There are many myths circulating on the internet which cameras would need 5 volt smart media cards. And hardly anyone knows the correct answer. Here you can see them all in one photo.
All other cameras from that time are using the common 3.3 volt cards.
This will be a very long blog entry, and for most people it will certainly be of no interest. But I still want to tell it because it is about my great passion, photography and my life. In 1988 I was just 21 years old and traveled the world on my own for the first time. I flew to Mayaafushi in the Maldives and started taking photos. The camera at the time was a Minolta 7000 because it had autofocus, an innovation of the time. There were no dive computers back then and a Rolex Submariner was actually used for diving in 1988, all things that newly rich kids cannot imagine.
When I look at the still video cameras from 1988 today, I have to admit that I feel overwhelmed by the feeling of living on another planet. There must have been something like a parallel universe back then, because when I bought my Nikon F4E a year later, electronic photography was not far away for me, it simply didn't exist. It wasn't until 10 years later that I first read about digital photography. This is still so surreal to me today that I would like to write about it. And the Nikon QV-1000C is the epitome of these incredibly rare and exotic cameras from that time.
It wasn't because I wasn't interested in new releases on the market or future generations of cameras. On the contrary, because when I bought the Nikon F4E it was brand new and practically no one had this new model in 1989. But you may have to understand that the Nikon QV-1000C was not only extremely rare and not for sale, no , it also had a price that was astronomical for the time.
While a Nikon F4E including an MB-21 back cost the equivalent of around 1,985 USD in Germany in 1989, the Nikon QV-1000C cost 20,000 USD. So ten times what the current professional camera from Nikon cost. And what exactly did you get for that? A camera that took tiny, fuzzy black and white pictures that could only be used for a small newspaper picture ?! So it's no wonder that only selected press photographers were able to "enjoy" this strangest of all Nikons, because none of you will have paid for this camera yourself. It was only their agencies who paid for this astronomical amount. Although I also doubt that the camera was really sold. Rather, I think well-known news agencies that had always worked with Nikon were asked if they were interested and were given a "test camera".
At the end of the day it doesn't matter who paid how much for it and why. The fact remains that there is still a dispute today about whether this is a digital camera or just a video recorder that records magnetic still images. Here are the tech freaks among themselves. And whether the 2 "floppy disks recorded magnetically or digitally is irrelevant in my opinion, it is definitely a "digital" camera compared to my F4E.
Tiny QV-1000C Sensor (12 x 12mm) behind the Mirror
compared to the mirror housing from a Nikon D1
I can't say exactly what ultimately led me to collect old digital cameras, but as you can see, I have a few from that period. I already owned the Canon RC-701, the Konica KC-300, the Canon RC-470 and others from that year, but in order to be able to finance more and more rare cameras, many of my gems had to give way to other cameras. Sometimes this hurts, on the other hand, today it allows you to hold the unique Nikon QV-1000C personally in your hands for the first time. What an unbelievable moment when I unpacked it this morning and was able to examine it for the first time. This has not yet happened to many photographers in this world.
And it doesn't matter to me whether there are 180, 350 or 500 copies of this camera, because when you see how rarely it is offered internationally, you know immediately that you will probably never hold this camera in your hands. In contrast, all the other still video cameras released in 1988 are easy to obtain. Even the Konica and the Fujix can be bought cheaply at least twice a year in Japan on Yahoo Auctions.
At least as interesting as the technical details of this fascinating digital camera is the design process if you look at the QV next to the E2 and the D1. While the Nikon D1 has a classic Nikon DSLR body, the Nikon E2 still has clear similarities in design with the QV-1000C.
Some sources say this is not a digital camera as it uses floppy disks to store the picture. I disagree here. This first generation of digital cameras uses a CCD sensor, which converts the light signals into electrical information. In the end it doesn't matter whether the recording is digital or on a magnetic disc, because the incident light does not expose the film. For me, analog photography is defined by the fact that the light falling into the camera exposes a chemical film accordingly, which can then be viewed by the human eye without an intermediate step without an electronic device being required for reading. Only chemistry and light are needed for analog photography, but no electricity. Therefore this is definitely the first digital Nikon SLR camera and a milestone in camera history.
The big difference to all other cameras from this time is that this Nikon has no display, which is extremely unusual. Okay, there is a very tiny 0,43 inch x 0,19 inch LCD display that shows how many photos have already been taken, but that's not worth mentioning. If you look at the Fujix ES-20 from this year, for example, it has an LCD monitor on which all relevant parameters are displayed. The 2 years older Fujix ES-1 already had such an LCD monitor. And even the Canon RC-701, which Nikon certainly took as an opportunity to produce this Nikon QV-1000C at all, had an LCD monitor as early as 1986 that displayed the most important data. Nikon pursued a completely different, almost analogous concept here. There was the camera on which you could choose the shutter speed using the dial, just as you could on the Nikon F4, and a lens on which the aperture could be set. But almost nothing else could be adjusted. This fascinates me extremely.
They built the first digital camera and concentrated 100% on photography and left all possible and impossible technical gadgets to others. If you take a closer look at the QV-1000C body, there are only 5 setting options on this unusual camera.
1.) Shutter speed: only from 1/8 sec to 1/2000 sec
2.) Program selection: P, S, A and M for manual
3.) Exposure correction: +1.5 to - 1.5 EV
4.) Shutter speed: L, S, C and Ch (without a self-timer should be noted!)
5.) Image quality: STD, H1 and H2
The QV-1000C Body does not offer any more setting options. Even the aperture can only be adjusted on the lens itself.
But all of these insights don't really matter, because what counts in the end is the fascination of collecting. You can enjoy the collected objects, regardless of whether they are postage stamps, beer mats or cameras. You are proud of your collection
Having been fascinated by photography since 1988, I was always loyal to Nikon and started collecting old Nikon cameras sometime around 2002. In doing so, like probably every collector, I always kept an eye on the models that you would probably never even see, let alone hold in your hands. For me, this included the Nikon QV-1000C in the first place. Such a rare still video camera from the era of pre-digital cameras that there are very few photos of it even on the Internet
“I believe your home tells a story about who you are and who you aspire to be. We represent ourselves through the things we own. I don’t believe in trends. I believe in collecting things that you connect with. We should surround ourselves with things we care about, that have meaning. ”
Temples and Ruins
during the civil war
No tourist have been there in 1994….
Wamena 1994
One of the last real adventures
Where the last cannibals live
Seychelles 2007
Anse Source de’Argent
The most beautiful beach from the world…???
After Nepal Zimbabwe was my next destination on my 8 weeks trip
Zimbabwe 2007
Victoria Waterfall
The famous Dwarikas Hotel in Kathmandu had hired me for commercials
Nepal 2007
Annapurna mountain range at 5500m above sealevel
In the year 2005 I visited Singapore just to take some infrared photos.
Singapore 2005
Infrared with my Nikon D1R
It was the age of the APS-C sensor cameras at that year as the Nikon D3 was not released yet (release at Fall 2007), so all digital cameras had small sensors and my old Nikon D1 was converted to an infrared camera by Nikon.
They removed the AA-filter from the sensor and my Ai Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 lens had nearly no hotspot which makes it my first decision on this short trip. After meeting my Chinese friends for the very first time i had a hangover on that day when we wanted to make a trip to sentosa for photography. Not only that i had a terrible headache i felt sick too.
Not the best conditions if you plan to make infrared photos for the first time. Add to that the heat of Singapore and all the humidity that the near equator brings with it. I was dying ...
Upper Antelope at night
Antelope 2009
Upper Antelope Canyon at night
The Upper Antelope Canyon is something of a sacred grail among photographers. Everyone knows the hundreds of publications and knows what great diversity the Canyon already holds for us photographers. If the light suits you, provided you bring along a bit of luck and skill, you can really take outstanding pictures. Of course, one could also say that this slot canyon is already photographed dead and there is nothing new to discover in it. But the positive view is that everyone finds something different in him and the good photographer is guaranteed to come home with excellent shots, if he was well prepared.
That tourism is not always a good thing then you know at the latest when you yourself was on site and was passed through the canyon. The Navajos make it fun to chase the "stupid" tourists like a herd of cattle through the canyon and do all sorts of funny jokes together when the day is too long again. However, this is noticed only by those who spend days with you and are taken. Only then will you get the most valuable gift in the canyon .... TIME!
Because only if you have enough time, you can make bracketing over several f-stops and then go home and get the maximum out of the pictures by appropriate editing. Freehand is not much to do if you just go through it quickly. Thus, these infinite orange tones of the rock formations reveal themselves only if one works slowly and deliberately.
Narita 2016
Ultraviolet photography at night
Since many years I am addicted to try something new, something nobody before has tryed. In a world with billions of people with billions of smartphones this might sound a bit childish, but my dream is quite old already. Infrared is simple. You just need a conversion filter in front of your camera and a tripod. Nothing hard and if you like white leaves this is done quickly.
Not like ultraviolet photography.
Kuramathi 2019
Paradise on Earth
After traveling to the Maldives as a young man in 1988, this little patch of earth has been especially appealing to me. At the age of 21, the world was unbelievably big and you felt that you were infinitely far away from everything. The mere fact that you could only see the ocean around his island was more than impressive. And the 6-hour trip with the Dhoni instead of a seaplane today brought additional peace to the island life. At that time you could book islands only on a weekly basis. Nobody could leave after 4 days or stay for 10 days, but there were strict rules. If you did not have time, you better stay home.
At Kuramathi, nature is just as impressive as we were at Mayaafushi in 1988, but today, in 2019, you will need far more cash to visit this paradise. Unfortunately, we humans have already destroyed the environment so strongly that even in the Maldives the first damage is noticeable. This concerns above all the incredible underwater world. Coral reefs simply can not handle temperatures above 30 ° C and die. It is our fault and it will take millennia for all the reefs to recover. Unfortunately, there will be no Maldives for a long time, because with a sea level rise of just 1 meter from the current level, there are no more 189 tourist islands left.
Also, the average Maldives vacationer has changed a lot. In 1988, when it was still about being interested in and diving for the underwater world, in 2019 I have the feeling that it's all about showing off at the champagne bar and sipping expensive cocktails. You want to be seen and all are constantly posting worthless photos on Facebook and Twitter. And since China has also allowed its citizens to travel, 40% of every island is made up of noisy people without any shame or manners.
The Maldivian Conservation Commissioner on our island was shocked by the Chinese people's lack of understanding, who saw them daily standing on corals in the water and defying all admonishment. These people evidently think that by paying the room price they have also bought all of nature and are allowed to destroy it as well. It is a shame that just one of the oldest cultures on our planet has brought such environmental criminals without manners. I am ashamed to be a human being when I hear from the Maldivians what destruction has been done by Chinese in recent years alone on Kuramathi. But not only the visitors of the Maldives have changed. The islands themselves have become more luxurious and are much more sustainable today. Anyway, that would make us believe many a Sustainability Report. In reality, however, all garbage on an island is still being picked up by ships and simply burned uncontrollably on a Maldives island in the south. Without any control and without waste incineration plant.
At eleven luxury restaurants on a single island, no one asks where fresh strawberries or ice come from. How is the electricity produced here and where does our feces go? Because a sewage treatment plant I would not have seen so far ....
But all these things are of little interest to tourists, as he has already paid more than enough for the trip and now wants to be treated princely. Hardly anyone knows that there are more than 1,000 employees on Kuramathi Island alone, some of whom share a small room with six of them. It is not that important, because most of these wage slaves come from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia or Thailand.
Due to the ever-present environmental pollution, which can not be expected of the Maldivian tourist, a true army of gardeners from Bangladesh is required which does not even do the same during the day, or twice, no, all day long, but to clean the beach and the ways. Everything has to look perfect and nothing that might look remotely crap like lying on the beach.
This actually works, because already at 6 o'clock in the morning you can see the first of these gardeners cleaning everything around their own bungalow. And when the tourist wakes up and enters the beach, the Paradis is as it should be, perfectly pure and no crap spoils the perfect Instagram photo that will be shared with the world within seconds.
Needless to say that all those left behind are jealously eyeing the turquoise-blue beaches and wondering why they can not be there. After all, today it's all about appearing and not being.