My Little History of DSLR/ML

Kodak DCS 760 (2001)

Between 1999 and 2001
Kodak used the magnificent Nikon F5 as the basis for the DCS 600 and 700 series

The DCS 760 enters the market as a direct competitor to Nikon's new 5.47 megapixel D1x
Kodak slashed prices dramatically. Under pressure from Nikon D1 sales.

The Kodak DCS 760 is sold for 1/3 of the asking price for the DCS 660 in 1999!!

Kodak DCS760 (2001)
6 MP sensor (3040x2008)
with a multiplication factor of 1.3x
Price: $9,000.00 USD
ISO 80-400

Nikon Digital SLR D1X (2001)

An update of the D1

Nikon D1X
With a 5.47 MP sensor (3006 x 1962)
And an extrapolation with LR which ultimately gives an image of 10.5 MP (4011x2614)
See here for more explanation: www.lonestardigital.com/techcorner.htm
$5,500.00 USD

Kodak DCS 720x (2001)

The last of the Kodak DCS based on the magnificent Nikon F5

I never understood Kodak's strategy toward digital photography!
It is the first to promote digital and has dominated the professional industry for more than 10 years.
While developing unique expertise with these magnificent sensors.
Finally, all dropped, at the first opportunity. I would like to know what really happened in the heads of the leaders!!

Nikon D1H (2001)

2.74 MP sensor (2012x1324 )
$4,500.00

Hi,

The entire digital operation was for the Federal Sector, then later for the industrial sector. By the time they had the models you have, they were targeting the News area for Professional photography. That slowly spilled out to event shooters and a few others. They never meant it to be for the masses.

The masses were served by the rest of Kodak. Meaning film.

An odd thing occurred though. As they were buying stripped down film bodies from Nikon and Canon, and selling some back to boot, more film shooters wanted digital. Kodak wound up with increased sales and so some economy of scale and the price tags dropped.

Then, both Nikon and Canon brought out more bang for the buck. Kodak wasn't going to compete. They had another generation in process, but that wasn't going to continue for long. They needed something more and so they turned to another sensor maker and some other film bodies to make that change. And they had....problems....

At this point, Kodak Main figured out that this digital stuff was eroding their film sales. So it was time to lock up their own digital competition. Way too late for that, but this desire combined with the 14 MP problems put paid to their making entire cameras. Now they were pulled back into leveraging their CCD sensor designs. First into the Pro Backs then into the Leica DMR and so on.

I bought my 760c and 720x during the end-times fire sale directly from Kodak. A little later I picked up a Pro Back and a Contax 645. I also scored a 660m from someone lucky enough to score 760m right there at the end. I tried to get one directly as I did the other stuff, but they were already sold out.

So there I was, all Kodak equipped in 2003, and I sold off just about everything else I had save for an old E2 and my 520c and my D1H. Now the Pro Back is gone, the 720x is gone when I bought a Df in 2018. And the 660m went in 2020 to pay for most of my Pentax 645D based kit.

Oh, I did try and pry a 10 MP 760c out of them, but all they had was a couple test beds for that sensor and they weren't going to let me have one. To get that, I'd need to buy a DMR and an R9 and a bunch of lenses. Too costly for me!

Stan

Thank you very much for your explanations, you witnessed the collapse of Kodak very closely
A total lack of long-term vision on the part of the leaders, it's really a pity, I would like to see a Kodak DCS version 2023 😁
Finally, Fujifilm made the transition from film to digital much better.

Olympus E-20 (2001)

An update of the E-10

Sony sensor of 2/3 '' (8.8 x 6.6 mm) of 4.92 MP (2560x1920)
Price: $2,000 USD
Lens 9-36mm (35-140mm)
(multiplication factor of 3.89)
80-320 ISO

Olympus E-10 (2000) CCD sensor 2/3 '' (8.8 x 6.6 mm) of 3.9 MP (2240x1680)
Olympus E-20 (2001) Sony sensor of 2/3 '' (8.8 x 6.6 mm) of 4.92 MP (2560x1920)

I paid my E-10 $1,100.00 CAD in 2003
and paid the E-20 $12.00 USD in 2022 😎

Canon EOS 1D (2001)

First Canon Digital Pro
4,060,000 pixel sensor (2464x1648)
Storage: CompactFlash
Price: $7,300 USD
Canon's real answer to the Nikon D1/D1H/D1X

A superb machine for the pros.
With a CCD sensor (28.7 x 19.1 mm) APS-H for a factor of x 1.3
A 50mm behaves like a 65mm in 24x36
The EOS-1D is the only Canon SLR with a CCD sensor

I've always had a weakness for the APS-H format ❤️

Canon EOS D60 (2002)

Canon EOS D60 with a 6.3 MP sensor (3072x2048)
Price: $2,200 USD
(multiplication factor of 1.6) APS-C
ISO100-1000

Surely a little frustration, for those who bought the D30 at $3,500.00 with only 3 MP
It was the harsh reality of the time!

Hi,

It was one heck of a shame. And I was pretty much floored by it all. To the point of emailing a Kodak board member at the time saying so. Not that this had any effect. It was so sad to watch happen.

But I shot with their stuff for a long time. 03-18. And I have that Kodak CCD in the P645D which isn't going anywhere even once I get a newer medium format camera. It just isn't worth selling these days. Might as well use it some. It's done well capturing the lighthouse series.

Yes, Fuji has done what Kodak ought to have. Done very well, indeed.

Stan

I wish Kodak had bought Pentax or Minolta when both were having trouble.
The sequel would surely have been very interesting! 😎

Nikon D100 (2002)

Nikon D100 (2002)
6.3 MP CCD sensor (3008 x 2000)
Price: $2,400 USD
APS-C (with a multiplication factor of 1.5) DX
200-1600 (6400) ISO

In July 2002, a real face-to-face between Canon and Nikon
The Canon EOS D60 versus the Nikon D100
Both 6 MP for just over $2,000.00 USD

To see the full comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/maoby/albums/72157669477292166

My first, and last, underwater DSLR. Much lighter housed than my F4. I don't think I made a single topside shot with the camera.

Do you have any interesting pictures taken underwater with this little Nikon D100?

I just did one trip with it before I quit diving. That was in the Sea of Cortez, and the viz was awful.

Thanks for the examples, I am impressed by the quality of the results, with this little 6 MP from 2002 👍🏻

Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro (2002)

Fuji's second FinePix Pro
With a 6.17 MP sensor which after interpolation generates a 12 MP image (4256 x 2848)
Price: $2,700 USD
(with a multiplication factor of 1.5) APS-C
ISO100-1600