QuickTake 100

The QuickTake 100 was a digital camera that was announced by Apple Computer in Febuary 1994. It was the first model of the QuickTake line.

Description
The QuickTake 100 was first shown at Macworld Expo Tokyo in Japan on February 17, 1994, exhibited for the first time in America at the trade show, and released for sale on June 20 of that year. The initial list price was 749. It was one of the first digital cameras marketed to consumers, emphasizing ease of use. It received a in 1995, and early reviews were enthusiastic about the industrial design and ease of use. Two separate models (for Macintosh or Windows) were sold; the bundled software and serial cable were specific to the host computer's operating system, but the camera hardware itself was identical. The Windows version of the QuickTake 100 was released by December 1994. The CCD sensor was claimed to be derived from the sensor fitted to the SLR.

The camera had a built-in flash, but no focus or zoom controls, as the fixed- lens had an equivalent as a  for a  camera; the fixed-focus lens captured a range from 4 ft to infinity; autoexposure was set by the camera, which controlled both shutter speeds (ranging from $1/undefined$ to $1/undefined$) and aperture (from f/2.8 to f/2.8) using a film speed equivalent to ISO 85. The flash has a maximum range of 9 ft.

The QuickTake 100 was capable of storing eight photos at 640×480 resolution, 32 photos at 320×240 resolution, or a mixture of both sizes. All photos were stored in 24-bit color. There was no way to preview them on the camera, nor was there any way to delete individual photos from the camera (though there was a recessed 'trash' button which would delete the entire contents of the camera). The bundled Apple QuickTake software was used to retrieve photographs from the camera's internal memory, providing basic editing tools (rotating, resizing, and cropping) and allowing the user to select a file format and color bit depth for export.

Upgrade path
In 1995, the QuickTake 100 was superseded by the QuickTake 150, in which Apple retained the underlying Kodak hardware while improving the image compression technology. The improved compression enabled the QuickTake 150 to capture 16 best-quality or 32 standard-quality images, with either quality level now stored at the full resolution of 640×480 in the 1 MB of built-in EPROM storage. Apple offered a factory upgrade to the QuickTake 100, changing the name to the QuickTake 100 Plus, which included all the functionality of the QuickTake 150.

Articles

 * Retro Apple: The QuickTake 100 Digital Camera by Steve Sande at Rocket Yard (2020-08-18)
 * Retro Apple: The QuickTake 100 digital camera by Steve Sande at Engadget (2009-07-29)
 * Retro Chic – Apple QuickTake 100 (1994) by Dan Grabham at Stuff (2010-10-14)
 * Gadget Hall of Fame: Apple QuickTake 100 by Esat Dedezade at Stuff (2016-07-06)
 * QuickTake was Apple’s first doomed foray into digital photography by David Pierini at Cult of Mac (2015-07-16)
 * Throwback Thursday: Apple QuickTake cameras, pioneers of consumer digital photography by Jeff Keller at Digital Photography Review (2016-12-29)