A still video camera (SVC) is a type of electronic
camera
A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...
that takes still images and stores them as single frames of
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
. They peaked in popularity in the late 1980s and can be seen as the predecessor to the
digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...
. However, unlike the latter, the image storage in such cameras is based on analog technology, rather than as a digital file.
Design
The most common design has an image sensor and basic processing hardware similar to that of a consumer
camcorder
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swa ...
designed for
analog television
Analog television is the original television technology that uses analog signals to transmit video and audio. In an analog television broadcast, the brightness, colors and sound are represented by amplitude, instantaneous phase and frequency, ...
using the appropriate regional format (
NTSC
The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
,
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
, or
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM (, ''Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire'', French for ''color sequential with memory''), is an analog color television system that was used in France, some parts of Europe and Africa, and Russia. It was one of th ...
). However, instead of storing consecutive interlaced
fields
Fields may refer to:
Music
*Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006
*Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971
* ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010)
* "Fields", a song by ...
on tape to form a moving image, a single field or
frame
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
(combined from two fields) is extracted from the output video signal and saved on a rotating
magnetic disk
Magnetic storage or magnetic recording is the storage of data on a magnetized medium. Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetisation in a magnetizable material to store data and is a form of non-volatile memory. The information is ac ...
, typically a standard
Video Floppy
A Video Floppy () is an analog recording storage medium in the form of a 2-inch magnetic floppy disk used to store still frames of composite analog video. A video floppy, also known as a VF disk, could store up to 25 frames either in the NTSC or P ...
. During playback, the disk is spun at the
frame rate
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...
of the video system with the field or frame being read repeatedly. This produces a conventional analog video signal that can be viewed on a normal
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
.
The resolution is limited by the device's playback system, which is equivalent to
pausing a single field or frame from a
video recorder. Since the image is stored as a conventional analog video field or frame, the resolution is limited to the regional
SDTV
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
format; in addition, since the images are not stored digitally, transferring the images to a computer requires a
video capture card
Video capture is the process of converting an analog video signal—such as that produced by a video camera, DVD player, or television tuner—to digital video and sending it to local storage or to external circuitry. The resulting digital data a ...
.
History
Development and prototyping
Canon began developing a still video system as early as 1977 following a secret presentation from
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
(TI). Processing the image data from a CCD sensor into a digital file would have required a supercomputer at the time, so a strategic decision was made to use analog recording methods, and Canon recruited Sony and other manufacturers to create a standard format, resulting in the Video Floppy.
Other members included JVC, Matsushita (Panasonic), Olympus, Philips, and RCA.
The first still video camera was a prototype Mavica (a portmanteau of ''ma''gnetic ''vi''deo ''ca''mera), which was unveiled by Sony chair
Akio Morita
was a Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony along with Masaru Ibuka.
Early life
Akio Morita was born in Nagoya. Morita's family was involved in sake, miso and soy sauce production in the village of Kosugaya (currently a part of Tokoname ...
on August 24, 1981.
The prototype Mavica was equipped with an interchangeable lens and was approximately the size and weight of a conventional 35mm SLR camera at and . It offered shutter speeds ranging from to sec; the video floppy (branded "Mavipak" by Sony) was capable of storing up to 50 images.
[ The Mavica was equipped with a single CCD sensor with a basic resolution of 570×490, but resolution was limited to approximately 350 horizontal lines. This was because it was designed for video playback, which is composed of interlaced video fields of approximately 240–280 horizontal lines; the Mavica's resolution was slightly boosted by recording color information on a separate FM channel, instead of as a subcarrier to the analog signal.][ At the time, Sony stated it would be 15 to 24 months before the Mavica would be marketed, at an estimated cost of for the camera and an additional for the playback unit.
]
Film manufacturer responses
At the time, both Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid is an American company best known for its instant film and cameras. The company was founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land, to exploit the use of its Polaroid polarizing polymer. Land ran the company until 1981. Its peak employment was 21,00 ...
and Eastman Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...
were rumored to have developed competing still cameras similarly using image sensors instead of film. Polaroid offered no comment regarding Sony's Mavica,[ but previously had published a patent describing a camera that stored images electronically by 1980. Kodak published its position in an internal employee newsletter: "Technical capability does not necessarily mean mass-market capability. For any number of reasons—including costs, convenience, quality, and size among others—electronic systems don't meet the needs and expectations of the amateur still-picture-taker."][ Kodak was developing its own CCD sensors and prototype digital file-recording cameras, including both the Lloyd/ Sasson 1975 digital camera] and the 1988 1-megapixel monochrome "Electro-Optic Camera" for a U.S. Government client.
The film companies would go on to release standalone appliances to view, record, and print images stored on video floppies, seeing the technology as a way to replace conventional film processing and slideshows, rather than film cameras. At Photokina '84, Fujifilm
, trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals.
The offerings from th ...
displayed its Fujix TV-Photo System, which was a Video Floppy player that could be connected to a user's TV; floppies could be created for a nominal fee when consumers dropped off film at a Fuji processing center in Japan. Kodak showed off its initial still video efforts in 1985, including the Color Video Imager, a color printer designed to take any analog video signal, and the Still Video Player/Recorder, which transferred a single still frame from an analog video source to a video floppy. The Color Video Imager displayed the input signal on a cathode-ray tube to expose a sheet of instant film; the Still Video Player/Recorder offered interline interpolation to improve the display of a single field; estimated retail price was for the Color Video Imager. Sony would respond with the ProMavica Recorder, announced in May 1986.
Professional cameras
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...
approached Canon in September 1983, asking for a SVC to use at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
; the resulting system would also require a transmitter, receiver, and printer.[ Canon's experiment was a success, and Yomiuri photographers would capture images of Japanese athletes from the 1984 Summer Olympics using a prototype Canon SVC (model D701)][ and transmit them for rapid publication, which would have been impossible with conventional film photographs.] TI helped Canon develop the CCD sensor for the prototype D701.[ The 1984 Summer Olympics proved to be fertile ground for SVC development; Sony developed a similar SVC system for the ]Asahi Shimbun
is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
and Nikon developed the NT-1000 Direct Transmitter for Kyodo News
is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 millio ...
, although both Sony's and Nikon's systems were capable of only transmitting black and white images, while Canon provided color.[ Nikon released the NT-1000 in 1983 as an alternative solution for photojournalists on location, the first portable machine to scan and transmit conventional film.][
At Photokina '84, ]Copal
Copal is tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree ''Protium copal'' (Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal includes re ...
and Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
showed prototype SVCs.[ Konica's prototype SVC, initially displayed in 1985, and as a more advanced prototype in 1987, carried an estimated price of .] Kodak demonstrated a prototype SVC in 1987; coverage focused on the handling of the prototype ("held the way binoculars are held" with top-mounted controls and rear displays) and weight, at .[
Canon continued to develop the D701 into the RC-701, which was the first SVC to be marketed commercially in 1986, aimed at professional photographers and news agencies;][ three interchangeable dedicated lenses were developed for the RC-701, and FD-mount lenses could be attached via an adapter. The RC-701 used a 380,000-pixel CCD made by TI, and was priced at for the body alone.] It was the cornerstone of Canon's pro-oriented Still Video System, which also included a transceiver and printer. The total system cost was approximately . The dye-sublimation printer
Dye-Sublimation Printing (or dye-sub printing) is a digital computer printing technique that uses heat to transfer dye onto materials such as plastic, card, paper, or fabric. The sublimation name was first applied because the dye was considere ...
that was developed for the system would go on to spawn a separate commercial line which Canon branded SELPHY.[ Sony was second to market with the ProMavica MVC-A7AF of 1987, which offered the ability to record 10 seconds of audio.][ In November 1987, Minolta released two still video backs that could be fitted to its 7000 and 9000 autofocus SLRs,] designated SB-70(S) and SB-90(S), respectively. The retail price in 1988 was each. Nikon countered by announcing its competing QV-1000C professional SVC with supporting system hardware, including two dedicated lenses and a transmitter, in August 1988.
The first photographs in a United States newspaper taken with the Canon Still Video System were published in ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' on October 19, 1987, covering the 1987 World Series
The 1987 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1987 season. The 84th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins and the Nation ...
. However, due to their poor resolution, photojournalists generally were hesitant to adopt SVCs.[ It has been reported that one of the ]Tianamen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...
" tank man" photographs was captured using a Sony ProMavica; according to the cameraman, Johnathan Schaer of Cable News Network
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
, it was instead a still field captured on videotape and sent using the transmitter for the ProMavica.
Consumer market
By 1988 and 1989, the first SVCs marketed to consumers were announced at Photokina
Photokina (rendered in the promoters' branding as "photokina") is a trade fair held in Europe for the photographic and imaging industries. It is the world's largest such trade fair. The first Photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, an ...
and Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
(CES), respectively. Casio
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
would be the first to market with its VS-101 in 1988, at an estimated price of . At the 1989 CES, Sony's Mavica MVC-C1 was priced at , including the required MAP-T1 playback unit, and Canon's RC-250, aka Q-PIC/Ion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
/ Xapshot, was under ; in addition, the 1989 CES exhibited a prototype from Sanyo
, stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the Fortune Global 500, ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka, Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiari ...
. Both the Canon and Sony used the "High Band" recording format, which increased the luminance carrier frequency and bandwidth to improve resolution.[ The RC-250's CCD sensor was again developed with TI.][ Other manufacturers of consumer-level SVCs included Fujifilm, Konica, Kyocera (as Yashica), Olympus, and Panasonic.][
However, the increased interest and availability of consumer SVCs was paralleled by the rise of still cameras recording digital files, which was marked by rapid developments including the prototype Fujix DS-1P, announced at Photokina '88 and equipped with a removable memory card developed with Toshiba; the Dycam Model 1 of 1990, also marketed as the Logitech FotoMan as the first consumer digital camera;][ the 1991 ]Nikon F3
The Nikon F3 was Nikon's third professional single-lens reflex camera body, preceded by the F and F2. Introduced in 1980, it had manual and semi-automatic exposure control whereby the camera would select the correct shutter speed (aperture pri ...
-based Kodak DCS 100
The Kodak Professional Digital Camera System or DCS, later unofficially named DCS 100, was the first commercially available digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera. It was a customized camera back bearing the digital image sensor, mounted on a Ni ...
for professionals;[ and the Casio QV-10 of 1995, which was equipped with a color LCD, allowing users to review and delete still images on the same unit. The increased resolution and enhanced capabilities of digital cameras soon eclipsed the features of SVCs; in a 1995 review comparing digital and still video cameras, '']MacWorld
''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macint ...
'' concluded the digital cameras had superior resolution, but cited the large resolution gap between the high-end digital cameras (at 1.5MP) and 35mm film (estimated at 20MP). Most SVCs were discontinued by the mid 1990s.
References
External links
The Digital Camera Museum
featuring all still video cameras ever announced
*{{cite magazine , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hU8sHSz9ZkYC&pg=PA3 , title=There are snapshots, and then, there are Xapshots. , date=May 1989 , magazine=Popular Photography Advertisement for Canon Xap Shot SVC
Cameras
Japanese inventions