The Nikon QV-1000C was the first filmless camera manufactured by Nikon. It was announced on August 26, 1988.
The camera had a 380,000 pixel CCD sensor, and stored analog black and white images (NTSC) on a magnetic two-inch video floppy disk.
It was targeted at press photographers who needed to quickly get photos to their newspapers that were good enough for newsprint; it was not sold to consumers. It allowed a journalist on location to take a picture and bypass the printing and scanning of the resulting image, transmitting a usable photo over a phone connection.
The camera was not sold by itself, but only as a complete package, which contained the camera body, two lenses (see below), the QV-1010T transmitter unit, QA-10 acoustic coupler, BP-60 Ni–Cd battery, QS-10D battery charger, VF-10 video floppy, QE-110 floppy disk eraser, and two carrying cases (hard and soft). It was originally sold for approximately US$20,000 (more than two million Japanese yen). The exact number of cameras produced is unknown, but it was in the range of 180–200.
The camera name came from "QV" for "Quick Vision", the "1000" has no specific meaning, and the trailing "C" is for "camera".
History Nikon gained knowledge on digital cameras (still video cameras with analog storage) by constructing the Nikon Still Video Camera (SVC) Model 1, a prototype which was first presented at Photokina 1986.Additional information on Nikon Video Still Camera Model 1 & Nikon QV-1000C Still Video Camera MIRNikon Still Video Camera (prototype) Nikonweb
Beginning in 1988, the QV-1000C Still Video Camera was produced, mainly for professional press use.Nikon QV-1000C? Never heard of it. Nikonweb Both cameras used QV-mount lenses, a slightly smaller variant of the F-mount lenses.
A successor camera, the Nikon NASA F4, was one of the first cameras with digital storage.
Image storage and transmittal Images are stored in the camera on a two-inch video floppy disk. When a picture is taken, a still frame of an analog composite video is stored on the disk.
For transmittal, the disk is inserted into the QV-1010T transmitter unit, which outputs the signal through the video out port to the QA-10 acoustic coupler, which allows the signal to be sent over phone lines to the receiving end.
QV lens
QV-Nikkor lenses were specialized lenses developed for the Nikon QV-1000C. These lenses used a dedicated 10-pin bayonet-type "QV-mount" to cover a 2/3-inch CCD sensor, with the 10-40mm and 11-120mm being the primary zoom lenses. The mount was smaller than the standard Nikon F-mount.
The optional QM-100 mount adapter was available to allow F-mount lens to be used on the camera.
The two QV lenses are shown in the following table: Name Focal length Zoom Min focus Filtersize Length Weight Release date Other QV Zoom-Nikkor 10-40mm (roughly 40-160mm35mm equiv) 2 ring manual 62 mm September 1988 Macro function QV Zoom-Nikkor 11-120mm (roughly 44-480mm35mm equiv) 1 ring manual 82 mm September 1988 Tripod attachment
Awards The QV-1000C was awarded with: the Japan Institute of Design Promotion 1989 Good Design Award.
See also Nikon NASA F4
References
External links Nikon QV-1000C (1988) Digital Camera Museum Nikon QV-1000C Still Video Camera