Camera Designs - Cameras after 1950
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Cameras before 1900 | Cameras 1900 to 1950 | Cameras after 1950 |
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| In 1959 the Japanese optical manufacturer Nippon Kogaku introduced the Nikon F, bringing together the best design elements of all the 35 mm SLR cameras available at that time. The highly reliable Nikon F was supported by a comprehensive set of lenses and accessories. Many professionals switched from using Leicas to the Nikon F. The Nikon F signalled the maturity of the Japanese photographic industry and ended the German domination of the 35 mm camera market. | |
| Camera : Nikon
F
Manufacturer : Nippon Kogaku Date : 1959 |
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| Early camera light meters were placed on the outside of the camera, but these could not read the amount of actual light falling onto the film plane through the lens. Through the lens (TTL) metering places a meter behind the lens, measuring light coming into the camera. This feature started to appear in the 1960s with the Topcon Super D. | |
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Camera : Topcon
RE Super
Manufacturer : Tokyo Kogaku Date : 1963 |
| Another advance made during the 1960's was built in electronic
flash, which first appeared on the Voigtlander Vitrona in 1964.
Cameras using 126 film cartridges were made virtually obsolete following the introduction in 1972 of the Pocket Instamatic 110 camera. The 110 cameras were compact, light and inexpensive, and the 110 plastic film cartridge made loading and unloading easier than 35 mm cassettes. However their small negative size resulted in poor quality enlargements. |
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| Camera : Instamatic
110
Manufacturer : Kodak Date : c 1972 |
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| In 1976 Canon introduced the AE-1 the first 35 mm camera with a built in microprocessor, and in 1978 introduced the A-1 with multiple exposure modes including shutter priority, aperture priority and program modes. Light -emitting Diodes (LEDs) display exposure information within the viewfinder. | |
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Camera : A-1
Manufacturer : Canon Date : c 1985 |
| In the early 1980's the disc camera was launched, these cameras are extremely thin due to the use of disc film. The disc of film is housed within a plastic cartridge and it rotates a fixed amount to bring the next unexposed segment of the film into position. The very small negative size creates poor quality prints, these cameras were not as popular as the manufacturers had hoped. | |
| Camera : Disc-7
Manufacturer : Minolta Date : c 1984 |
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| The early eighties also saw the introduction of 'compact' 35 mm cameras. These are direct vision cameras usually with automatic exposure, automatic focusing, electronic flash and a motor to advance the film and rewind when complete. Models with good quality lenses are able to produce excellent quality images. Compact cameras became very popular and began to dominate the consumer market. | |
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Camera : Nikon
AF
Manufacturer : Nikon Date : c 1984 |
| The first camera with autofocus was introduced in 1978, the Konica C35AF. The Canon T80 was the first SLR to have autofocus, but the minolta 7000, introduced in 1985, was the first SLR to have the autofocus mechanism inside the body of the camera. Minolta had to introduce a new range of auto focus lenses, these do not have an aperture setting dial as this function is performed electronically, they also have only a very narrow focusing ring that unlocks when the AF system is switched off. Minolta led the way and soon most 35 mm SLR manufacturers introduced their own range of AF SLR cameras and lenses, usually not compatible with their old manual ranges. | |
| Camera : 7000
Manufacturer : Minolta Date : 1985 |
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| During the 1980's a system called DX coding was introduced
for 35mm films. The cassettes have an auto-sensing code printed on them
which enable certain cameras to automatically set the film speed, this
information can also be used by processing laboratories.
In 1987 both Kodak and Fuji introduced novel disposable cameras, the Kodak Fling and Fuji Quicksnap. Both were sold in foil wrappers ready loaded with film, the complete camera being given to the film processor after exposure. |
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Camera : Quicksnap
Manufacturer : Fuji Date : 1988 |
| In 1980 Sony demonstrated the first consumer camcorder and in 1984 Canon demonstrated the first electronic still camera. Canon went on to introduce the RC-760 still video camera in 1987 and the Q-PIC floppy disc camera in 1988. In 1992 Kodak introduced a professional digital camera, the DCS 200, based on a Nikon body. It was capable of storing 50 images on a non removable hard drive. The DCS 200 was superceded in 1994 by the DCS 420 which cost at the time £8,199 in the UK. | |
| Camera : DCS
420
Manufacturer : Kodak / Nikon Date : 1994 |
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| In 1996 the Advanced Photo System (APS) is introduced by Canon, Fuji, Kodak, Minolta and Nikon. The new system is based on a new 24 mm format film and is supported by new cameras, like the Kodak Advantix, and photo finishing equipment. Features of the system include leaderless cassettes, easy loading and unloading, smaller cameras and three print formats, standard, moderate wide-angle and panoramic, all on the same film. | |
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Camera : Advantix
Manufacturer : Kodak Date : 1996 |
| During the late 1990's the development of consumer digital still cameras continued at a rapid pace. Most manufacturers regarded the production of better CCDs (Charge Coupled Devices) as key because the number of pixels on the CCD largely determines the image resolution. In 1998 the first consumer megapixel cameras were introduced, less than a year later the same manufacturers were producing 2.3 megapixel cameras. During this period digital camera prices fell and other features, such as zoom lenses, were added to attract more customers to this growing market. | |
| Camera : MX-2700
Manufacturer : Fuji Date : 1999 |
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| In September 2000 Canon introduced the EOS D30, the first digital SLR for the consumer market. The camera has a 3.25 megapixel CMOS sensor develop by Canon. The EOS D30 was the first high quality SLR camera to use a CMOS sensor instead of a CCD. | |
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Camera : EOS
D30
Manufacturer : Canon Date : 2000 |
| In November 2000 Sharp and J-Phone introduced the first camera-phone in Japan. The J-SH04 is a mobile phone that includes a camera with a 110,000-pixel CMOS image sensor. | |
| Camera : J-SH04
Manufacturer : Sharp Date : 2000 |
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| In 2002 Contax introduced the NDigital the first SLR digital camera with a CCD the same size as a 35 mm frame. For the same focal length lens the NDigital would therefore give the same angle of view as a 35 mm camera. | |
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Camera : NDigital
Manufacturer : Contax Date : 2002 |
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Cameras before 1900 | Cameras 1900 to 1950 | Cameras after 1950 |