Steven Sasson holding his invention
Source: DIY Photography
The first digital camera weighed 8.5 pounds and had dimensions of 8 inches wide, 6 inches deep, and 9 inches high. Sasson said "it was about the size of a toaster." He called it a handheld camera, however compared to future cameras, it was bulky. The camera was all digital, avoiding moving parts such as winding film completely.
The camera stored its pictures on a digital cassette. The tape could hold 30 pictures. A single picture captured took 23 seconds to record to the cassette tape. The resolution of each image was 0.01 megapixels or 100 by 100 pixels. For comparison, the latest iPhone 11 Pro has a 12 megapixel camera.
The cassette that stored images on the first digital camera
Source: DIY photography
“It only took 50 milliseconds to capture the image, but it took 23 seconds to record it to the tape. I’d pop the cassette tape out, hand it to my assistant and he put it in our playback unit. About 30 seconds later, up popped the 100 pixel by 100 pixel black and white image.”
- Steven Sasson
The playback system and television used to view digital pictures
Source: New York Times
Sasson also invented a playback system for the pictures taken on the camera. The system attached to a television which was the only way pictures could be digitally viewed.
The first digital camera
Source: Business Insider
The camera used a CCD sensor and shot in black and white. It consisted of six circuit boards. Sasson used parts from a Super-8 movie camera to create his invention.
“This was more than just a camera. It was a photographic system to demonstrate the idea of an all-electronic camera that didn’t use film and didn’t use paper, and no consumables at all in the capturing and display of still photographic images.”
- Steven Sasson