This month’s Japan Blog Matsuri is themed around technology and thus I decided to wander into the world of digital photography. You may be surprised to hear that, but although the first digital camera prototype by Steven Sasson Prototype (with a now ludicrous 0.01MP image resolution) was completed as early as in 1975, and the first commercially available models were released at the end of the 80′, it wasn’t till March 1995—with the release of the now legendary Casio QV-10—that we’ve got an LCD view-screen which we now take for granted and consider the primary identifying feature of digital cameras.
QV-10 is Casio’s first digicam, but despite it’s shortcomings (low-resolution 250 kilopixel CCD, small internal storage, very short battery life, no flash), it became an instant hit and effectively started the golden age of digital photography. In addition to the novelty 1.8″ LCD creen, the camera presented a comparatively very low price point and a swivel lens which allowed one to shoot from strange angles or make self portraits. The latter was also an invention of Casio and appeared on several of their future cameras.
Although it was far from ideal, and couldn’t yet compete with the analogue cameras, Casio QV-10 was an important milestone in the development of digital photography introducing a competitive price and several concepts characteristic of today’s products. If you would like to know more, read a detailed review, or head over to the Casio’s official product description.
