Posted on June 20, 2022

Many of us who have been around since the transition from film to digital have been the beneficiaries of innovations in camera technology. It’s been around two decades of growth in the right direction. While some companies have seen setbacks in the megapixel race, others have contributed more than their fair share of new advancements.
In this reminiscing journey, you’ll get to revisit some of the innovative ideas that spotlight particular newsworthy features. While some of these may not have been the most popular models, they certainly gained the attention of manufacturers who, in most cases, followed suit in future product offerings.

The Introduction and Marketability of Stabilization

Cast your mind back to 5th March 2007 when Olympus unveiled the new E-510 (EVOLT E-510), a 10-megapixel camera featuring new Sensor-shift technology. Back then, digital camera technology was jumping in leaps and bounds as each manufacturer would try and outdo the other. Megapixels were the race, but Olympus made a new feature stabilization that caught the attention of the entire industry.
Using the same motor from a previous Supersonic Wave Drive innovation, Olympus paired a working sensor unit to detect vibrations from 1Hz to 7Hz. This interesting innovation would mean photographers could gain a correction effect equivalent to a maximum of 4 exposure value steps. While this correction was large at the time, it’s no match for today’s IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) systems found in several manufacturers’ builds, which provide double the amount of stabilization.

High-Quality Screen
It’s at this point we need to mention Kodak. Unfortunately for the camera’s sales, the Kodak LS443 sat in the shadows while the others played in the field. You can put this down to Kodak’s demise when they filed for bankruptcy in the same year as the camera release in 2012.
What’s remarkable about this camera is the introduction of an OLED rear LCD. While this technology found its way into other industries, Kodak brought the tech to its consumer-grade 4MP camera. The advantage was users could see photos in full color for the first time, regardless of the viewing angle. The flexibility of viewing is thanks to the OLED’s ability to become a self-emitting light source rather than relying on a separate external light source to display an image.

While OLED never caught on in rear screens due to high costs, the innovation has shaped the way we see through electronic viewfinders in today’s models. To name a few, cameras such as the Nikon Z fc, Sony Alpha 1, and Fujifilm X-Pro3 all use some form of XGA OLED or Quad-VGA OLED microdisplay EVF, which enables the viewer to see a clearer image with less lag.
Confronting The Noise
If you’ve been in this game for more than ten years, you’ve undoubtedly had a camera guilty of producing noise at higher ISOs. For many photographers, talk of shooting at ISO 100 or 200 was all too common in warning newcomers to the space about digital noise. This conversation was on repeat until Sony’s noise-munching flagship came in the form of the Sony a7 in late 2013. This camera was one of the first to show signs of reduced noise while maintaining image sharpness truly, particularly up to ISO 1600.
Moving on from the camera that started it all, Sony knew they were on to a winner, so further development in the Sony a7 II (released in 2014), a7 III (released in 2018), and a7 IV (released in 2021) hurled efforts in confronting high ISO noise. Sony’s technology wasn’t limited to its cameras. In 2015, many other manufacturers would continue or start using its newly created sensor business, ‘Sony Semiconductor Solutions,’ which would see planned releases of sensor technology after Sony put the new sensors in its cameras.
A Bridge for a Leading Manufacturer
Where would the industry be if Sony hadn't entered the picture?

Many newbies are unaware that Sony inherited a significant amount of technology from its initial DSLRs. DSLR designs and technology evolved throughout time to become what we see in today's mirrorless devices. But before that, kudos has to go to Konica Minolta’s 7D. It was the last DSLR model produced by Konica Minolta before Sony acquired the camera business in 2006. So in a way, you could say Konica Minolta inspired much of Sony’s first DSLR designs, which evolved and led to what we see in today’s mirrorless cameras.
While there are many more camera models and developments, such as sensor cleaning, wireless control, memory card technology, and others, the industry's degree of growth over the last decade has been an important lesson. Moving boxes (a term used in the wholesale market to describe entry-level cameras) has given way to producing state-of-the-art cameras to fulfill the growing demand of hobbyists and professionals.

Globalization and the power of social networking are the driving forces behind this transformation. Thanks to local subsidiaries, camera manufacturer headquarters have built two-way discussions with specialists. Their input into the development of functions and features within the ergonomic design of a product has been vital to the success of each camera model.
Source: Petapixe.com