A digital camera is a camera that uses an electronic image sensor rather than photographic film to capture and store images. The foundational technology, the charge-coupled device image sensor, was invented by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith at Bell Labs in 1969, and the Eastman Kodak engineer Steven Sasson built the first self-contained electronic still camera using such a sensor in 1975. The first fully digital camera to reach the commercial market was Fujifilm's FUJIX DS-X in 1989, which stored images on a semiconductor memory card rather than film, and digital sensors have since displaced film in most cameras, including the cameras built into modern smartphones.
Facts
YearThe Cromemco Cyclops (also 1975) was sold commercially the same year; Sasson's Kodak prototype is the device most commonly credited as the first working digital camera, though the two are contemporaries. SignificanceThe digital camera depends on the charge-coupled device image sensor invented at Bell Labs in 1969, which Kodak's Steven Sasson used six years later to build the first self-contained electronic still camera. 1 FAQs
When did filmless electronic cameras first become commercial products?
A filmless camera was patented in 1972, Sony released a commercial model in 1981, and Kodak sold professional digital cameras from 1991.
According to Britannica, Texas Instruments patented the first filmless electronic camera in 1972. In 1981 Sony brought out a commercial electronic model, which used a small computer disk drive to store the information captured from a video camera. As the cost of electronic components fell and camera resolution improved, Kodak began selling professional digital cameras in 1991.
Connections
Associated With
Source Steven Sasson (National Inventors Hall of Fame)
In Field
Source Digital Camera (Wikipedia)
Invented By
Source Steven Sasson (National Inventors Hall of Fame)
Sources
1. Digital Camera (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory > 20th-Century and Early Development, Sasson sentence
Steven Sasson, an engineer at Eastman Kodak, built a self-contained electronic camera that used a monochrome Fairchild Semiconductor CCD image sensor in 1975.
History > 20th-Century and Early Development, CCD invention sentence
The first semiconductor image sensor was the charge-coupled device (CCD), invented by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith at Bell Labs in 1969, based on MOS capacitor technology.
In Field: Electrical Engineering, Introduction
However, digital cameras use an image pickup device that is electronic, compared to chemical.
View the Source Steven Sasson (National Inventors Hall of Fame)
Associated With: Steven J. Sasson, Inductee page
Steve Sasson invented the digital camera, changing the future of photography and transforming an industry.
Invented By: Steven J. Sasson, Inductee page
Steve Sasson invented the digital camera, changing the future of photography and transforming an industry.
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