Nikon Coolpix E100

My Nikon Coolpix E100 camera.

Since this is the last entry for January, which for my blog is dedicated as "digital month, "I thought I'd write about one of the earlier digital cameras I have in my collection, the Coolpix E100, which was introduced in 1996 and released to the public in 1997. Understanding its place in digital photography history helps collectors and history buffs appreciate how far technology has come.

 It was Nikon's first consumer-based digital camera, soon after Apple's QuickTake, Kodak's DC40, Casio's QV-11, and Sony's Cyber-Shot, which came out between 1994 and 1996. At the time, one of the selling points of the Coolpix E100 was that it worked easily with home computers of that era. This is where I had difficulty writing the article; let me explain.

 I purchased the Nikon Coolpix E100 about 10 years ago for a reasonable price from a Nikon collector who had bought it new when it was released. At the time, he was reluctant to part with the camera since it was Nikon's first foray into consumer digital cameras. I remember receiving the camera, thinking it was very odd and quirky-looking, but it held a special place in my collection as a piece of digital photography history, and it was in good working condition from what I could tell. It also came with the original Nikon Neoprene case, with slots on the back for attaching it to a belt, making it a tangible link to the early days of digital photography.

 The Nikon Coolpix E100 has two specific parts: the bottom of the camera, which houses the batteries, and the top portion, or main part of the camera, which has the lens, shutter, and memory, including a built-in PCMCIA card, which at the time was new technology. I'll go into more detail about the camera below in the "My Camera" section.

Closer view of Nikon Coolpix E100

 On the side of the camera are clips that you press in, and the top portion pulls out of the bottom section, allowing the photographer to insert the PCMCIA portion into the computers of the time, which had a PCMCIA slot. Since the camera powered on and showed it was taking a photo, I needed to transfer the images to my computer to view them, so I purchased a PCMCIA card reader for my Mac. Unfortunately, the PCMCIA readers only read newer PCMCIA cards with ATA, not older ones.

 With my frustrations growing, I decided to visit some local used computer shops and either borrow a computer for a day or two or purchase one cheaply. None of the stores had something this old, but a good friend said he had one he'd give to me. When he showed it to me, it appeared to have a PCMCIA slot, but when I plugged it in, it wasn't as it appeared: it was an Express slot, not a PCMCIA slot, which is what I needed.

 Now I was at the point where I either gave up or pursued it until I found what was needed. I was taught as a young child to have "stick-to-itiveness", so looking on eBay, I think I found what I needed, and purchased a computer, hoping it was correct, but it didn't have a power supply. I purchased a variable-voltage power supply, so when the computer arrived, I'd have a working computer with a working PCMCIA slot to download the images from.

 The computer arrived, I powered it up, and to my gleeful surprise, it worked. The one other thing I needed to navigate was using a 25-year-old PC, but my PC memory bank refreshed. I slipped the PCMCIA portion of the camera into the slot, and the "camera" showed up as another disk drive, and the images were there too, WOOHOO!!!

 I downloaded the images onto a thumb drive so I could transfer them to my MAC to look at them, and to my surprise, these images were tiny. The largest file taken was only 49kb. All this trouble for images that are so tiny compared to what we have today.

 I had initially planned to write about the Nikon Coolpix E100 as the first camera for "digital month." Still, the difficulty of finding a working computer from that era was the main reason I had to push the article off until the final week.

Nikon Digital History:

 While Nikon dominated the professional film era with its "F" mount system, its digital evolution was defined by early collaborations, a brief period of playing catch-up, and eventually, the reclamation of its professional pedigree.

French Brochure for Nikon Coolpix E100 camera

 Nikon's digital roots actually trace back to the mid-80s with "Still Video" prototypes, but the true journey began through partnerships. In the early 1990s, Nikon collaborated with Kodak to produce the DCS (Digital Camera System) series. These were essentially Nikon F3 or F5 bodies modified with massive, tethered Kodak digital backs.

 In 1995, Nikon partnered with Fujifilm to create the E-series, specifically the E2 and E2s. These used a unique optical system to shrink a full-frame image onto a tiny 2/3-inch sensor, maintaining the field of view of Nikon lenses. While innovative, these were bulky and expensive, serving as a bridge to the true digital revolution.

 The Coolpix E100 was Nikon's attempt to bring its optical expertise to the burgeoning consumer electronics space. It was a pocketable (by 1997 standards) silver-bodied camera that signaled a major shift in Nikon's business strategy: making digital technology accessible to everyday users.

 What made the E100 particularly significant in Nikon's history was its storage and connectivity. It utilized PCMCIA (PC Card) Type II cards. At a time when many competitors were struggling with slow serial cables or proprietary storage, the E100's card could be plugged directly into a laptop's PC card slot. This allowed for (then) rapid image transfers, a workflow convenience that Nikon would continue to prioritize in its later professional lines.

 Everything changed in 1999 with the release of the Nikon D1. Before the D1, professional digital cameras cost upwards of $20,000. Nikon shocked the industry by releasing a fully integrated digital SLR for under $6,000. It used the D5's film-body ergonomics and featured a 2.7-megapixel APS-C (DX-format) sensor. This camera proved that digital was no longer a specialized tool for news agencies—it was the future of professional photography.

 As the industry shifted toward mirrorless technology, Nikon launched the Z-mount system in 2018 with the Z6 and Z7. The new mount featured a much larger diameter and a shorter flange distance, allowing for optical designs that were physically impossible on the old F-mount. This culminated in the Z9 (2021), a flagship that famously ditched the mechanical shutter entirely, signaling Nikon's total commitment to a digital-first, mirrorless future.

My Camera:

 The Nikon Coolpix E100 is a long, slim camera, measuring 6" long by 2 3/8" wide by 1 3/8" deep from the front of the lens to the rear of the camera, and weighs 5.8 ounces without the four "AA" batteries which power the camera. The camera has a 6.2mm (equivalent to a 52mm on 35mm film) F/4 fixed focus lens, along with macro capability which can focus between 5.5 "-9". 

The camera has a 1/3" CCD chip with 330,000 square pixels (0.33 megapixel) with a maximum resolution of 512x480 dots, which writes to an internal 1 mb PCMCIA card in the body of the camera. The Nikon Coolpix E100 has a shutter speed range of 1/45 to 1/10,000 on a charge-coupled device (CCD) electronic shutter. I found the Nikon Coolpix E100 manual on the Nikon website.

 One of the more interesting features of the camera is that, as mentioned previously, it separates into two sections. By pressing two buttons on the side of the camera, the top portion, which houses the memory card, lens, shutter system, flash, etc., separates from the lower portion, which holds the shutter release and the four "AA" batteries that power the camera. To add the batteries, the front of the battery cover has rows you slide down to show where the batteries are placed.

Looking at the top of the camera, on the left side is the On/Off switch, which you press down to activate or deactivate the camera's power. Once the camera is "on", at the very top is a small LCD screen that lets the photographer choose different functions. 

 The first function you can set on the camera is the Date and time function. If you hold the "Quality" button while turning the camera "on" on the LCD, you can see the M/D/Y functions, and pressing the "Mode" button lets you set and change the different settings. Once the Date is set, you can use the same function to turn off the camera, then back on while holding the "Quality" button to do the same for the time function.

 In the top left is a "Mode" button that lets the photographer pick 10 sec. self-timer on the camera, along with red-eye reduction. Below the "Mode" is the thunderbolt for flash settings. These settings are On, Off, or Auto.

In the upper-right corner of the LCD is the "Quality" button, which you can set to "Fine" or "Normal". On the empty PCMCIA card, Normal mode allows you to take 36 images, and Fine mode allows 18 before the card is full. There is also an "Erase" button in the lower-right corner that lets you delete the last photo taken.

 On the back side of the camera is the viewfinder. Looking inside the viewfinder, there are outer lines used for the normal settings, and internal lines for when you're shooting in "macro" mode. Under the viewfinder is a "ready" light that turns green when you depress the shutter button halfway, indicating that the camera's light meter and flash are ready for you to take a photo. On the right side of the camera is a switch to switch the camera to "macro" shooting mode.

Once you've taken the photos and want to see them, you'll need to separate the camera and slide the PCMCIA card into your computer. Make sure you press the card firmly into the slot so the computer recognizes it as a new drive, and the images appear on it. From there, you can view them in your favorite imaging software, as they are saved in JPG format.

My Images:

 I went around and took both Normal and Fine images around my office. The quality of the images compared to today's is poor, as you can see in the posted images and in Photoshop screenshots showing image sizes and resolution.

Conclusion:

 Holding the camera vertically and having the shutter release on the front make it simple to use, and looking through the viewfinder to frame your photo is easy because the frame lines are bright and easy to see.

 I'm certainly happy to have this camera in my collection, as it's an odd and quirky example of early Nikon consumer-based cameras. The most frustrating part was the hassle of having to look at the poor-quality images the camera produces. 

 The one positive thing that came out of this process is that I now have a working PC from the late 1990s, and I did get to see the images the camera produces. It may be time to invest in other early digital cameras, as they might be the next goldmine for collectors, and I'll have a working computer that people can use to see their images, too.

 Thank you for taking some time to hear about my escapades in procuring a computer to view the images the Nikon Coolpix E100 produced. I hope you learned a bit about the camera in the process.

 Here's a link to my other Camera Reviews.

 I also have an online eBay store, Cuny's Cameras and Photo, where I sell the cameras I've reviewed, along with other camera oddities. If you find something you like, send me a note, and I'm happy to offer a discount.

 Until next week, please be safe.

Sony Mavica MVC-FD5

My Sony Maniac MVC-FD5 camera.

I started working in a retail camera shop way back in 1975. The store where I worked was dominated by non-professional photographers, with more of a consumer-based customer base. We sold a lot of film and processed a lot of film. At that time, the store where I worked had a good mix of simple cameras, such as the Kodak Instamatic, and some of the more basic Polaroid models of pack cameras. 

 But if you wandered over to the more professional side of the store, the cameras on that side of the store had Nikon F and Nikkormat, Minolta SRT series, Canon FTb, Pentax Spotmatic, mainly single-lens reflex and simpler rangefinder cameras were available. The market in our store didn't offer higher-end brands such as Leica, Hasselblad, or large-format brands like Sinar or Toyo.

My camera with floppy disk, and manual

 The owner of the camera shop was always looking at new technology and ways to set us apart from the other local camera stores. I still remember back in 1988, when we were introduced to "new technology" that didn't capture images on film. Still, it was a rather small 2" floppy disk. The odd thing about this new revolutionary camera was that it didn't come from a "regular" camera company, but from the major consumer electronics firm from Japan, Sony. At that time, Sony was known to most Americans for their radios, televisions, and other electronics.

 The camera was named the Mavica (magnetic video camera) MVC-C1 which was a consumer based camera which was flat shaped, that fit well in your hand, and held a 2" floppy disk called the Mavipak. At the time, these were what we consider "digital images", but rather Still Video Images recorded onto the floppy disk, and intended to be played back on your television. You could record up to fifty images on the Mavipak. Once the images were taken, you'd connect the camera to your television using the MAP-T1 adapter and display the images on the television screen.

 In December 1988, Canon introduced a similar camera, the XapShop. It too was a similar-shaped camera that captured still video images on a 2" floppy disk. While both cameras were making a splash in the market, it wasn't until early 1989 that the Sony MVC-C1 became readily available to consumers.

 At the time, the idea of capturing images on a floppy disk was odd, and the image quality was poor. Also, when the camera was introduced, it had a hefty price of $650.00 for the Sony and a similar price for the Canon XapShot kit, which, for our consumer-based market, was a steep purchase.

 Still, the owner of the camera stores thought well enough of the cameras that we picked up a few of both the Sony and Canon lines of still video cameras, and for a while, we did well selling them to the early adopters in the community. These were the same people who had early Motorola mobile phones.

Sony Digital History:

 Sony's ascent to the top of the digital imaging world didn't happen overnight; it was the result of decades of transition from analog video heritage to high-resolution silicon. While many associate the "digital revolution" with the late 90s, Sony's groundwork began much earlier with a device that wasn't technically digital, but fundamentally changed how we perceived photography.

Sony Mavica advertisement.

 In 1981, Sony unveiled the Mavica (Magnetic Video Camera). It is often cited as the spark for the digital revolution, though it was actually a "still video" camera. Instead of film, it recorded analog signals onto a proprietary 2-inch floppy disk called the "Mavipak." While the resolution was equivalent to just 0.28 megapixels and intended for television viewing, it proved that the industry could move away from chemical processing toward instant gratification.

 It wasn't until the late 1980s and early 1990s that Sony moved into fully digital territory. In 1988, they introduced the MVC-C1, the first Mavica aimed at consumers. However, the real breakthrough for the masses arrived in 1996 with the Cyber-shot DSC-F1. This camera featured a distinctive swiveling lens, a built-in flash, and a 1.8-inch color LCD screen—a luxury at the time. It utilized a 0.35-megapixel CCD sensor and marked the birth of the "Cyber-shot" brand, which would dominate the point-and-shoot market for the next two decades.

 In 1997, Sony released the Digital Mavica MVC-FD5 and FD7. These were iconic because they used standard 3.5-inch floppy disks as storage media. While competitors were struggling with expensive, proprietary cables and software, Sony users could pop their disk into any PC and view their photos instantly. This ease of use allowed Sony to capture roughly 40% of the digital camera market by the end of the 1990s.

 As the 2000s began, Sony pivoted from a gadget manufacturer to a serious contender in the optics market. By acquiring Konica Minolta's camera business in 2006, Sony gained the mechanical "know-how" of traditional SLR systems. This led to the birth of the Alpha series.

From the experimental Mavica to the launch of the first full-frame mirrorless systems, Sony's beginning was defined by a willingness to abandon tradition in favor of electronic innovation. They didn't just join the camera industry; they forced it to go digital.

My Camera:

 My Sony Mavica MVC-FD5 was introduced in late 1997 or early 1998. It's a fairly large camera, measuring 5" wide by 4.25" tall by 2" deep, and it weighs 1 pound, 5.7 ounces with the battery, strap, and a 3.5" floppy disk installed. The camera has a 4.8mm F/2.0 lens, equivalent to a 47mm lens on a 35mm camera. The camera is a fixed focus camera and in normal mode will focus to approximately 4' from the lens. The camera does have a macro lens. Under the flash, there is a sliding bar you slide to put the camera in macro mode; then the focus distance is 3"-9" from the lens surface. 

The images are recorded onto a standard 3.5" floppy disk (1.44mb) which is inserted into the camera through a door on the left side of the camera. On the back of the camera, in the lower left corner is a switch which says, "open". Sliding the button down, opens the door where you insert the 3.5" floppy disk. To remove the disk, press the button inside the disk's door, and the floppy will be ejected. 

 The camera records images at 640 x 480 resolution in JPEG format and has two shooting modes: Standard and Fine. Each floppy disk will hold 30-40 standard images or 15-20 fine images.

All the controls on the Sony Mavica MVC-FD5 camera are located on the back. The controls are around the main 2.5" screen, which has a total of 61380 dots. Once the camera is turned on, which is done by a sliding switch to the right of the screen, named "power on/off". Slide the switch down to turn the camera on, and to shut it off, slide it down again.

It's very interesting, and something I didn't remember from owning this camera soon after it came out in the late 1990s. Still, once you turn the camera "on, and there's a floppy disk in the camera, you'll hear a noise of the internal disk drive spinning and making sounds because the camera is checking the disk, making sure it's seated correctly and can write to it. It's also the sound you hear when you switch the button on the back of the camera from "play" to "camera," or vice versa, as the camera spins the disk to read images or prepare to accept them. It also makes a sound when in "play" mode, as you go from one image to another. Here's a short video of turning on the camera and taking a photo.

Video showing the camera being powered on and the time to record an image with camera sounds.

Once the camera is powered "on", most controls are set via a rocker switch and a button to the lower right of the camera's screen. As mentioned previously, there is also a switch for "camera" or "play" which allows the camera's settings to be set in each mode. If you press the rocker switch when it's in the "camera" mode, a menu will pop up with options for Clock Set, Beep, Field/Frame, Quality, and Return.

In the "play" mode, the menu settings are Clock Set, Beep, Format Disk, Delete, Protect, and Return. Interestingly, Clock Set and Beep are in both the camera and play menu. 

One other button on the back of the camera is "display," which turns the menu on or off on the camera or in play settings. It lets you focus on the images on the screen without being distracted by menu settings that can cover parts of the screen.

 Once the clock settings are set, you've turned on/off the beep sound, and you have the floppy disk in the camera. You're ready to power on the camera to take a photo. When you turn on the camera, you'll hear disk noises, see the date pop up on the back, and, in the upper right corner, see a spinning circle indicating the disk is turning inside the camera. Now you're ready to take photos.

 The camera doesn't have a viewfinder, so once the camera is powered on, and the screen has gotten past the time function, you've seen the spinning disk, the camera will go into "live" mode, where you'll see the images you're pointing the camera at on the back screen. Like many cameras from this era, the screen is dark, and you can barely see an image on a bright, sunny day. You can brighten or darken the screen with two switches to the left of the screen, named "bright" with a "+" on the top button, and a "-" on the bottom.

There is no shutter or aperture control on the camera, as exposure is automatically controlled. You can make the images brighter or darker by up to 1.5 stops by changing the EV setting on the camera's screen once the camera is turned on and in "camera" mode.

 Another oddity of this camera, as with more modern cameras, is that the Sony Mavica MVC FD5 doesn't display the "just taken" photo on the screen once it's captured. To see that image, you'll need to switch from "camera" to "play" mode. The camera will whizz the floppy disk, and you can preview the previously taken image. In the "play" mode, you can view either single images by pressing the arrows forward to backwards, or you can press "index" so you can display a series of six images at a time and scroll to the image you want to see, and press the rocker button to display. PLEASE REMEMBER: every time you switch from one image to the other, the camera displays a message on the back screen that says "accessing file," and it takes a few seconds to show the image.

 In the "play" menu, you can also "protect" or "delete" images. Still, like the other settings, it takes a few seconds for the camera to complete the request, since it's basically a small computer with a built-in floppy disk and has to find, access, and complete the request you're making.

 At the bottom of the camera is the door, which you open and insert the charged battery to power the camera. The camera's battery isn't rated in shots, but in time. Once you power the camera "on", in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, you see the time in minutes remaining on the battery before recharging is needed.

My Images:

 My wife, daughter, daughter's dog, Bean, and I went for a walk on the town's downtown walkway on the Columbia River. It's a relatively new section of town with shops, restaurants, and housing. It was a sunny and somewhat warm January day in the Portland, OR area, so I took the camera on our trip.

 Since it was a bright sunny day, the rear screen was difficult to see, especially when you're trying to have the sun on the subject, meaning the sun is also hitting the screen as you're taking the images.

 Another interesting fact is that these files are small. Even the largest files the camera produced were only 70kb for Fine and 34kb for Standard images. These were specifically made for viewing on your computer or television, and are not really intended to be printed, especially not anything larger than the standard 3x5 photo.

 Here are some images from our walk.

Conclusion:

 I never would have guessed that a 2-inch floppy disk would eventually bring the Nikon F's reign to an end. The MVC-FD5 wasn't a 'pro' tool—it couldn't compete with a Hasselblad for clarity—but it offered something those giants couldn't: the end of the waiting period. It traded resolution for time, a trade-off that eventually redefined the entire industry.

 It's interesting for the young photographers of today to compare this camera to what's available on our phones; it's an eye-opening comparison:

Camera: Sony Mavica MVC-FD5 (1997) Modern Smartphone (Approx.)

Resolution: 0.3 Megapixels (640 x 480) 12 - 48 Megapixels

Storage Media: 3.5" Floppy Disk (1.44 MB) Internal Flash (128 GB+)

Photo Capacity: ~20 "Fine" Image 30,000+ Images

Write Speed: ~4-6 Seconds per photo Instant

 I had owned this camera sometime in the late 1990s. It wasn't long after it was introduced that I purchased a used one. It was in 1999 when I had one. 

 Thinking back, this was a pretty fun camera to shoot with, and now that I have it again, it's fun to hear it make the different noises as it accesses the files to show on the screen. The images are very small and, as mentioned, made for screen viewing, not much resolution to make prints from. Even by today's computer standards, the images look very pixilated due to the higher resolution of today's screens.

 I'm happy to have this camera back in my collection, more as a marker of digital photography's growth than something I'm going to use daily. It is, just like with older film cameras, fun to see how these image-making machines have progressed over time.

 Thank you for taking the time to read a bit about this older digital camera from my collection. Next week will be the final installment of January's Early Digital month, and I have a rare and good one for you. Please remember to keep an eye out for it.

 Here are some of my other Camera Reviews.

 I also have a store on eBay, Cuny's Cameras and Photo, where I sell some of the cameras reviewed, along with many other camera odds and ends. If there's something that interests you, drop me a line, and I'll offer a discount.

 Until next week, please be safe,

 

Canon PowerShot 350

My Canon PowerShot 350 camera

It wasn't until after my almost twenty years working in a retail camera shop that digital cameras became increasingly popular. At the time, in the late 1990s, I was working in management for professional photo laboratories in the San Francisco Bay Area, a real hotbed for technology. Since I was still working within the photo industry, not in retail but with highly professional photographers, the conversations would be about what cameras and technology they were using.

 Digital photography was in its infancy, and for a professional commercial photographer to go digital during this time cost around $100,000, so there were very few who did. For the commercial photo laboratories, there were conversations about the "death of film", which many laughed at, and if they did take it seriously, it wasn't for many years down the road, and nothing that would happen overnight.

 Not only was the digital craze happening for professional photographers, but also in the consumer market. One of the first digital cameras our family owned was the Canon PowerShot 350. The camera for this blog post is one I purchased recently. When it arrived in the original box, with the manual, software, and many of the original cables, I felt a wave of nostalgia and warmth, recalling family trips and vacations from the late 1990s.

Boxed Canon PowerShot 350, just missing a few items

 As I picked up the camera to refamiliarize myself, my initial thought was that its design and features seemed amateurish compared to today's cameras. It was for the camera manufacturer! What features made sense for the family photographer who, at the time, had a home computer used for word processing, games, and other family entertainment? There was no online entertainment, as the fastest online connection was via a phone line at 28.8 or 33.6 kbps, or, if you were really advanced, 56 Kbps (kilobites per second). The internet was in its infancy, and companies like AOL's "You Have Mail" were dominant in the online world.

 It's interesting to think back on those years. 1997 was also the year I signed up for this online selling platform. At the time, it was very similar to a message board, devoid of photos. You had almost to write code just to sell or purchase items. Everything was done via text, so you had to trust the description of the item only by what the seller was telling you. When the company added the ability to add photos in the early 2000s, it was a great benefit.

 I can still remember that there were no names of people you'd buy from or sell to, but just a number. My number at the time was 1134, and today that company is eBay, the juggernaut of buying and selling mainly used items online.

 I've written about Canon's history before, so in this brief history segment, I decided to focus more on its digital camera history.

History:

 Canon's digital camera history dates back to the mid‑1990s and traces a steady evolution from low‑resolution consumer compacts to today's high‑performance mirrorless and professional systems. Building on decades of film‑camera expertise, especially its EOS SLR system introduced in 1987, Canon created a coherent digital ecosystem of bodies, lenses, and accessories that showcases impressive innovation.

1997 Brochure for Canon PowerShot 350

 The first significant step into consumer digital stills came with the PowerShot 600 in 1996, a compact camera with a 0.3‑megapixel sensor that signaled Canon's commitment to mainstream digital imaging despite its modest specifications. This model launched the long‑running PowerShot line, which would expand into numerous point‑and‑shoot families aimed at travelers, families, and enthusiasts through the late 1990s and 2000s.​

Canon's professional digital efforts grew out of its EOS film SLR platform, which debuted in 1987 as a fully electronic mount system and provided an ideal foundation for autofocus and electronic communication in digital bodies. 

 Early digital EOS models were often developed in cooperation with other companies. Still, in 2000, Canon released the EOS D30, its first digital SLR designed and manufactured entirely in‑house, pairing an APS‑C sensor with the existing EF lens mount.​

 Through the early 2000s, Canon rapidly expanded its DSLR lineup, targeting entry‑level, enthusiast, and professional users with a range of EOS digital bodies that shared a standard lens system. A landmark arrived in 2005 with the EOS 5D, widely noted as the first relatively affordable full‑frame DSLR, bringing a 35 mm‑sized sensor and strong low‑light performance to a broader audience than previous flagship‑level models.​​

Alongside DSLRs, Canon continued to refine compact digital cameras, including the stylish Digital ELPH/IXUS series that emphasized portability and automated shooting modes for casual photographers. These compacts helped popularize digital photography worldwide before smartphones began to erode demand for dedicated point‑and‑shoots in the 2010s.​

 In the late 2010s and into the 2020s, Canon shifted its emphasis toward mirrorless digital systems while continuing to support EOS DSLRs, reflecting an industry‑wide shift toward smaller bodies, electronic viewfinders, and advanced on‑sensor autofocus technologies. Across this progression—from the PowerShot 600 to full‑frame DSLRs and modern mirrorless lines—Canon's digital history is defined by continuous integration of new sensor, processor, and lens innovations into a unified imaging system.​

My Camera:

 My Canon PowerShot 350 is a comfortable camera to hold in your hand and is 3.5" wide by 3.75" tall, and 2" deep, and weighs only 10.2 ounces without 3-AA size batteries to power the camera. You can use rechargeable batteries, or, if you prefer, Alkaline batteries. Initially, the camera came with a battery charger, but it wasn't included with the camera I recently purchased. 

I generally prefer rechargeable batteries for this style of camera, as they perform very well. To put the batteries in the camera, on the inside of the camera's grip is a small lever you slide up to open the battery door. Once the three AA batteries are in the camera, close the battery door to start using the camera.

The Maximum resolution for the Canon PowerShot 350 camera was 640x480 with 24-bit color on a 350,000-pixel CCD sensor. The camera incorporates a 6mm f/2.8 lens and a 0.35-megapixel sensor. The lens is equivalent to a 43mm on a standard 35mm camera. The lens is a fixed focus, with Macro capability. In normal operation, the lens will focus from 26" to infinity. On the side of the camera, near where the lens is, is a slider for macro. Macro will focus from 1.2" to 26" by sliding the lever up and down to achieve focus which you can see on the 1.8" adjustable LCD screen on the back of the camera. The shutter speed range on the camera is from 1/4 to 1/2000, all using an internal TTL, programmed metering system with over/under exposure compensation, which I'll discuss later.

The images are written to a removable CompactFlash card, which fits into the bottom of the camera. At the bottom of the camera is a small door that you slide towards the front of the camera to open. Once opened, you'll see the slot for the 2 MB card that came with the camera. I don't have a 2 MB card anymore, so I had to use the 32 MB card, which is the smallest I currently have. 

 To remove the CF card, on the side of the slot is a small button that is folded to the side. Pull the button up and press in which will slide the CF card out of the camera. After inserting the CompactFlash card, fold the button to the side to close the card door.

On the back of the camera, along the right side of the adjustable screen, are four controls. The top is the power on/off button. Below that is the switch to "record" or "playback" these images on the CompactFlash card. Next is a wheel with +/- controls to adjust the rear screen brightness, and at the bottom is a switch to select image quality: Fine, Normal, or Economy. On a 2 MB card included, you could fit 11 images in Fine, 23 in Normal, or a whopping 47 in Economy.

 When you turn the camera on via a switch on the back of the camera, you do see a "live view" on the adjustable screen on the back of the camera. Next to this very small 1.8" screen by today's standard, there is a wheel that will brighten or darken the image on the screen. Unfortunately, when there is any light outside, the screen is almost impossible to view images, and you'll need to shade it to even see a faint image. 

The same is true when you view the images you've recently taken, which pop up on the screen after the image was taken. Once you shade the screen, you'll be able to see the image better. In low-light or indoor situations, images appear better on the rear screen in both "live view" and playback mode. It's interesting to see the lag time in the "live view" images on the screen and how long it takes for the camera to write the image to the CF card. While photographing the back of the camera for this article, I took a short video showing the lag time of this camera. Here's the short video.

Most of the camera's controls are located on the rear of the camera body. There are two lights on the far left: one for charging the batteries and one for power/busy. They will light up when the camera is on and blink when the camera is "busy" or writing the image to the CF card.

 The four buttons along the top are "W.Bal", setting the white balance for the images. "+/-", the ability to over or underexpose the images by up to four stops in either direction. "Flash" sets the flash modes: On, Off, Auto, and Red Eye Reduction. In "Self timer" mode, the camera will delay the photo by 10 seconds.

 Along the bottom, the four buttons are "Erase", allowing the photographer to erase the photo taken, "N/P" in the top position is for Positive or Negative images to be taken, and on the bottom, "Multi", which allows you to see multiple photos on the screen on the back of the camera. When I put the camera in this mode for image playback, I could see the photos, but they were so small that it was hard to tell which ones they were, especially on such a small screen with low resolution compared to today's standards. Next to that is "Date," which lets you set the camera's date, and the last button is "Remain," which shows the number of images remaining on the CF card. 

Along the side of the camera, under the lens's focus slider, are three ports labeled "video out" and "digital," so you can connect the camera to a television or computer to display its images. The bottom was for the charger to recharge the batteries within the camera.

 

My Images:

 I took the camera to Frenchman's Bar, a local park just on the Columbia River where I live, to take the dog for a walk and to take photos with the Canon PowerShot 350. It was a surprisingly sunny January afternoon, with incredible scenes of the river and Mt. Hood.

 What an excellent chance to take the camera out to see what it could do. When I got home, I offloaded the images to look at the file sizes. To my surprise, each image had the normal file, along with an incredibly small (2kb)  matching thumbnail file used for preview purposes on the rear screen after taking the photo. The file sizes were 150kb for the Fine resolution, 71kb for the Normal, and 31kb for the Economy.

 Here are some sample images I took during the walk.

Conclusion:

 Since this camera used CF cards for image input, I didn't have to jump through many hoops to get images in and out of the Canon PowerShot 350. Since it was a familiar camera I had owned in the past, it was pretty straightforward, and the one thing I found interesting was the ability to photograph in the negative color range. It was more for gimmickry than functionality.

 Nonetheless, it was fun to pick up and shoot with, but the writing time compared to what we have now is funny. Still, I'm happy to have such a complete camera, aside from a couple of cables.

 Here's a link to my other Camera Reviews.

 I also have a store on eBay, Cuny's Cameras and Photos, where I sell some of the cameras I've reviewed, along with other photographic odds and ends. If you see something you like, send me an email, and I'll offer a discount.

 Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to go back almost 30 years to the technology in cameras before 2000. It's impressive how far cameras have come in this short time.

 Until next week, please be safe.

Fujifilm FinePix 4700 Zoom

My Fujifilm FinePix 4700 Zoom and Leica Digilux 4.3 cameras

Sometime in late October or early November 2025, I was sitting back at my desk, looking at some of the cameras around me and thinking about cameras to write about for this blog. There was one camera on the top shelf above my desk that has always piqued my interest, and one that I've had for 15 years or so, but it wasn't a film camera; it was a relatively early digital camera. I hadn't included a digital camera in my blog, but that's going to change.

 To start 2026, it would be a nice change of pace if we went away from traditional film cameras and focused on some of the early digital cameras in my collection. With that said, for January, I'm picking four early digital cameras and writing about them. 

 Focusing on the early digital camera in my collection brought me unexpected challenges that were difficult to navigate at times. For many of the cameras I'm reviewing this month, I had to get my mind, and even more challenging, a computer, the computer's hardware, and software back into the late 1990s to early 2000s. Sharing these experiences can make readers feel connected and motivated to explore vintage digital cameras themselves, especially potential buyers interested in the history behind these devices.

Rear view of Fujifilm FinePix 4700 zoom & Leica Digilux 4.3

 The first camera I'm going to discuss isn't as challenging as some of the cameras I'll be writing about later this month. My difficulties are mainly because I'm still working out some hardware issues with the computer, which I'll discuss in my write-up about the cameras. 

 All of the cameras are in good working condition. Aside from their specific camera menus, which are very basic compared to what we have now, the computer issues have been considerably more challenging and, at times, very frustrating, especially when finding a computer from that timeframe that functions. Still, I'll discuss that when the camera comes into play.

 It is also interesting that Fujifilm makes cameras for other brands. The two most well-known camera companies, Hasselblad and Leica, have had cameras made for them by Fujifilm. The Hasselblad XPan was produced in partnership with Fujifilm. Also, their "H" series lenses and viewfinder were developed with Fujifilm's involvement. 

 As you can see in the photos of the cameras above, the Fujifilm FinePix 4700 zoom is rebranded as the Leica Digilux 4.3. This was the third camera that Leica rebranded. The first was the original Digilux, Digilux Zoom, and  Digilux 4.3

The Company:

 Fujifilm's history in Japan mirrors the country's own journey through modernization, war, recovery, and technological reinvention. The company was founded in 1934 as Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., established by the Japanese government to create a domestic photographic film industry and reduce reliance on imports, particularly from Germany and the United States. Its first factory opened in Minami-Ashigara, near Mount Fuji, which inspired the company's name and enduring brand identity.

 In its early years, Fujifilm focused on mastering the complex chemistry of photographic film, producing black-and-white film, photographic paper, and motion picture film. During World War II, like many Japanese industrial firms, it was drawn into wartime production, supplying optical and imaging materials for military use. The war left Japan's economy devastated, but Fujifilm survived and quickly pivoted back to civilian products during the postwar recovery.

Fujifilm FinePix 4700 zoom advertisment

 The 1950s and 1960s marked a period of rapid growth. As Japan rebuilt and consumer culture expanded, photography became increasingly popular. Fujifilm introduced color film to the domestic market and steadily improved its quality, competing both domestically and internationally with companies such as Kodak. At the same time, the firm diversified into related fields, including magnetic tape, optical lenses, and X-ray film, laying the groundwork for its future resilience.

 During Japan's high-growth era of the 1970s and 1980s, Fujifilm became a global brand. It invested heavily in research and development, embracing advanced chemical engineering and precision manufacturing. These capabilities allowed the company to move beyond consumer photography into medical imaging, printing systems, and industrial materials. Fujifilm's strong export orientation also reflected Japan's emergence as a significant technological power.

 The late 1990s and early 2000s posed an existential challenge: the rapid decline of photographic film amid the rise of digital imaging. While many traditional film companies struggled, Fujifilm undertook one of the most notable corporate transformations in modern Japanese business history. Drawing on its expertise in chemistry and materials science, it diversified aggressively into healthcare, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, electronic materials, and data storage. The company officially changed its name to Fujifilm Holdings Corporation in 2006 to reflect this broader mission.

 Today, Fujifilm remains a symbol of Japanese adaptability and long-term thinking. While it still honors its photographic heritage, its core businesses now lie in healthcare, imaging, and advanced materials. From its origins near Mount Fuji to its global presence, Fujifilm's history illustrates how a Japanese company can evolve with changing times while preserving technical excellence and cultural identity.

My Camera:

 The Fujifilm FinePix 4700 zoom may be the highest resolution digital camera I'll be writing about this month, coming in at a whopping 2mp, with a 1/1.7" SuperCCD imaging sensor which can produce a maximum resolution of 2400 x 1800-sized JPEGs on a Smart Media Card. The Fujifilm FinePix 4700 zoom has a Super Fujinon 8.3-24.9mm lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 to f/4.5. This 3x zoom lens is the 35mm equivalent of a 36-108mm lens.

 While the Fujifilm FinePix 4700 zoom is an unconventional vertical-format camera in stature, it is very easy to hold and use. The dimensions of the camera are 4" tall by just a bit over 3" wide by 1.5" thick, and it weighs in at 10.8 ounces with the two "AA" batteries that power the camera.

I don't want to get into the full minutia of everything the camera has to offer and go into each specific button and control, but instead talk about the basic controls of the camera and how I generally use this style of camera, which is similar to probably 95% of the intended users. If you want to look at specifics and know what each button does, you can go online and find a copy of the Fujifilm FinePix 4700 instruction manual.

 Let's start at the beginning. To put in the 2 "AA" batteries, on the bottom of the camera is the battery door. Slide the cover outward, and the door will swing open. Insert the 2 "AA" batteries as shown on the battery lid, then close the lid and slide it back to close the battery door. 

On the left side of the camera is the door where you put in the Smart Media card. Flip the small button downwards to open the memory card door. Insert the memory card so the brass portion faces the front of the camera, and press it in all the way until it stays in the camera. To release the memory card, push it in a bit, as it's spring-loaded, and it will pop out, so you can grab it and pull it out of the camera. Once the memory card is inserted in the camera, you can close the memory card door.

 Above the memory card door is a small speaker; above that is a small button to turn on the flash, which will pop up after the button is pressed. Also on the left side are ports for a charging device, A/V out, and a USB port.

Two main areas control the camera: the selector on top of the camera, which surrounds the shutter release button, and the back of the camera, which is the main control center.

 The top controls the camera's shooting mode. Looking around the dial, from top to bottom, is Set (some of the main camera settings are set here, with controls from the camera's back). The next is Video Mode, then Multi Mode  (continuous shooting), Manual Mode, Auto Mode (the primary setting in red), Portrait Mode, Landscape Mode, and Night Mode. Initially, you'll want to put the camera into "set" mode so you can adjust basic settings.

On the back of the camera are many different buttons, along with two separate screens. One circular screen in the upper right of the camera with directional controls that control certain items once the camera is on and the mode is selected. Located on the lower portion of the camera's backside is a larger 2" rectangular screen with a resolution of 130,000 pixels, which is also used in the "set up" process, along with displaying the image after it is taken.

 Above the 2" screen is a series of five buttons along with a sliding pointer to a red camera or an arrow within a box. Making sure the camera is in the "Set" mode on the top wheel, put the slider to the "red camera", and press the power button inside the slider. One of my favorite things about this camera happens at this point. Inside the circular window you'll see "Hello!" illuminated inside the circular window, and the 2" screen is now in the "setup" mode. When you turn off the camera, "Bye" will appear in the window.

Here is where you'll set the image quality to Basic, Normal, or Fine by moving the directional buttons around the circular window. Next is file size, 640x480, 1280x960, or 2400x1800. Within each file size, you can choose to shoot in Basic, Normal, or Fine, giving you file sizes anywhere from 44kb in Basic and in 640x480 resolution, to 1.9mb shooting in 2400x1800 resolution and in Fine.

 Next is the "auto-off" setting, which is either 5 or 2 minutes, or No. Then moving down to "Frame No." with either Renew or Cont., then below that is "Beep" which can be High, Low, or Off, onto the second page and to "start up scree" either On or Off, and last on the setup screen is setting the Date. Once you make any of these choices, the button on the back of the camera, which has "Menu/Exe", is the button to press to make the changes desired.

With the camera still in "red camera" mode, when you move the top dial to a specific shooting mode, like Portrait or Auto, the lens door slides over and the lens extends from the camera. Now you're in shooting mode, with the camera actually recording images to the memory card. When you're in the "shooting" mode, you'll see information inside the round directional window with details on the zoom function with the buttons pointing up or down, the macro setting on the left side of the window, and the flash setting on the right, and in the center is what "mode" you're in and the frame count.

 Just above the control buttons on the back of the camera is an optical viewfinder to look through to frame your image. You can also click on the "display" button, which will activate the "live video" feed on the 2" monitor on the back of the camera. Also on the back of the camera is a button for the Menu/Exe functions. This button sets the menu item you want to control. In the upper-left corner is a button labeled Shift and a light bulb. It allows you to light up the round window while also seeing other settings within the camera.

These are the basics for using the camera, since it is a sophisticated little camera. You have the option of manual focus, over/under exposure, flash over/under exposure, focus lock, rear screen brightness, white balance settings, image sharpening, and metering types like spot, average, and multi metering, which is the most common for this camera.  I didn't even touch on the video capabilities of this camera, which were relatively plentiful for a small digital camera from this era.

 

My Results:

 To look at the different resolutions and shooting modes, I photographed a film box in my portable studio to compare image quality. I'm sure there's going to be a vast difference since the smallest file is only 44kb and the largest is 1.9mb.

Here are some screenshots in Photoshop showing the image size of the smallest and largest files taken with the Fujifilm FinePix 4700 zoom.

I also took a regular and macro shot, which you can see here.

Then I used the camera at our New Year's Eve get-together with some neighbors. I'll have to admit, I haven't made it to Midnight for many years.

Conclusion:

 It's nice to pull out some of the older digital cameras and run them through their paces every once in a while. The camera is compact, easy to use, and fun to shoot with. While there are many drawbacks to cameras from this era, such as file size, and in many cases the phone you have takes better photos, it often lacks many of the controls a real camera has (yet).

 Thank you for taking the time to travel back in time about 25 years, when digital cameras were coming into their own and putting film companies out of business, except for Fujifilm, which diversified and actually embraced digital.

 Feel free to look through my other Camera Reviews.

 I also have an online eBay store, Cuny's Cameras and Photo, where I sell many of the cameras I've reviewed, along with other cameras, lenses, and camera accessories. If you find something there, please let me know, and I'll offer a nice discount.

 Until next week, please be safe.