The Kodak DCS 100
May 1991
A Nikon F3 with a 1.3-megapixel Kodak sensor, wired to a shoulder-bag hard drive. The first digital SLR sold commercially, at about $20,000.
How it began
Kodak, where Steven Sasson had built the first digital camera, fitted a sensor to the back of a Nikon F3. Launched in 1991, the DCS 100 was aimed at newspapers.
How it works
The CCD sensor replaced the film back. Images went by cable to a Digital Storage Unit carried on the shoulder, which held about 150 pictures and had a small screen. Pictures could be sent by phone line.
Why it mattered
It showed that digital pictures could reach a newsroom minutes after an event. Agencies bought it, and the DCS line set the pattern of a professional digital SLR built on a film body.
Limits and what replaced it
It was costly, heavy and low in resolution. Self-contained cameras like the Nikon D1 made it obsolete by 1999.
Today
The start of the digital SLR; Kodak’s DCS line ran until 2005.