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Well, what is the rush of the 3rd Era?
....The popular digital camera.



Sony and Olympus who are trying to keep in the race, have really made hot news in the digital camera world. There is always new information floating around on the on-line system, even making a small comment would probably need more than 24 hours. But me being me, an amateur who enjoys photography as a hobby to a degree, I'd like to say a little more about this topic...

The digital camera has been used by professionals and in media situations for quite a while now. There was the popular large scale Mabika and the Q-PIC, but taking a quick look at these and the visual points of the digital cameras in the last few years, I hope you will be able to sort them out by reading the following..

The first era: Until the era of the Fuji Dije and the Apple Quick Take 100, it was the period that only a very few people 'those people' could enjoy the cameras. Other mainstream people didn't have them.

The second era: I don't think it's an exaggeration to say the Casio QV-10 opened the door and made digital cameras popular with the general user. Attached with the no-fuss LCD illumination, it really was the era of rivalry and trial and error with cameras that had very good picture quality. The camera that really represents the period of maturity is probably the Ricoh DC-21 and the Fuji DS-7. And as a follower there was the Kodak DC20.

The third era: The camera that opened the digital camera door even further? ...well you have to say the Sony DSC and the Olympus Camedia etc are products that established their clear concepts and individuality. I'm sure other companies will put out their products but, you could say the strength of the end of the 2nd era and the 3rd era is splitting the path of destiny...

Is the Canon PowerShot 600 a transitional product of the 2nd era and the 3rd era? (this is not such a bad thing!)

Within a year, many digital cameras have been released.


I don't think you can go past the QV-10, but what about comparing it with the later products...With the influence of the QV fever, the cameras have got the scale merit benefits of the middle of the road cameras. All cameras seem to have improved their quality(there are some that haven't) and the picture has got better (some haven't), and the price has come down, but when you look at the point of time and picture, it doesn't seem to have moved so fast.

We are expecting the appearance of a breathtaking camera which is suitable to open the door of the 3rd phase of cameras. These might be the Sony Digital camera, Olympus Digital Camera and the Plus Retcase Bell, however actually they are still not on the market. The Sony is equipped with the continuous shooting function and the periphial red line interface, which is tremendously ambitious and new speck. It really is the age where by putting a camera near a personal computer terminal, pictures can be sucked through from the camera!!

With the Olympus camera, as a camera maker, of course you can see the difference in picture quality, but as the maker who produced the first compact camera in Japan, there is an amazing passion that is poured into the camera. Along with it being a big name in the market of top quality picture digital cameras, it is a low price top quality product and this, we, the general consumers are very grateful for. But on the other hand, there is another 'toy' I am looking forward to..

It's the advanced camera of the 2nd era, the Kodak DC20. I bought the 3rd model DC20 camera and I remember thinking then with deep emotion "wow, digital cameras have come a long way!!" The digital camera which was being sold at Yodobashi Camera for 29800 yen was a camera that you could use with a feeling of ease. On top of that, it came with an All in one pack connection kit. The soft disc which came with it was a masterpiece which was able to change the shape of a face that had been taken, and it really had the sensation of being a great 'toy'.

The progress of the hardware and it's surrounds was remarkable. I think there should be more carefree cameras that are able to change the total shape and structure of the picture, which is supported by light. Only, the Japanese makers who say these cameras are only for the pleasure of the people is something which I don't like.

The digital camera has taken over from the old style cameras.

There's really proof that they have appeared. Only 1 year ago I imagined them, now they are here..

The picture quality of the old type camera is positively good and I think this difference will be with us for a while yet, but since I started using the Ricoh DC-IS digital camera from this half to the year, I've really reduced using the old type film. For an amateur like me, using the old type film when walking around taking snapshots etc, really is a nusiance.

Perhaps it will be the end when prints can be done with colour negs. If the photos that are taken with the Ricoh DC-IS are retouched and printed with Nikon Cool Print, you are able to get a very good effect.

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I was about 1st year at High School when the walkman was released, and at that time, I was crazy about audio and I used to make original planned amps and also make speaker boxes trying not to use money. It was the time that if you mentioned cassette tape, the word 'recorder' would follow...the black and white audio tapes that were for recording live rock etc. However the TCD5M cassette tapes were few and far between.

In the middle of all this..the walkman.

"you can only hear sound?" what use is that!! Why not just listen to a stereo.. is it good sound??

In the middle of these, the first time I listened to the sound in a shop, I was really quite impressed. I had the same feeling as when a chill runs down your spine. I'm so happy that the time has come when we can have real experiences with things in the fields that really excite me.


Me, being a Macintosh user cum amateur photographer and a salaryman, I have found myself doing several activities like writing articles about digital cameras in recent publications, and teaching about the IPMJ. For people like me who are interested in these things, please feel free to visit my home page. I'm going to prepare an english version (a subsetting Japanese version) for the middle of September.