The Minolta RD-175 was an early

digital SLR A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between ...

, introduced in 1995. Minolta combined an existing SLR with a three way splitter and three separate CCD image sensors, giving 1.75

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...

(MP) resolution. The base of the DSLR was the Minolta Maxxum 500si Super (the Dynax 500si Super in Europe and as Alpha 303si Super in Asia). Agfa produced a version of the RD-175 retailed as the Agfa ActionCam. The RD-175 was also notable as the first consumer digital camera to be used professionally, being used to create the full-motion

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

adventure video game ''

The Neverhood ''The Neverhood'' (released in Japan as ''Klaymen Klaymen: The Mystery of Neverhood'' and referred to in the English version's intro as ''The Neverhood Chronicles'') is a 1996 point-and-click adventure video game developed by The Neverhood, Inc. a ...

''.

Technology

Since state of the art CCD resolution at the time was not sufficient for Minolta, the light entering the central 12 mm × 16 mm area of the RD-175's focal plane was compressed by 0.4x relay optics behind the focal plane, similar to the optical reduction system used in the

Nikon E series The Nikon E series, co-developed with Fujifilm, are autofocus 1.3 megapixel professional grade quasi- full frame ( 35mm) Nikon F-mount digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR) manufactured by Nikon since 1995. The E series included the ''Nikon E ...

. The light bundled on the smaller sensor area increased the effective sensitivity (

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

) by

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

. Then the light was split and sent to three separate 4.8 × 6.4 mm sized 768 × 494 pixel (3 × 0.38 MP)

image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of curr ...

s, two used for green and one for the red and blue color, reducing the sensitivity increase to about 2 stops. The only usable ISO was 800. The three images were combined digitally and

interpolated In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

to the final size of 1.75 MP (1528 × 1146 pixels). Images were stored on an internal

PCMCIA The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) was a group of computer hardware manufacturers, operating under that name from 1989 to 2009. Starting with the PCMCIA card in 1990 (the name later simplified to ''PC Card''), i ...

hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...

. The camera used

Minolta AF The Minolta A-mount camera system was a line of photographic equipment from Minolta introduced in 1985 with the world's first integrated autofocus system in the camera body with interchangeable lenses. The system used a lens mount called A-moun ...

A-mount lenses with a crop factor of 2.

Technology

See also

References

External links