Given the advancements in iPhone cameras in recent years, many people I’ve read/heard are calling for Apple to release an SLR camera. Unfortunately for them, nothing is planned for this to happen (at least in the short and medium term). However, Apple can boast of having launched up to three independent cameras on the market. Although “bragging” might not be the best word for what it was.
Those known as Apple QuickTake (100, 150 and 200) It was a failure. They were started almost three decades ago and even today some people keep some of them as relics. Although there shouldn’t be many, given that the few existing sales indicators show that it wasn’t exactly a star product. Even less if we compare it today with an iPhone and even AirPods.
QuickTake 100, the best example of a good idea with terrible execution
In 1994, Apple thought it was a good idea to get into the digital camera business (and, in fact, it was). The problem is that the market did not see it very favorably, so much so that shortly after the presentation it became one more failure for an Apple which had not quite found the key in those years. Nothing was working for them.
The original QuickTake, known as QuickTake 100 was introduced in February 1994, so we are about to reach its thirtieth anniversary. And to be honest, it must be said that at first it didn’t seem like a bad idea. It wasn’t the most advanced camera on the market, but it didn’t have bad specs either.
In addition to its characteristic design, in line with the company’s other products of the time, it presented some exceptional features like its only fixed 50 millimeter lens. This supported a focal aperture ranging from 2.8 to 1.6, so on paper it was a very versatile camera, even for low-light scenes. Its shutter speed ranged from 1/30 to 1/175.
However, The QuickTime 100 had some unforgivable flaws for a $1,500 camera.. It actually cost about $750, but accounting for inflation over those 30 years, that would be its value today. That in itself makes it unfeasible for many, even if it was a great camera.
Its main problems were a battery that barely allowed you to take 12 photos, even more than the authorized storage. Because yes, that was another flaw and that was that it could barely accumulate 8 photographs at its maximum resolution (640 x 48op). If it was lowered to 320 x 240p, it was possible to store up to 32 photos, but that’s the whiting biting its tail, because taking 12 has already drained the battery.
The other problem was the need for a Macintosh computer. Today Macs are still not the majority computer, but at the time this was even less the case. And despite this, it was an indispensable tool for transferring photographs, since there was no other way. Therefore, those who didn’t own one of these computers might already desperately want a QuickTake 100, and there would be no point in purchasing it.
The issue didn’t improve much in its next two versions (and was rolled back)
The second generation, the QuickTake 150, differed little in design from the original (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
The QuickTake 150 was released in 1995 and attempted to correct the flaws that the original model from the previous year suffered. Manufacturing passed into the hands of Kodak and notable changes were integrated such as compatibility with three AAA batteries so as not to depend on the battery, as well as compatibility with Windows computers to reach a wider majority of the public.
However, its price remained more or less the same, the storage and battery issue was not improved (not to the point of being noticeable), and Apple failed again with it. Among these, competition was already tough, despite the fact that the Californian company partnered with Kodak to manufacture the QuickTake 150.
This was the box that the QuickTake 200, the third generation of Apple cameras, came in (Image: Mattjfuller)
Of In 1996, the third and final QuickTake camera, the 200, was released.. This not only maintained the improvements of the previous ones, but did not expand them. The battery problem was solved by eliminating it and switching to powering it with three AAA batteries. It was also compatible with external memory cards up to 4MB, which for its time was pretty good. Even more so considering the limited internal storage it still had.
Another powerful new feature of the QuickTake 200 was the addition of a small screen which served as a viewer. She wasn’t the first to incorporate it, but it wasn’t a trend yet. However, its resolution remained stagnant and the lens did not improve excessively beyond extending the shutter speed from 1/4 to 1/5000.
With the return of Steve Jobs, no more cameras
QuickTake 200 (Image: Mattjfuller)
Much has been made of Steve Jobs’ firing and subsequent return to Apple. The way the company’s direction changed with the iPod, iPhone and iPad is already known, but we often forget that this process of change had to go through cancel projects like QuickTake.
There was no QuickTake 250, and it’s unclear if it was ever on the table. It is also unclear whether anyone tried to convince Steve Jobs of this product line, but the only thing clear is that they did not continue down this path and that All QuickTakes were discontinued in 1997.. Fierce competition in the sector pushed Apple to withdraw. Their image as a “computer company” was still too present in the consumer’s mind to imagine them releasing products that were not Macintoshes.
iPhones hide a nod to QuickTake cameras
QuickTake video mode on iPhone
As we said, 30 years have passed since the presentation of the first Apple QuickTake. However, iPhones continue to remember them thanks to the QuickTake function for video. It is in substance what Apple calls Quick Video Recording Mode and this launched the iPhone 11 generation.
This consists of opening the ‘Camera’ application and, even in photography mode, holding down the capture button to record a video, being able to stop it by simply releasing the button or continue recording by swiping to the right. It’s a simple detail, but it’s still curious to know the history of these missing cameras which are only valuable to collectors.
Cover image | Mattjfuller
In Applesfera | How to photograph the full Moon with very good results using our iPhone and this little tip
In Applesfera | How to transfer all our data from one iPhone to another
Table of Contents
