002; production examples became available in May 2003.
The Kodak DCS 300 series comprises two cameras, the DCS 315 and DCS 330. They are professional-level digital SLR cameras built by Eastman Kodak's Kodak Professional Imaging Solutions division. They were based on the Nikon Pronea 6i APS SLR camera and were aimed at a lower price point than other models in the Kodak DCS range. The 1.5 megapixel DCS 315 was launched in 1998, while the 3 megapixel DCS 330 was launched in 1999. The DCS 315 was the first digital SLR camera to incorporate an image preview LCD and inbuilt JPEG processing.
A full-frame DSLR is a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) with a 35 mm image sensor format. Historically, 35 mm was one of the standard film formats, alongside larger ones, such as medium format and large format. The full-frame DSLR is in contrast to full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, and DSLR and mirrorless cameras with smaller sensors, much smaller than a full 35 mm frame. Many digital cameras, both compact and SLR models, use a smaller-than-35 mm frame as it is easier and cheaper to manufacture imaging sensors at a smaller size. Historically, the earliest digital SLR models, such as the Nikon NASA F4 or Kodak DCS 100, also used a smaller sensor.
The Kodak Professional Digital Camera System or DCS, later unofficially named DCS 100, was the first commercially available digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera. It was a customized camera back bearing the digital image sensor, mounted on a Nikon F3 body and released by Kodak in May 1991; the company had previously shown the camera at Photokina in 1990. Aimed at the photo journalism market in order to improve the speed with which photographs could be transmitted back to the studio or newsroom, the DCS had a resolution of 1.3 megapixels. The DCS 100 was publicly presented for the first time in Arles (France), at the Journées de l'Image Pro by Mr Ray H. DeMoulin, the worldwide President of the Eastman Kodak Company. 453 international journalists attended this presentation, which took place in the Palais des Congres of Arles.
The Canon EOS D30 is a discontinued 3.1-megapixel professional digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) body, initially announced by Canon on May 17, 2000. It is part of the Canon EOS line of cameras and uses the EF lens mount. The EOS D30 was Canon's first "home grown" digital SLR. Before that point Canon had a contract with Kodak to rebrand the Kodak 2-megapixel DCS 520 as Canon EOS D2000 and the 6-megapixel DCS 560 as Canon EOS D6000 digital SLRs, which combined Kodak digital backs and Canon camera bodies.
The Nikon F5 is a professional 35 mm film-based single-lens reflex camera body manufactured by Nikon from 1996 through 2004. It was the fifth in Nikon's professional film camera line, which began in 1959 with the Nikon F. It followed the Nikon F4 of 1988, which introduced in-body autofocus to Nikon's professional line. The F5 was in turn succeeded by the Nikon F6, as well as Nikon's parallel range of professional digital SLRs, beginning with the Nikon D1.
The Canon EOS-1D is a professional digital single-lens reflex camera launched in November 2001 as part of Canon's flagship EOS-1 series. It was the first digital camera in the EOS-1 line, succeeding Canon's final flagship film camera, the 1V. It was also the first professional-level digital camera developed and released entirely by Canon, the previous D2000 being a collaborative effort with Kodak. It has a 1.3x crop factor with a CCDTooltip Charge-coupled device image sensor sourced from Panasonic. The camera shares its body design with the Canon EOS-1V 35mm camera. It was complemented by the slower, higher-resolution 1Ds in 2002 and succeeded by the 1D Mark II in April 2004.
The EOS-1N is a 35mm single lens reflex (SLR) camera body produced by Canon. It was announced by Canon in 1994, and was the professional model in the range, superseding the original EOS-1. The camera was itself superseded by the EOS-1v in 2000.
The Nikon D3 is a 12.0-megapixel professional-grade full frame (35 mm) digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) announced by the Nikon Corporation on 23 August 2007 along with the Nikon D300 DX format camera. It was Nikon's first full-frame DSLR. The D3, along with the Nikon D3X, was a flagship model in Nikon's line of DSLRs, superseding the D2Hs and D2Xs. It was replaced by the D3S as Nikon's flagship DSLR. The D3, D3X, D3S, D4, D4s, D5, D6, D700, D800, D800Е and Df are the only Nikon FX format DSLRs manufactured in Japan. The D3S was replaced by the D4 in 2012.
The Canon EOS D2000 is a 2-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera developed by Kodak on a Canon EOS-1N body. It was released in March 1998. It features a CCD sensor and can shoot at 3.5 frames per second. Many enthusiasts regard the D2000 as Canon's first truly usable Digital SLR. It was released in tandem with the Canon EOS D6000, a 6-megapixel model.
The Canon EOS DCS 3 was Kodak's second Canon based Digital SLR camera released in July 1995, four months after Kodak EOS-DCS 5. It uses a modified Canon EOS-1N film camera with a modified Kodak NC2000e digital camera back attached. As a result, it maintained the Canon EF lens mount, and full compatibility with all of Canon's EF lenses made until that time. The camera was followed by the six megapixel Canon EOS DCS 1, which was released later in December 1995.
The Canon EOS DCS 1 was Kodak's third Canon-based Digital SLR camera. It was released in December 1995, following the cheaper EOS DCS 3, which was released earlier that year. Like that camera, it combined an EOS-1N body with a modified Kodak DCS 460 digital back. Despite offering a then-enormous resolution of 6 megapixels with a relatively large APS-H sensor, a number of technical issues meant that it was never a very popular camera other than for a few people with specialized roles.
The Nikon E series, co-developed with Fujifilm, are autofocus 1.3 megapixel professional grade quasi-full frame (35mm) Nikon F-mount digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR) manufactured by Nikon since 1995.
