Apple
QuickTake 100/150

Way back in 1993, hmmm that really isn't that long ago, Apple released their first digital camera the QuickTake 100. At the time it's $750 US list price was quit a deal compared to other digital cameras of the time. Resolution was 640x480 pixels and the camera could save photos in two resolutions onto it's built in 1MB flash eprom.

There was no visual difference externally between the QuickTake 100 and the QuickTake 150 which was release in 1995. The 100 supported Pict and QuickTake formats and had a fixed focus 8mm lens with a shutter speed of 1/30 to 1/175 of a second.

Both versions had a tripod socket on the base and built in electronic flash. By today's standards (2007) these were pretty primative cameras but at the time they took pretty decent photos.

Because the memory was built in and not removeable you had to extract your photos through a serial cable into your Mac using a 8 pin minidin cable which was the same cable used on other Apple devices such as printers. To do this you also required proprietary software from Apple and there is no compatibility with OSX at this writing.

The rear of the camera is pretty spartan with only a limited amount of information available, flash status, frames available, frames taken, battery power, trashcan icon and self timer. These functions were set through the buttons alongside the display with the erase button recessed to prevent accidental activation.

The QuickTake 150 was release in 1995 at a slightly lower MSRP of $700. It had exactly the same amount of internal memory but a firmware change allowed it to save double the number of high resolution photos than the QuickTake 100. Otherwise it looks identical to it's older brother.

Also available was a closeup lens adaptor. I haven't tested it to see what it's closest focusing point is as yet. It looks like you lined up the two tabs in the viewfinder to estimate the correct distance to your subject.

Apple also sold a very nice leather case and cover for both cameras. A small pocket allowed you to carry the closeup lens as well as a cable of a couple of floppies.

I photographed for a very short period of time with these cameras, the fixed focus and limited storage capability seriously impacted it's usefulness but it was a very handy way to get photos up on the web FAST. We used the camera in 1995 to post photos of my wife's brother's wedding in Newfoundland. Wedding was in the afternoon and friends in Toronto could see the photos that night on their website. www.igotmarried.com