Digital camera — QuickTake 150, Japan, 1995
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1995
Digital camera in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number CD.467-2017), made in Japan, dated 1995. The museum's brief description reads: Apple QuickTake 150 digital camera, 1995.
Museum description: The Apple Quick Take Camera 150 (1995) is the well-known company’s first and only camera product, released to market in April 1995, and the first digital camera marketed to consumers (as opposed to professionals), retailed at under $1,000. A point-and-shoot digital camera powered by AA batteries, users could take colour photographs at 640×480 and 320x240 pixels and easily plug the camera directly into a computer in order to manipulate images for use in documents.
The QuickTake Camera was the result of a collaboration between two major design teams, Apple and Kodak. In 1990, Ken Parulski, Kodak’s Chief Scientist at the time, and a team of Kodak managers and engineers visited the Apple team in Cupertino to discuss mutual digital-imaging capabilities, returning two years later with a prototype containing a Kodak sensor. The two teams then worked together to produce the first iteration, the QuickTake 100, with the industrial design lead by Apple’s Industrial Design Group (headed by Robert… The museum records it as Plastic and electronic components, measuring Height 155 mm; Width 130 mm; Depth 50 mm; Length 500 mm.
These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The Apple Quick Take Camera 150 (1995) is the well-known company’s first and only camera product, released to market in April 1995, and the first digital camera marketed to consumers (as opposed to professionals), retailed at under $1,000. A point-and-shoot digital camera powered by AA batteries, users could take colour photographs at 640×480 and 320x240 pixels and easily plug the camera directly into a computer in order to manipulate images for use in documents. The QuickTake Camera was the result of a collaboration between two major design teams, Apple and Kodak. In 1990, Ken Parulski, Kodak’s Chief Scientist at the time, and a team of Kodak managers and engineers visited the Apple team in Cupertino to discuss mutual digital-imaging capabilities, returning two years later with a prototype containing a Kodak sensor. The two teams then worked together to produce the first iteration, the QuickTake 100, with the industrial design lead by Apple’s Industrial Design Group (headed by Robert Brunner, who also notably designed the PowerBook 100 in 1991) which was first shown at Tokyo MacWorld on February 17, 1994. The next iteration, the QT150, nicknamed ‘Mars’ by the development team was released to the public in 1997. It was an upgrade to the 100, and had a number of improvements on its predecessor, including a built-in LCD screen, a close-up lens, an interface kit for IBM PC computers (in order to make it compatible for Windows users) and JPEG compression so that the camera could…
Physical characteristics
- Material
- plastic, electronic components
- Dimensions
- Height 155 mm; Width 130 mm; Depth 50 mm; Length 500 mm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Plastic and electronic components
- Place recorded
- Japan
Identification
- Museum object name
- Digital camera
- Museum object number
- CD.467-2017
- Museum system number
- O1410026
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.