The First Ever Digital Camera And Its Creator

This is by no means the most thrilling video but it is really interesting. I've always wondered what was officially the "first" digital camera, and I guess I now know. Steven Sasson claims that he invented digital photography when he created this strange looking camera. The camera could shoot stills and record up to 30 of them on a digital tape. It's amazing how far we have come in such a short amount of time.

Lee Morris's picture

Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

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8 Comments

I want to see a sample image!

How cool is that. So good to see the first digital camera ... not so easy to hand hold ... but wow what a revolution it caused, one which I've very greatful for :) I would have loved to see what this camera could produce and compare it side by side with today's technology.

Great post! Luv at the end when he says " Sitting in the digital chair".

Interesting that he said December 1975. As I started watching this, I remembered building my first "digital camera" in 1975. In my case, I used a 256 X 1 sensor array (that I ripped off from Tektronix, where I worked at the time), and combined it with a rotating mirror. The mirror would rotate at somewhere around 1000 rpm (I forget the exact number), and the sensor would record the image as it flew by.

I also used a cassette tape for storing it. That was pretty common in those days, with the IMSAI and other homebrew computers using them.

The whole thing was a hobby at home. It was right up there with the IBM Selectric I hacked into being my first computer keyboard around that same time.

Ah, the memories... :)

The first digital camera did not produce the first digital image. It was made by Russell Kirsch in 1957. He created a 176×176 pixel digital image by scanning a photograph of his three-month-old son.

http://www.petapixel.com/2010/11/04/first-digital-photograph-ever-made/

I really like the lighting in the video. Helped it be a bit more engaging.

Interesting vid.
Funny though when he says: "i conveniently made it 30, somewhere between 24 and 36"...
why not make it 36? That cracked me up!!!

link to the 1st picture:

http://www.white-press.com/archives/119

Fstoppers is awsome