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	Canon RC-360 Video Still Camera (October 1992). The Canon RC360 is an analog video still camera prior to the wide spread introduction of true digital cameras. Information was stored electronically in analog fashion on small diskettes and could be played back on a television. The Canon Camera Museum states it had "a 1/2 inch 260,000 pixel CCD image sensor, recording and playback with horizontal resolution of 380 TV lines." There is no LCD display of the image. Digicamhistory.com states it cost $2,600 or about $3,650 in 2006 dollars! It had a fixed focus lens equivalent to a 51mm focal length 35mm film camera lens but could be equipped with wide angle (which mine has) and telephoto auxilliary lenses. See Vision Quest. To get a digital image you would need a digital capture board on your computer. The Vision Quest article states the only true digital system at the time was the single lens reflex (SLR) Kodak DCS 200 which cost over $18,000 at the time! The Kodak DCS 200 was a Nikon SLR based camera with 1.54 megapixels and no LCD viewing screen. See Kodak DCS cameras based on Nikon. As of Summer 2006 you can buy a 4 or 5 megapixel compact digital camera for about $100 or an 8 megapixel Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR with lens for under $800. Truly a revolution in photography has occurred in the past 15 years. I purchased my Canon RC-360 on eBay on 5-16-06 for $10.23 and $4.05 shipping. It is in good cosmetic condition. It comes with a miniature diskette. It has a sticker indicating it was owned by the Orange County (Florida) B.C.C. (Board of County Commissioners). It has a small 8 volt sealed lead battery, Canon Battery Pack BP-4P, but no charger. I am therefore not aware of the operating condition. The battery compartment is clean.
Apple QuickTake 100 introduced February 16, 1994, the Apple QuickTake 100 was one of the first consumer digital cameras. Wikipedia - QuickTake has excellent information about it. It came with a heafty price tag of $749 for a single focal length, fixed focus camera with maximum 640 x 480 resolution. Adjusted for inflation the price was nearly $1,100 in 2006 dollars. Shutter sppeds were 1/30 to 1/175 second. The QuickTake 100 could only be used directly with an Apple Mac. The later Quicktake 150, introduced May 1995, could also be used with a Windows PC. Both had only 1mb internal storage and no external storage. They could hold about 16 images before you had to download the images to the computer. Connection to the computer was with a round Apple serial cord. The QuickTake 100 and 150 were made by Kodak. The later Quicktake Model 200, introduced February 17, 1997 was made by Fuji and is similar to the Fuji DS-7. According to Wikipedia - Quicktake none of the models sold well and were discontinued in 1997.	Apple QuickTake 150 introduced May 1995 with a price tag of $700. I have one boxed Quicktake 100 and three QuickTake 150s. All were purchased on eBay. My latest QuickTake 150 came boxed with all of the software for an Apple Macintosh and it worked using a Power Macintosh 5500/225 I acquired at a garage sale in the Summer of 2006 for $25. Pretty cool. I haven't tried to transfer the images to a modern computer yet. My latest Quicktake 150 was purchased on 8-5-06 for $15.50 with $4.05 shipping. It was the seller's first eBay sale. According to Wikipedia - QuickTake the Quicktake 100 only saved images in the PICT and QuickTake file formats, while the 150 and 200 also saved them in BMP,PCX and the JPEG. Now that I have the software, I will be trying out the other QuickTake cameras I have. The QuickTake 100 and 150 had only a simple optical viewfinder and no viewing screen. My QuickTake 150 came with a macro lens attachment which is on top of the box in the image below. Other images: specifications from box, box.
	Kodak DCS 420 (based on Nikon N90s) (Large Image, Back) Introduced August 1994, the Kodak DCS 420 has a 1.5 megapixel, 9.2 mm x 13.8 mm sensor with a crop factor of 2.6 and an area of about 127 sq mm, or slightly larger than a modern 1 inch sensor at 123 sq mm. (See discussion of sensor sizes under Nikon D600 below.) I purchased this on February 16, 2009 on eBay for $69.95 plus $20.25 shipping for a total of $90.20. At over 8 inches tall, it is a large camera. The suggested retail price in 1994 was $11,000! (www.digitalkameramuseum.de.) That's equivalent to $22,000 in 2022 dollars! As I write this in December 2022 you can get a 24.3 megapixel Nikon Z5 full frame mirrorless camera with in-camera image stabilization and ISO values up to 51,200 for $1,000. It is amazing how fast technology has progressed in less than 30 years. The power source for the Kodak DCS 420 was a rechargeable NiMH battery. Images were recorded on a PCMCIA card. I don't have the battery and hence do not know if the camera works. It is in very good cosmetic condition, however.
Large Image	Ricoh RDC-1 (1995). Introduced in late 1995 and selling by the Spring of 1996 for $1,800! (CBR; See also Steve's Digicams.) That's over $2,400 in 2007 dollars. The RDC-1 was the first camera to record both digital stills and video with sound. (See dycam.com.) In November 1995 it won a Best of COMDEX Award. (See highbeam.com.) There was an optional LCD monitor which attached to the camera. The camera takes a PCMCIA memory card. Mine comes with an 8mb card. In this photo of the camera and memory card, I have included a modern, and much smaller, 2GB SD card, which holds 250 times more information. The camera did contain all the elements of a modern camera including 3X zoom lens, relatively small size (camera, without monitor, is roughly 13cm x 7.5cm x 2cm, and weighs 9 oz.), optical viewfinder, LCD viewfinder/monitor (optional), flash, and movies with sound. Resolution was only 380,000 pixels (.38 megapixels), however. Movies with sound were at a respectable 30 frames per second, but only lasted 5 seconds and you could only take 4 of them on a card. (See Henshell, Ricoh RDC-1 Digital Camera.) I have two complete camera sets each in a plastic case with the LCD monitor, remote control, charging unit and instruction manual. I have not tried them yet, but they are near new cosmetic condition. I paid $9 each at a San Carlos area of San Diego garage sale on 9-29-07. These are fine examples of early digital camera history that show how far we have come in a little over ten years.
	Casio QV-10 (1995) (Large Image, Back) The Verge states the Casio QV-10 was "the first consumer-grade LCD digital camera." It was "awarded the status of 'Essential Historical Material for Science and Technology' by Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science." Wherry.com has a 1996 review with detailed information. The QV-10 had a 1.8-inch color LCD display allowing the user to view and display the image. It has a 250,000 element, 1/5 inch CCD sensor. The camera has 2 megabytes of flash RAM to store up to 96 images. It does not have any removable memory card. It has two apertures, f2 and f8. It has a fixed focus lens with everything from 60cm to 310cm at F2 in focus, or everything beyond 28cm at F8 in focus. That large depth of field is due to the very small sensor and short focal length. The lens could rotate independently of the body facilitating low angle photography and over the head photography. There is a detailed discussion of the QV-10 and some internal images at medium.com. The camera originally cost $900. $900 in 1996 has the same buying power as about $1,700 as I write this in December 2022. Casio still posts the manual. The manual cautions you to use alkaline batteries only. Rechargeable batteries with lower voltage can cause internal software errors requiring the camera to be sent back to Casio for repair. Overall this was a rather quirky camera with poor image quality, but also a revolutionary trail-blazing camera. Mine comes with a soft case. The case has a strip of masking tape on it with the number "3" leading me to believe I purchased this at a garage or estate sale many years ago for $3 or less. The camera is in good cosmetic condition. It turns on and displays about 70 photos stored on it from a prior owner. I couldn't get it to take a photo, however.
	Casio QV-120 (1996) (Large Image, Back) The Casio QV-120 shares the same basic design as the QV-10 above with a slightly larger CCD sensor (1/4 inch vs. 1/5 inch) and a larger number of pixels (360,000 vs. 250,000). It still has 2 megabytes of flash RAM to store up to 96 images in normal mode (only 32 images in fine mode). Like the QV-10 there is no removable memory card. It has a 4.2mm fixed focus lens with an aperture of f2.8 or f8 selected by a switch on the lens side of the camera. (The QV-10 has a 5.6mm lens with an f2 or f8 aperture.) Like the QV-10 there is a normal and macro setting. Shutter speeds are from 1/8 to 1/4000 seconds. The QV-120 seems to have the same 1.8 inch, 61,380 LCD monitor as the QV-10. The camera takes four 1.5 volt AA alkaline or Lithium batteries. There is much less information online about the QV-120, but Casio still posts the owner's manual where most of the above information is from. The MSRP is listed as $499 at www.digitalkameramuseum.de and $350 at digitcamhistory.com. In any event, the price came down dramatically from the $900 for a QV-10 a year earlier. As I write this in December 2022, I assume I got this at a garage or estate sale many years ago. It is in very good cosmetic condition and appears to work fine. There were three pictures on it from a prior owner of some sort of interesting industrial looking machine.
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Kodak DC-50 (1996) the first digital zoom camera with external storage selling for (just) under $1,000. The manual is available in PDF format from Kodak. Specifications at page 74 indicate 754 x 504 pixel image size at high resolution which equals 381,024 pixels or 0.38 megapixels. 3X optical zoom from 7mm to 21mm equal to about 37mm to 111mm in 35mm format. Dimensions of the camera are 15.2cm X 11.9cm X 6.4cm which equals a volume of about 1.158 Liters. (It is roughly a rectangular prism. I hence multiplied length X width X height and expressed the answer in Liters.) It weighs 1.16 lbs or 18.56 oz. Compare the 1996 DC-50 with the Kodak EasyShare C330 that I purchased on clearance at Office Depot in July 2006 for $100 which included a Kodak docking station/printer. The manual at pages 50-53 states the C330 is a 4.0 megapixel 3X optical zoom (34mm to 102mm 35mm equivalent) camera with dimensions of 9.15cm X 6.5cm X 3.5cm which equals a volume of about 0.208 liters. (It is also roughly a rectangular prism.) It weighs 5.6 oz. In 10 years the C330 has 10 times the resolution at one tenth the price, one fifth the size and about one third the weight! My DC-50 came with a 5mb PCMCIA ATA flash card. A 1.0 gb SD card for the C330 has 200 times more capacity with a physical volume of about one tenth that of the PCMIA card. (I just eye-balled this. The SD card looks to be about half the thickness and you can fit nearly 6 SD cards on top of the PCMCIA card.) This rapid change in a single decade is amazing! My fascination with such rapid technological growth is why Mr. Martin's Web Site's Museum exists. DCVIEWS has a similar wonderful comparison of the DC-50 with Kodak's smallest camera in 2006, the Easyshare V550. Also, compare the DC-50 with the first sub-$1,000 digital SLR, the 2003 Canon Digital Rebel below, which came out only seven years later. I purchased my DC-50 on eBay on 8-20-06 for $5 plus $6.05 shipping. Pretty steep depreciation in ten years! It works well although it took awhile to figure that out. There is no LCD image display. (Camera back.) You have to download the images to a computer to view them. Kodak states that the DC-50 is "fully supported" by "Windows 95, 98, 98SE, Mac OS 7.6.1 - 9.x" and is "not supported" by "Windows 3.1, NT, 2000, ME, XP; Mac OS 7.5.0 and earlier, OS X." The camera also stores images in a unique file format. Therefore, if you want to see the images you better have some old computers sitting around. No problem there for me. Here are the steps I went through to view the images! I took some photos. Put the PCMCIA card into the PCMCIA slot in my laptop running Windows XP and hence not supported. Transferred the images from the PCMCIA card to an external floppy drive hooked up to my laptop. Went over to my old HP computer running Windows 98 Second Edition. Loaded the Picture Works Photo Enhancer Software that came with the camera onto my old HP. I first had to copy the program files to the desktop since it was not installing from the floppy disk. It did install from the desktop. Copy the images from the floppy disk to the desktop and then open them with Picture Works. Save them in Picture Works in a JPEG or TIFF format. From there I could view them on my desktop running Windows XP and should also be able to view them on a modern Macintosh. Here are some DC-50 photos of some canine friends of mine: dog 1 and dog 2. Dog 1 (159 kb) is not changed in any way. Dog 2 (63.3 kb) was cropped and the contrast increased slightly in Picture Works. Both were saved in JPEG format from the original Kodak format. Many sites discuss the DC-50: DC Views Photo Opportunities Mount Holyoke Dvorak Uncensored DC50 Page Testing the Kodak DC50 GCN Digital Cameras
	Canon PowerShot 350 (March 1997) (Large Image, Back) 1/3 inch CCD sensor with 350,000 pixels, 640 x 480. 6mm f2.8 lens with same angle of view as 43mm focal length on full frame camera. 1.8 inch LCD monitor. 120 ISO. "Can shoot up to 47 frames using a Compact Flash card (with a 2-MB capacity)." (Only 11 frames on "fine," however.) 1/4 - 1/2000 shutter speed. Built-in flash. "Macro Zoom function for close-up shots (minimum distance 3 cm)." (Canon Camera Museum.) According to Digitalkamera Museum the camera was actually made by Panasonic. The original suggested retail price was $699, or about $1,300 in 2022 dollars. It is powered by three 1.5 volt batteries, a dedicated NiCad battery, or AC adapter. I think I bought this from an ad on Craigslist or from a garage sale maybe around 2010 give or take several years. It has a $10 price sticker on it. It came with the AC adapter, two different cords to connect to serial ports on PC or Apple Mac computers, Adobe PhotoDeluxe Version 1.0, Ulead PhotoImpact 3.0SE with paper manual, PowerShot Utilities with paper manual, and the User's Manual. It is in good cosmetic condition with some marks on front. The battery compartment shows some past battery leakage. The camera seems to work fine both taking and displaying images. It is a very cool camera to show how far we have come in 25 years as I write this in 2022.
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Sony Mavica MVC-FD7 introduced late 1997, early 1998. The FD7 with a 10X optical zoom lens and the FD5 with a single focal length lens were the first Sony Mavica cameras which used floppy disks as the storage device. The Mavica name had previously been used for Sony analog video still cameras in the 1980s. Also, the Mavica name was also later used for the Sony digital cameras that used CDs for storage. The manual is available from Sony online in PDF format. Page 44 gives the specifications. I used a similar Mavica at my first teaching job in 1999. It has a 4.2 to 42mm 10X zoom lens which equals 40mm to 400mm in 35mm format. The maximum aperture is f1.8 to f2.9. Both of these statistics are impressive. The lens also has wonderful closeup features. At the time the use of standard 3.5 inch floppy disks for storage was also wonderful. They were reasonably inexpensive and made transfer to the computer a breeze. On fine mode one floppy disc would store about 15-20 images. Maximum resolution was 640 x 480, about 0.3 megapixel. That made it okay for Web viewing of relatively small images. Just "okay," however, and really poor for printing. It is very easy to use. There is no optical viewing but the large 2.5 inch screen is good under most circumstances. Mavicas were great cameras to use in a school setting. The original price appears to have been around $700. Its successor the FD71 which was lighter and faster had a list price of $799 according to PC World (July 28, 1998). I believe I used the FD71. I remember Mavicas having a street price of about $500 when I first used one in late 1999 - early 2000. Several sites discuss the FD7: Wikipedia, wrotniak.net, jerrypournelle.com, purpleplanetmedia.com, aardvark.co.nz, reviewsonline.com, videomedia.com. My Mavica FD7 was purchased on eBay on 8-4-06 for $51.53 with $6.50 shipping. It included a nice case, battery and a Canon ShurShot 60 film camera. Sort of on the pricey side for a 0.3 megapixel camera but Mavicas still seem to have a following on eBay. It is in good cosmetic and working condition. I bought a new off brand charger and battery from a different source on eBay.
	Kodak DCS 330 (with Nikon Pronea 6i) (Large, Back) Announced August 1999. This 3 megapixel camera is based on the same body as the 1.5 megapixel Kodak DCS 315 launched in 1998. The Kodak DCS 315 could process and store images in JPEG format. The Kodak DCS 330 only stored photos in RAW format. Both cameras used the Nikon Pronea 6i APS (Advanced Photo System) film SLR camera replacing the camera's film back with Kodak's digital back which extended beneath the camera doubling its height. The bottom provided space for the two large Type II PC Cards and the 6 AA battery holder. Both cameras CCD's sensors were smaller than either full frame 35mm or APS frames with the Kodak DCS 330 having a crop factor of 1.9. I assume the sensor was therefore slightly larger than a micro four-thirds sensor which has a crop factor of 2. The Kodak back had one screen for viewing images and another screen for viewing camera settings. ISO values for the DCS 330 were from 125 to 400. These two cameras were the least expensive of the Kodak DCS cameras, although the Kodak DCS 330 cost around $5,000 when new. That's equal to almost $9,000 in 2022 dollars. (See The DCS Story - nikonweb.com for a description of all the Kodak DCS cameras from 1987 to 2004.) I purchased my camera on eBay in January 2009 for $28 with $9.95 shipping. From $5,000 to $28 is a lot of depreciation in ten years and represents the rapid advance in digital camera technology at the time. The camera uses two "Type II PC Cards" each holding 260MB. The cards are about 8.5cm tall, 5.5cm wide, and 4mm thick, considerably bigger than either a CF card or a SD card as shown in this photo. The Kodak User's Guide for the DCS 300 Series is online. Chapter 2 discusses the power requirements. Power is supplied by six 1.5V AA batteries in a battery tray. As of December 2022, the battery tray is available at eBay. Kodak also supplied an AC adapter. I have neither the power tray nor the adapter and have hence not tested the camera. It is in decent cosmetic condition. The Kodak back/bottom had a tactile coating, however, which is very sticky now. The camera generally takes Nikon F mount lens, but there are exceptions for several lenses. Also, for some lenses you have to first remove the antialiasing filter. The acceptable lenses are specified in the manual. It is amazing how fast digital cameras have advanced in a relatively short period of time. For example, I purchased my new Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II with lens in 2020 (camera announced in 2015) for $300, or more than 15 times less than the new price of the Kodak DCS 330. The Olympus has a similar sized sensor with 5 times more megapixels, a much larger screen, high definition video, in-camera image stabilization, ISO values from 200 - 25600, and countless other features. Also, compare it with full frame 24 megapixel Nikon D600 introduced just over 12 years after the Kodak DCS 330. Several sites have excellent information about the Kodak DCS 330: www.digitalkameramuseum.de, Kodak DCS 300 Series - Wikipedia, DPReview, and mir.com.
	Sony Digital Mavica WVC FD-95 (February 2000) (Large Image) 2.1 megapixel, 10X optical zoom, 6 to 60mm, f2.8 lens. (Same angle of view as a 35mm film camera with a 39 to 390mm zoom lens.) Sony Steady-shot image stabilization. Uses 3.5" floppy disks. Mine comes with the optional adapter that allows you to insert a Sony Memory Stick. 2.5 inch, color, TFT LCD monitor. Additionally, electronic eye-piece viewing. Cost new was $999. The Memory Stick adapter was extra. Spot metering and manual focus available. It is a large camera weighing about 35 oz. I purchased mine for about $30 at an estate/garage sale in the Del Cerro area of San Diego on April 25, 2010. (This and a Nikon 55mm f1.2 lens for $120. In my mind, I allocated more of the $120 towards the Nikon lens.) It is a very cool camera for its day with a pretty amazing wide aperture lens. The floppy disks were convenient at the time, but very slow. With 2.1 megapixels, this camera represented the limits for using floppy disks which would quickly be filled up. Another model recorded on small CDs instead. I remember seeing an FD-95 in action in the summer of 2000 by another participant at a Forestry Institute for Teachers at Humboldt State University. I still just used a film camera. I was very impressed the participant could have a slide show at the end of the camp. I was also very impressed with his shots of, for example, spotted owls using the lens which extends out to 390mm. It would still be a fun camera to play around with today. Mine is in good cosmetic condition. Unfortunately, it is not reading disks and disks are very hard to insert. I tried formatting a disk in the computer first. This did not help. It looks like a piece may also be missing on the disk eject button. Bummer! :(
	Olympus Camedia C-2100 Ultra Zoom (June 2000) (Large Image) 2.1 megapixel with 10X optical zoom lens with a focal length of 7mm to 70mm (equal to angle of view for 38 to 380mm in 35mm format). The maximum aperture is f2.8-3.5. It has optical image stabilization. According to www.dpreview.com the suggested list price was $1,300 and the street price was $900. It has a 1/2 inch CCD sensor. ISO is 100, 200 or 400. Shutter speeds are 1/2 to 1/800 second in automatic modes and up to 16 seconds in manual mode. It takes the very thin Smart Media cards. Mine has one 128MB card in it, which I think was the maximum capacity for SmartMedia cards. It takes 4AA batteries. It has auto focus and manual focus. It takes 42 second movies at 320 x 240, 15 frames per second with audio. www.dpreview.com gave it a recommended rating but wished it had 3 megapixels. It averaged 4.8 out of 5 stars in 80 ratings at amazon.com. To me it seems very well balanced with a large grip where the batteries go. The size and mass aren't bad with dimensions of 113 x 78x 141 mm and a mass of 540g. The lens is wonderful and the images are good for 2.1 megapixels. Even at the time 2.1 megapixels didn't really let you replace your film camera, however. Once resolution started to get over 3 megapixels I left my film camera behind more often. I bought my C-2100 from an ad on Craigslist on June 28, 2012 in the Clairemont Mesa area of San Diego. I purchased this and a Yashica TL-Electro 35mm SLR with extra lens and flash for $25. The price on Craigslist was $25 for the Yashica and $10 for this. I negotiated the price down to $25 since the slower shutter speeds on the Yashica are hanging up and the Olympus was only intermittently turning on. When I got home and put fresh batteries in the Olympus it worked perfectly, however. It is still a very useable camera if you are just putting things on the web. It is nice that it has both the regular screen and an electronic eye level viewfinder. Today, most point and shoot cameras just have the regular LCD screen which can be difficult to view in sunlight. The problem with these early electronic viewfinders, however, is that the image is not clear enough to see fine detail or focus manually. That may finally be changing with the very high resolution electronic viewfinders in the new Sony Alpha SLRs such as the Sony Alpha 55 that has 1,152,000 dots used in the electronic viewfinder compared to I think 114,000 in the Olympus C-2100. (Dpreview.com specifications for the Sony Alpha 55 compared to Steves-digicams.com specifications for the Olympus C-2100 (describes electronic viewfinder as "0.55 inch wide-angle colour TFT LCD monitor with 114,000 pixels (low-temperature poly-silicon)," although that pixel count is the same as for the large LCD viewfinder.)
	Olympus Camedia C-700 Ultra Zoom (Large Image, Back) Announced on March 19, 2001, the C-700 features a 1/2.7 inch, 2.11 megapixel sensor, and a 10X optical zoom lens 5.9mm-59mm, f 2.8-3.5 lens (full frame equivalent angle of view as 38-380mm). (DP Review - Olympus C-700 Ultra Zoom.) It was proclaimed as the world's smallest 10X optical zoom digital camera at the time. The estimated street price was $700, or almost $1,200 in 2022 dollars. It seems to be a smaller, less expensive replacement for the C-2100 above. It takes SmartMedia cards. Mine came with a full 64MB card with 141 photos on it. SmartMedia cards were about the size of a Compact Flash (CF) card, but much thinner. Wikipedia states: "SmartMedia is an obsolete flash memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 2 MB to 128 MB." An SD card is roughly half the size. As I write this in 2022, 128 GB SD cards, holding 1,000X more than the largest SmartMedia card, are common and inexpensive. The camera is powered by four 1.5 volt AA batteries or two CR-V3 Lithium batteries. Specifications are at the end of DP Review - Olympus C-700 Ultra Zoom. The C-700 has both an "Electronic TTL Viewfinder (0.55" LCD)" and a "1.5-inch, 113,000-pixel color TFT LCD monitor." ISO values are 100, 200, 400, and 800. It takes Quicktime movies, 15fps, 320 x 240 (max 15 sec), 160 x 120 (max 60 sec). It is relatively light at only 11 oz., although I get 14.4 oz. with the batteries. I assume I got mine at a garage sale. It is in really good cosmetic and working condition - pretty good for over 20 years old - a cool blast from the past!
	Sony DCS-S85 (2001) (Large Image, Back) A 4.1 megapixel, 1/1.8 inch CCC, digital camera with a Carl Zeiss 7-21mm 3X zoom lens (f2-2.5) giving the same field of view as a 34-102 full frame camera. ISO range 100-400. MPEG movies up to 320 by 240 with size only limited by the memory card. Optical viewfinder and 1.8 inch LCD display. Uses a rechargeable Sony InfoLithium NP-FM50 battery which is the same as used by many of the Sony DSLRs below. DP Review has a full review and complete specifications. The camera was one of the first consumer cameras with a 4 megapixel sensor. DP Review highly recommended the camera. Sony still posts the Operating Instructions. The street price was $800 at the time of the DP Preview, or over $1,300 in 2022 dollars. As I write this in December 2022, I think I purchased this at a garage sale many years ago. It is in good cosmetic condition with some of the icons on the selector dial worn off and rust on one of the screws on the cold accessory shoe. It came with the battery, 128MB Memory Stick and strap. Sony Memory Sticks were slightly narrower than an SD card but longer. The camera is in good working condition.
	Canon PowerShot S30 (Large Image, Back) (User Guide) Marketed December 2001 according to the Canon Camera Museum. The expected street price was $599 according to DP Review. It has a 1/1.8 inch, 3.2 megapixel, sensor and a 3X zoom lens 7.1-21.3mm, f2.8-4.9 (angle of view the same as a full frame 35-105mm lens). It was released with the PowerShot S40 which had a 4 megapixel sensor. The S30 had an optical viewfinder as well as a 1.8 inch LCD viewfinder/monitor. Shutter speeds were from 15 seconds to 1/1500 seconds. ISO values of 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800. Images are recorded on a Type I or Type II Compact Flash card. It could record 320 X 240 movies for up to 30 seconds, or 160 X 120 movies for up to 120 seconds. It is powered by a NB-2L rechargeable Lithium battery. I probably acquired my camera at a garage sale. It has a battery, but I need to find a charger for it. I, therefore, do not know if it works. It is in good cosmetic condition although the sliding lens cover is a little wobbly.
Fuji Finepix 6900,3.3 megapixel, 6.0 megapixel file size, 6X optical zoom, f2.8-3.1, numerous exposure controls including manual, auto and manual focus. This is a fine camera. The major drawback in this class of camera is the electronic viewfinder which makes it very difficult to focus manually. The next step up is a true optical SLR digital camera such as the Canon Digital Rebel. Purchased new in December 2001.	Olympus Camedia D-150 Zoom, 1.3 megapixel, 3x optical zoom, 5mm-15mm, f2.4-4.3. Takes Smart Media cards. No movies. Purchased around late 2001 for $150 at Costco. Compare with the Kodak DX 6340 a little over two years later - same price, 3.1 megapixel, 4X optical zoom, movies with sound, adjustable exposure, etc.
Kodak CX 6330, 3.1 megapixel, 3X Optical Zoom, SD card storage. Purchased December 2003.	Kodak DX 6340, 3.1 megapixels, 4X optical zoom Schneider-Kreuznach lens, aperture and shutter preferred automatic in PAS mode, up to 400 ISO, movies with sound and speaker in camera, + or - 2 stop exposure adjustment. Good low light capabilities. This is is a step up from the CX 6330, but after rebates was purchased for the same price, $150. It was purchased around March 2004. A wonderful point and shoot camera for the family or at school with some advanced features. This camera was used to take many of the early museum photographs in 2004.
	Canon PowerShot A70 (Large Image, Back) Marketed March 2003. 1/2.7″ CCD 3.1 megapixel sensor. 3X zoom 5.4 to 16.2mm (equivalent to angle of view of 35-105mm on full frame camera). Viewing through optical viewfinder or 1.5" (118,000 dot) LCD Monitor. It will shoot movies at up to 640 X 480 resolution but only up to 30 seconds at that resolution and up to 3 minutes at lower resolutions. Uses four 1.5volt AA batteries and can also take rechargeable NiMH batteries. It records on compact flash cards. Original price $350. There is no image stabilization. ISO settings are 50, 100, 200 and 400 although DP Review indicates significant noise above ISO 100. Modern digital cameras have greatly improved with low noise images at much higher ISOs and in low light. This combined with image stabilization in the lens or camera allows for much longer shutter speeds in low light. I probably acquired this camera at a garage sale. It is in decent condition. There was some leakage in the battery compartment resulting in problems powering it on. I sprayed the contacts on the battery door with contact cleaner. When dry, I also lightly sanded the contacts. It now is working reliably. Cosmetically, the camera is in fair condition with some scratches to the body and monitor. The lens looks to be scratch and fungus free. The plastic cover over the input and output ports broke off. I glued it back with Super Glue although it may not hold. As I write this in December 2022, smartphones have almost totally replaced low cost, compact digital cameras except those for children. Canon still posts the User Guide. Additional information is at Canon Camera Museum and DP Review.
	Canon Digital Rebel, introduced September 2003, the Digital Rebel was the first digital optical single lens reflex camera to break the $1,000 price barrier, with a initial street price of $899 for the body only, or $999 with an 18-55mm zoom lens (about 28-90mm 35mm equivalent). I use it frequently for sports photos since it has very little shutter lag, shoots at approximately 2.5 frames per second, and has a top ISO setting of 1600, great for indoor sports. It has a burst mode for up to four shots. Top resolution is 6.3 megapixels with JPEG and RAW settings available. It has the same sensor as the significantly more expensive EOS 10D. I bought my Digital Rebel new from B&H Photo in October 2004 for $815 with lens and a 1gb high speed Compact Flash storage card, after rebates. In March 2005, Canon introduced a new Digital Rebel XT that is 1/2 inch smaller, 3 ounces lighter (due to a smaller battery) and 8 megapixels. It also has a faster startup time. The street price with lens is $999, which has caused the prices of the original Digital Rebel with lens to fall to around $750. I have included the Digital Rebel in both the autofocus SLR category and the digital camera category since it is both. The look and feel is very similar to EOS film cameras. It has several advantages over film cameras since you can shoot about 300 high resolution JPEG images on a 1 gigabyte CompactFlash card - there's no film to change. You can switch the ISO from frame to frame. You also can see what your image looks like on the back of the camera after you take the photo. The lens that comes with the kit is for the digital camera only - it will not fit film cameras since it will protrude too far into the camera. The Digital Rebel will accept all EOS lenses, however. Since the film sensor is smaller than a 35mm frame, the effective focal length is increased by a factor of 1.6. This is both positive and negative. It effectively gives me fast, telephoto lenses. For example, it makes my 70-210 f4 zoom effectively a 112-336 f4 lens. A lens for a film camera with that range and maximum aperture would be very expensive. On the downside, the 1.6 factor limits the use of wide angle lenses. Unlike other digital cameras, optical digital SLRs at this time could not display the image electronically before the image was taken and did not have video modes.
	Konica Minolta Dimage A2, (Large Image) introduced February 12, 2004. PC Magazine lists a street price of $1,100. Manufactured by Konica Minolta which was formed by a merger of Konica and Minolta in 2003 (Wikipedia Konica Minolta), both well-known photography companies with Konica have roots dating back to 1873 (Wikipedia Konica) and Minolta (Wikipedia Minolta) with roots dating back to 1928. Both companies produced excellent 35mm single lens reflex cameras. Konica Minolta still exists today as a business copier and printer company. Konica Minolta sold its photography and camera operations to Sony in 2006, however. The Sony Alpha system is the successor to the Minolta digital single lens reflex cameras. The Dimage A2 has an electronic viewing screen and an electronic viewfinder. There is no optical viewfinder and I do not think there is any reflex mirror. It is an 8 megapixel camera. According to Digital Camera Database, the "Konica-Minolta DiMAGE A2 comes with a 2/3" (~ 8.8 x 6.6 mm) CCD sensor, which has a diagonal of 11.00 mm (0.43") and a surface area of 58.08 sq mm." Current Sony Alpha series A cameras with APS sized sensors have "23.2 x 15.4 mm CMOS sensor, which has a diagonal of 27.85 mm (1.1") and a surface area of 357.28 sq mm." (Digital Camera Database for Sony A58), or about six times more than the Dimage A2. The Dimage A2 sensor is considerably larger than a recent compact digital camera such as the Sony HX80 which has an area of only 28.46 mm, however. The Dimage A2 has a non-interchangeable lens with a wide and useful zoom focal length range of 7.2mm to 50.8mm, the equivalent angle of view of a 35mm camera with a focal length from 28 to 200mm. The maximum aperture ranges from f2.8 to f3.5. The minimum aperture is f11. It has optical image stabilization called "anti-shake" which moves the sensor to reduce the effects of camera shake. The ISO ranges from 64 to 800. There is an extensive review at DPReview. My Dimage A2 was thrown in as part of the purchase of a Sony A65 with kit lens, a Sony 16-50mm f2.8 lens, a Sony 18-250mm lens, a Minolta 70-210 autofocus lens, and a Tamron 75-300mm lens in Coronado, California on August 10, 2017.
	Canon Powershot S70 (Large Image) Introduced September 2004. 7.1 megapixel camera with 3.6X zoom, 5.8 to 20.7mm focal length, with a field of view equivalent to a 28mm to 100mm lens on a 35mm film camera. A 28mm equivalent is quite wide for a compact digital camera and is the main reason I got the camera. Maximum aperture ranges from f2.8 at 28mm to a relatively slow f5.3 at 100mm. ISO can be set at 50, 100, 200 and 400. According to dpreview.com, which gave it a "highly recommended," the original street price was a hefty $549. I got mine with the WP-DC40 underwater housing allowing shots underwater to 40m or 130'. The underwater housing currently sells online for about $163. Recent used sales on eBay of Powershot S70 cameras range from $103.50 (plus shipping) to $137.50 (shipping included) as I write this at the end of August 2009. That's pretty high for a compact digital camera introduced five years ago. A housing went for $45. I purchased my camera and housing in about 2007 used from an ad on Craigslist for $200 as I recall. It is in good working condition. My intention was to use it snorkeling which I haven't done yet! Wide angle lenses are primarily used in underwater photography to reduce the distance, and hence amount of water, between the camera and subject.
	Sony DSC-R1 (Large Image) (2005-2006) The Sony DSC-R1 is unique camera that utilizes a 21.5 x 14.4 mm CMOS 10.3 megapixel sensor that is just 16% smaller in area than an APS-C size (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor found in many digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras (DSLR). (Area of R1 sensor 309.6 sq mm. Area of APS-C sensor is 366.6 sq.mm. 309.6/366.6 = 84.5%.) Unlike a DSLR this camera has no mirror or penta-prism to give an optical image. Further, while the current Sony Alpha cameras in 2013 have an electronic image with no optical image, the Alpha series still has a translucent reflex mirror. This camera has no reflex mirror. The picture quality is excellent and on a par with true DSLR cameras of the day, and even DSLRs today, because of the near APS-C sized CMOS sensor coupled with a very high quality, non-interchangeable, Carl Zeiss T* 5X zoom lens with a focal length range of 14.3 to 71.5mm, f2.8 to 4.8. That is equivalent the angle of view produced by a 24mm to 120mm lens in a 35mm film format, or a 16mm to 80mm lens in an APS-C format. The lens generally gets very good reviews. A similar interchangeable lens, the "Sony SAL-1680Z 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T DT Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera," today costs $998 on Amazon.com. That was the price of the entire Sony DSC-R1 camera when new. The camera generally performs reasonably well under high ISO levels with some noise at 800 and a lot at 1600. The ISO goes to 3200. This was pretty impressive performance in 2005 and still quite useable as I write this in 2013. Curriously, the camera does not have image stabilization which Sony has had on many cameras for a long time. It also does not have any movie mode. The electronic viewfinder is relatively bright and clear but not near what an optical viewfinder would be. While manual focus is possible, it is difficult with the electronic viewfinder. The electronic viewfinder has 235,200 pixels compared with 1,440,000 pixels, or 6.12 times more, on a current Sony A57 camera.
The LCD screen is only two inches compared to 3 inches on most DSLRs today. The LCD screen is in a unique position on top of the camera immediately behind the internal flash. It rotates 270 degrees and can be folded down which allows you to use it as a waist level finder as you might use on an old film medium format single lens reflex camera such as a Haselblad or a twin lens reflex camera like a Rolleiflex. That also makes it nice for ground level shots. Rotating the LCD screen 180 degrees also allows for self-portraits. That would also be handy for narrating movies if the camera did videos. It also doesn't interfere with mounting the camera on a tripod which is an issue with the bottom mounted LCD screen on the modern day Sony A57. While the LCD screen on the Sony DSC-R1 is in a handy position, it is difficult to conceive how you could make a camera like this with a much larger LCD screen. It can also be frustrating that the screen is so small. The camera is quite usable today and could be a harbinger of things to come for Sony. I have a Sony A350 which has an optical viewfinder as well as liveview LCD screen. Sony continued with optical viewfinders for the Sony A500, A550, A560 and A580. By the A37, A55, A57, A58, A65 and A77, however, Sony has moved to electronic viewfinders with a fixed translucent reflex mirror. Some rumors indicate that future Sony cameras may dispence with the mirror altogether going back to a design more like this camera but with much improved electronic viewfinders. I have mixed feelings. The electronic viewfinders give 100% coverage, are bright, can contain a lot of interesting information, and are much better than they use to be. They also show a lighter or darker screen as you change exposure. However, there is still something very nice about an optical viewfinder where it is just your eye, some glass and the actual light! It was especially nice with the former big, bright viewfinders in the old 35mm film days, instead of the smaller optical viewfinders with DSLRs with APS-C sized sensors. I purchased my camera on July 13, 2013 for $75 near the Little Italy section of downtown San Diego from an ad on Craigslist. The camera is in good cosmetic and working condition except for a small ding on the inside lip of the lens that does not affect the glass and a very tight zoom once you go beyond the 70mm range. My guess is the two things may be related. The camera works fine, however. The $75 price is substantially below the $200 to $300 prices on eBay and may in part reflect the two problems.
	Sony DSC-H2 (Large Image) Introduced February 2006, the DSC-H2 was a minor upgrade to the prior DSC-H1. The H2 is a 6.2 megapixel camera with a 12X zoom Carl Zeiss lens 6-72mm (36-432mm equivalent on 35mm film camera), f2.8 to 3.7. ISO range is 80-1000. Steady shot image stabilization. The sensor size is 1/2.5 inch (5.8mm x 4.3mm = 24.94 sq.mm.). (Compare that with a Sony APS-C sensor at 25.1 � 16.7 mm = 419.14 sq. mm.) The 2 inch LCD has 85,000 pixels and the 0.2 inch electronic viewfinder has 200,000 pixels. (Compare that with the 2013 Sony A58 which has 1,440,000 pixels in the electronic viewfinder.) DP Review has an extensive review. They state the street price was $370. While I forget how I acquired my Sony DSC-H2, it was probably at a garage sale. It is in working condition, although the shutter release button is missing. You can put in an opened-up paper clip in the small hole where the release button was to fire the shutter. Another problem was that I left batteries in the camera! In 2021 when I looked at it, the battery door would not open. I had to remove the back panel of the camera and pry the battery cover off. The batteries were extremely corroded. Some of the metal parts in the battery compartment broke off. After much cleaning and careful placement of aluminum foil to compensate for the missing metal parts, I got it working! Overall, it is a nice camera but does not compare with the higher resolution sensors and viewfinders of more recent cameras.
	Canon PowerShot A720 IS, purchased new in mid 2008 for $99.99 on clearance at Office Depot. I purchased one for my older son around March 2008 for $160, also at Office Depot. My sister purchased the similar prior PowerShot A710 IS for about $200, also at office Depot. 8.0 megapixel processor. 6X optical zoom lens. Focal length 5.8-34.8mm, equivalent to 35mm to 210mm in a 35mm format, which is a very nice range from moderate wide angle to telephoto. f2.8 to f4.8. ISO range from 80 to 1600. 2.5" viewing screen. Also, has a simple optical viewfinder. While it is not very accurate, especially with such a wide zoom range, an optical viewfinder is still a very useful item. Even the best LCD screens are difficult to see in bright sunlight. Also, an optical viewfinder conserves battery power and is more stable compared to holding the camera out at arms length. Unfortunately, the majority of compact cameras today omit an optical viewfinder. Uses high capacity SD cards. Close focus on macro to 1cm when at the most wide angle focal length. It is really an astonishing value compared with digital cameras a few years ago or simple film cameras a few decades ago. For example, it's the same price as the Kodak C330 I purchased two years before, yet it has twice the resolution, twice the zoom range, twice the ISO range, and features like optical image stabilization. As indicated above, the Kodak C330's price and features were astonishing compared to the earlier Kodak DC-50. As to film cameras, consider the family camera we had when I was growing up - a Kodak Instamatic 104. The list price in 1965 was $15.95. Sounds like a bargain, but adjusted for inflation that's equal to $108 in 2008 dollars. The Instamatic 104 has a single focus length, fixed focus lens, with no exposure adjustment. Close focus was I think around 4 feet. Added to that, you had to buy film, flash cubes, and batteries for the flash. You could only view your photos as prints. (Slide film was available, but you really should have exposure controls to use slide film.) Reviews for the PowerShot A720 IS include dpreview (highly recommended) and DCRP Review. I recommend setting the ISO level yourself since the auto ISO can unexpectedly bump up the ISO and result in considerable noise.
	Sony a700 (aka Sony Alpha 700) (Large) Introduced in September 2007, the Sony a700 is an digital single lens reflex (DSLR) with a 12.24 megapixel ASP-C Exmor CMOS sensor and Sony SteadyShot sensor-shift image stabilization. The camera was tailored to the advanced amateur photographer. It can use Compact Flash (CF) and Memory Stick Duo memory cards. It does not have live view and does not have a video mode. There are extensive reviews at Imaging Resource and DP Review. I purchased mine used in Oceanside around August 25, 2013 from an ad on Craigslist listed for $175. I can't recall if I paid the full price.
	Sony a200 (aka Sony Alpha 200) Large, Back) Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008 along with the Sony a300 and Sony a350. The Sony a200 is a optical single lens reflex camera with a 10.2 megapixel APS-C sensor. It is a minor upgrade to the Sony a100, the first Sony Alpha camera after Sony bought the photography and camera business of Konica Minolta in 2006. The changes from the Sony a100 are listed at Sony a200 - Wikipedia. It has Sony's Super SteadyShot in-camera image stabilization. The Sony a200 does not have live view. The Sony a300 added live view and an articulated screen. The a350, which I bought new, has live view, an articulated screen and a 14.2 megapixel sensor. All three cameras used Compact Flash (CF) memory cards. I purchased my Sony a200 at a garage sale. I forget the price but it was inexpensive. It is in good working condition.
	Canon EOS Rebel T1i (aka Canon Kiss X3 (Japan), Canon EOS 500D (Europe)) (Large, Back) First marketed in April 2009, the Rebel T1i has a 15.1-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, with ISO settings from 100 to 3200 (expandable to ISO 6400 and 12800). It was the first digital Rebel to record full HD video (1080). (Canon Camera Museum.) It has an optical DSLR viewfinder. Mine came with the standard 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens with image stabilization (IS). I purchased it at a garage sale in the College area of San Diego as I recall sometime in the mid-2010s. I think I only paid perhaps $75. I haven't used it much since I had the Sony a58. I later purchased a new 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS lens for $75 in La Jolla when Radio Shack stores were going out of business. The camera and the two lenses are in excellent working condition. Even as I write this in 2022, it is still a decent system.
	Nikon Coolpix P7000 (Large, Back) Announced September 8, 2010, the Nikon P7000 is a 10 megapixel camera with a 1/1.7 inch sensor. It was likely designed to compete with Canon's Powershot G-series. It has a 7.1 optical zoom lens, 6.0 to 42.6mm (28-200mm full frame equivalent), f2.8-5.6. It has a simple optical viewfinder (not through the lens) as well as a 3 inch rear LCD monitor. ISO 100 to 3200. Specifications and features are at Nikon. I purchased mine for $20 on May 21, 2020 in the Bay Park area of San Diego from an ad on Craigslist. I thought it would be a nice, inexpensive camera for hiking. I liked the wide zoom and the optical viewfinder. It works fine and the images are fine. I think the controls are nicely laid out. The camera received a mediocre rating of 65% in DP Review with the reviewers finding good image quality but stating "the P7000 is let down by a laggy, glitch-ridden user interface and relatively poor operational speed." The original price was $499.
	Nikon D5100 (Large, Back) Announced April 5, 2011, the Nikon D5100 is a 16.2 megapixel ASP-C (DX) camera with an optical DSLR viewfinder. It has a live view articulated screen joined to the camera on the side. ISO is from 100 to 6400, expandable to Hi 2 (ISO 25600 equivalent). (Nikon Lineup - D5100.) It records full HD video (1080) and was "the first Nikon DSLR to offer 1080p video at a choice of frame rates." (Nikon D5100 - Wikipedia.) It does not have an in-camera focus motor and hence can only autofocus with lenses with a built-in motor. Nikon D5100 - Wikipedia states: "It can mount unmodified A-lenses (also called Non-AI, Pre-AI or F-type) with support of the electronic rangefinder and without metering." I have not tried that, however, and would want to make sure it would not damage the camera. I purchased mine at Target with 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 VR (vibration reduction) kit lens around November 2013 for around $350 as I recall. It was an unboxed return and hence selling for about half the usual price. (I couldn't resist.) It is in great cosmetic and working condition. I also purchased a used Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G AF-S DX VR lens for about $90 on Craigslist. Ken Rockwell states: "The D5100 the exact same technical image quality of the unbeaten Nikon D7000 in a smaller, lighter and much less expensive package." Even as I write this in 2022, it is still a decent camera to use. (See also YouTube - "Is the Nikon D5100 still good in 2022+??".)
	Sony a65 (aka Sony Alpha 65) (Large, Back) Announced August 24, 2011 along with the Sony a77. It is a translucent mirror camera with an electronic viewfinder like the Sony a58 described below. The APS-C sensor has 24.3 megapixels which was quite high at that time, although the Sonay a65 received relatively mediocre ratings for low light- high ISO images at DPReview. It has a unique pivoting 3" LCD monitor attached at the camera bottom. I purchased my Sony a65 with kit lens, a Sony 16-50mm f2.8 lens, a Sony 18-250mm lens, a Minolta 70-210 autofocus lens, a Tamron 75-300mm lens, and a Konica Minolta Dimage A2 from an ad on Craigslist in Coronado, California on August 10, 2017 for $400. On hindsight, I wouldn't have purchased the items. I found out the Sony a65 steady-shot was not working after I purchased it. The Sony 16-50mm f2.8 lens is excellent, but I rarely used it because it is heavy and has a limited range. I used the Sony 18-250mm lens much more.
	Sony a37 (aka Sony Alpha 37) (Large, Back) Released June 2012. It replaced the Sony a35. The original price with the kit 18-55mm lens was about $600. It is a translucent mirror camera with an electronic viewfinder like the Sony a58 described below. The APS-C sensor has 16 megapixels. It has an ISO 100-16000 range and Sony Steady-Shot image stabilization. It has a 2.7 inch tilting screen, 1440k dot Electronic viewfinder, 7 frames per second shooting speed, and full HD 1920 x 1080 video resolution. The Sony a57 was also released in 2012 with the same sensor but a larger 3 inch fully articulating screen and up to 12 frames per second shooting speed. The a37 weighs 506 grams vs. 618 grams for the Sony a57. (Camera Decision - Compare a37 vs. a57.) The Sony a57 was replaced by the Sony a58 discussed below. In a May 16, 2012 press release from San Diego, Sony listed the following approximate camera prices with the 18-135mm lens: a37 - $800, a57 - $1,000, a65 - $1,000, and a77 - $1,200. (DP Review - Sony Launches a37.) I purchased my Sony a37 with 18-135mm lens f3.5-5.6 lens from an ad on Craigslist sometime after I bought the Sony a58 as I recall. I picked it up in Mission Valley. I purchased it primarily for the lens. I forget what I paid. The camera is in very good cosmetic and operating condition, and is still a very useable camera as I write this in December 2022.
	Sony a58 (aka Sony Alpha 58) (Large, Back, Top) The Sony a58 was introduced in 2013. I purchased my Sony a58 with 18-55mm lens new on November 14, 2014 from "Buydig" on eBay for $398. As I recall it was on sale for that price from many sellers earlier that month, but the sale price was ending. I managed to find it still on sale from this seller. I have used it extensively from 2014 through 2020. Sony A58 - Wikipedia states: "The Alpha 58 camera features 20.1 megapixels [APS-C sensor], 5fps burst shooting (8fps in 5MP 'Tele-Zoom' mode), 1080/60i and 1080/24p video in both AVCHD and Mpeg4 formats, 15-point phase-detection autofocus system, ISO range of 100–16000, APS-C sized CMOS sensor, a tiltable 2.7" LCD screen, a high-resolution OLED Tru-Finder with 100% coverage, a built in flash, an ISO 518-compatible Sony hotshoe, a stereo microphone for video shooting and other features." It first shipped in April 2013. The Sony a58 (as well as the earlier Sony a37 and a57 released a year earlier) has a semi-translucent mirror and an SVGA (800x600 pixel) OLED electronic viewfinder in place of an slr optical viewfinder. In many ways it serves as a bridge between digital single lens reflex cameras and mirrorless cameras. The mirror sends a portion of the light to the phase detection focusing sensor and the remainder of the light to the image sensor. The image sensor sends information to the electronic viewfinder as well as records the image. Today's mirrorless cameras have digital image sensors with integrated phase-detection, hence eliminating the need for a translucent mirror. (Sony SLT camera - Wikipedia.) The electronic viewfinder is very bright and clear. I have no problem manually focusing if needed. These translucent mirror cameras still used the Sony/Minolta A series lens mount allowing the use of Minolta autofocus lenses dating back to the February 1985 Minolta Maxxum 7000. For example, I can copy slides using a Minolta AF 50mm macro lens. For the light source I use the base of a Kodak Mobile Film Scanner. (Retail price $35, I bought it used for about $12.) I also use a "2 Way Macro Shot Focusing Focus Rail Slider" which I purchased for about $12. All of this is mounted on a board. (Slide copying setup.) Sony mirrorless cameras use a new E-mount and apparently as of 2022 Sony has "discontinued" all A-mount lenses. (See Sony Discontinues All A-Mount Lenses - PetaPixel.) There are adapters to use A-mount lenses in E-mount cameras, however. Sony is not the first to a semi-transparent or "pellicle" mirror" in cameras. The 1965 Canon Pellix and the 1966 Canon Pellix QL had a pellicle mirrors. (See, e.g., Pellicle mirror - Wikipedia.)
	Nikon D600 (2012) (Large Image) I purchased this used in October 2022 for $430 plus tax from MPB. It was listed as in excellent condition with a shutter count around 9,000. The new price for the Nikon D600 was about $2,100. It was launched in 2012 about the same time as the Canon 6d. The Nikon D600 has a full frame 24 megapixel sensor. It has a traditional optical mirror reflex viewfinder along with a rear live view lcd screen. I got it to try out photography with a full frame sensor. A full frame sensor is 36mm x 24mm, the same dimensions as the image area with 35mm film cameras, for an area of 864 square mm. A Nikon or Sony APS-C camera has a sensor 23.6mm x 15.6mm, or 368.16 square mm, or about 42.6% the area of a full frame camera. (Canon APS-C cameras have slightly smaller sensors.) A micro four thirds sensor is 17.3mm x 13mm, or 224.9 square mm, or 26% the area of a full frame camera. Other common sensor sizes include 1 inch sensors (12.8mm x 9.6mm = 122.88 sq. mm = 14% full frame area) and typical cell phone cameras with 1/2.55 inch sensors (6.17mm x 4.55 = 28 sq. mm = 3.25% full frame area). While there are many factors, larger sensors generally mean more light, better image quality and less noise at high ISOs. Each pixel can be larger compared to a smaller frame camera with a similar number of pixels. (See, e.g., BH Photo - Sensor Size.) It also allows for a shallower depth of field which can be useful in isolating a subject. It also generally means a larger, more expensive camera, with larger more expensive lenses. Many smaller frame cameras also produce excellent images. (See the weight comparisons with my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II camera below.)
As a frugal amateur photographer, I generally considered full-frame cameras out of my price range. The price in the used market has come down, however, and the features of a ten year old camera are still useful today. Prices have especially come down for optical mirror reflex cameras as mirrorless cameras have become more popular. Mirrorless cameras have electronic eyepiece viewfinders. Because the image is produced electronically, an optical reflex system is not needed. Initially, these viewfinders were low resolution. In recent years, however, electronic eyepiece viewfinders have been very bright and high resolution allowing for accurate viewing and manual focusing. They also allow for smaller cameras. Prices of even full-frame mirrorless cameras are becoming competitive with a new Nikon Z5 body about $1,000 as I write this in October 2022.
I got the Nikon D600 to try out full-frame photography. I thought it would be particularly useful photographing the night sky since it is rated highly for low light, high ISO situations. I also am using it to take digital images of old 35mm slides with a macro bellows. I am using a Canon FL macro bellows with an adapter to fit the Nikon F-AI mount of the Nikon D600. The Nikon D600 is also a neat camera for nostalgia reasons. With its optical mirror reflex system and full-frame sensor size, it is a direct descendent of film single lens reflex cameras such as the Nikon F dating back to 1959. It will mount and operate with most Nikon F-AI lenses. I have several old manual focus Nikon lenses to try with it including a Nikon 85mm f1.4 and a Nikon 55mm f1.2. I also have a Tokina 17mm f3.5 AI manual focus lens that Ken Rockwell reviews favorably. The camera will not work with pre-AI Nikon lenses, however, unless those lenses are converted to AI. Old manual lenses, of course, do not autofocus and do not have vibration reduction. The new Nikon Z5, however, has in-camera vibration reduction and can use a variety of lenses with an adapter. I bought three used autofocus lenses around the time I bought this camera. First, is a Nikon AF 24-85mm f3.4-4.5 VR purchased on eBay for about $105 total, including shipping and tax. It was cheaper than most since it has a tiny scratch near the edge of the front element. The scratch should not have any effect on the image quality. Second, I purchased a Tamron AF 28-300mm f3.5-6.3 VR lens in like new condition for about a total of $95 including tax and free shipping. It came with a very nice 67mm B+W UV filter. From my limited experience with it, the image quality appears to be great. The auto focus is not as fast or quiet as the Nikon 24-85mm lens, however. Finally, I bought an older Quantary AF 18-35mm f3.5-4.5 (not image stabilized) lens which seems to be made by Sigma. It was only about $38 total with the tax and should be a fun wide angle lens. It is in excellent condition. When mounting this lens you must set it to f22. Otherwise, you get an error message. My camera and lenses are all in excellent cosmetic condition and seem to work fine so far. The shutter count on the camera is well under 8,000. The Nikon D600 is noted for oil and dust spotting on the sensor due to a problem with the shutter. The Nikon D610 was apparently introduced to fix these problems. Nikon also would replace the shutter on a D600 to fix the problem. This program has expired, however. While I noticed some dust spots on a sky image at f22 with "haze removal" while processing on Photoshop Elements, I cleaned the sensor and have not noticed any dust or oil spots since.
	Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II (2015) (Large Image) I purchased my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II with M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-42 f3.5-5.6 II R Lens, Silver, from Adorama Camera through Target on April 13, 2020 for $299 less $14.95 for the Target 5% Redcard discount, plus $24.14 sales tax for a total of $308.19. It was on sale since by that time the Mark III model had come out. The Mark III has 4K video while the Mark II has only 1080 high definition video. I already had a Sony a58 with a larger APS-C sensor and 20.1 megapixel. I thought the Olympus would be a good camera for hiking, however, with its reasonably small size and much larger sensor than a compact digital camera. The Sony a58 with battery and SD card weighs 573 g, while the Olympus weighs 399 g with battery and SD card. (Ratio of Sony:Olympus = 1.4) The Olympus micro 4/3 sensor size is 17.3mm x 13.0 mm for an area of 224.9 sq mm. That's 26% of the area of a full frame camera and 61% of the area of an ASP-C sized sensor camera, but 183% the area of a camera with a one inch sensor. The weight difference is more evident when comparing it to the full frame Nikon D600. The D600 with 28-85mm lens weighs about 3.1 lbs (1386 grams) while the Olympus with the 14-42mm lens weighs only 1.15 lbs (522 grams). The D600 with the 28-300mm Tamron lens weighs 3.1 lbs (1415 grams) compared to 1.5 lbs (683 grams) for the Olympus with 14-150mm lens. I have used the camera extensively during the first 2.5 years I have had it. The image quality seems great for most of the work I do. A nice advantage is that my camera has in-camera image stabilization.
Olympus was formed in 1919 making microscopes. It still makes microscopes as well as medical equipment such endoscopes. It introduced the microcassette sound recording tape in 1969. Olympus started making cameras in 1936 and over the years have made medium format folding cameras, twin lens reflex cameras, 35mm rangefinder and viewfinder cameras, 35mm Pen half frame cameras, and in 1972 the OM series of single lens reflex (SLR) cameras. The Olympus OM-1 was the smallest and lightest 35mm SLR camera. (See the excellent Olympus History Page.) Many of these cameras can be found in the Rangefinder and SLR sections of Mr. Martin's Museum. The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II has a remarkable resemblance to the 1972 Olympus OM-1 as seen in these photographs: front, top, back. I have been asked multiple times while using my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II if I was shooting with film! Olympus also has a long history of digital cameras, most recently the OM-D mirrorless micro 4/3 series. Olympus sold off its camera division in 2020. The new camera company is now called OM Digital Systems.
While the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II looks like a digital single lens reflex camera, it is actually a mirrorless camera. While it has an eyepiece, the image in the eyepiece is electronic. Early electronic eyepiece images were not very high resolution making manual focusing difficult or impossible. Recent electronic eyepieces are very high resolution making easy to tell if the image is in focus. I also like that you can review the image in the eyepiece which is very helpful in bright sunlight where it is difficult to see the back screen. Mirrorless cameras also make it easy to use adapters to use vintage lenses. Adapters have always been available. For example, I could get an adapter to use a Nikon lens on a Canon SLR. The problem is that the adapter sticks the lens out too far and it will hence no longer focus at a distance. It is like putting on an extension tube. You can get adapters that have an optical element in them to allow focusing at infinity. You are really changing the quality of the optics, however, with that additional element. With mirrorless cameras, the camera lens mount is closer to the sensor since you don't have to make room for a mirror and a pentaprism. Adapters therefore don't make the lens stick out tofar. Rather, they are made the right length to allow focus at infinity with no optical element. I purchased several inexpensive (e.g. $10) adapters to allow me to use Nikon F, Canon FL/FD, Olympus OM, Pentax screw mount, Minolta and other manual focus lenses on my Olympus OM-D camera. The camera meter works using aperture preferred metering. You must use lenses that have an aperture ring. The smaller micro 4/3 format results in a 2 times "crop factor" compared to the full frame format. For example, a 50mm lens will have the same angle of view as a 100mm lens on a full frame camera. With Olympus' in-camera image stabilization, these old lenses effectively become image stabilized.
My camera came with a Olympus 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens which is only about 5.5cm long in its retracted locked position. In its working position, it extends to about 7 to 8cm long. The filter size is only 37mm. I also purchased used Olympus Fisheye Converter FCON-P01. It fits over the front element of the Olympus 14-42 lens. At its widest position it gives an angle of view at least as wide as a 18mm lens on a full frame camera. There is obvious fish-eye distortion, however, compared to my Quantary AF 18-35mm discussed under the Nikon D600. While not as good as a true wide angle lens, it is well built, gives quality images, and is easy to install and remove with its bayonet mount. I actually returned one of these converters thinking it did not fit. I did not realize that there is a small silver ring on the front of the Olympus 14-42 which you must unscrew before putting on the converter. The second lens I purchased was an Olympus 40-150mm f4-5.6 purchased used in excellent condition from KEH for just under $70 including tax. (See Photo of four lenses.) The 14-42mm and 40-150mm gave me a nice range with an angle of view the same as 28-300mm on a full frame camera. I found myself frequently needing to change from one lens to another while hiking, however. I, therefore, purchased an Olympus 14-150mm f4-5.6. A new 14-150mm lens costs around $550. (This is for the version II.) Used, they are usually over $200. I purchased one on eBay for a total of $95.48 including tax. It has the same angle of view as a 28-300mm which is great for over 90% of my photography. The lens has two disclosed flaws, however, in the front element. First, it has a very small smudge in the middle of the front element. Second, a little off of center it has an area of concentric rings which you can only see when looking at the front element from the side. I think the front element may be made of two pieces of glass cemented together and perhaps both problems may be some sort of separation. (See, e.g., KEH Blog - Lens Separation.) The flaws sound bad, but you don't even see them unless you look closely. I've used the lens extensively over two years and have not noticed a problem in the images. It does bug me somewhat, however, and if I could find a "parts only" lens for cheap with a good front element, I would buy it. You can take out the front element of this lens by simply removing a few screws. My third lens is an Olympus 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 which I purchased used for a total of $66.31 on eBay. That was a great deal since new these sell for $450. I think this sold for cheap since it had some sticky stuff on the front of the lens. This came off easily, however, and the lens is in excellent condition. It is great for wildlife photos. My fourth lens is a manual focus 12mm, f2 Rokinon lens. I bought it used in excellent condition on eBay with a B+W 67mm UV filter for a total of $173.42 including shipping and tax. I got it primarily to try some night sky photography. It has the same angle of view as a 24mm full frame camera lens.