Text and photos by Jarle Aasland

The 1.3 megapixel Nikon F3 based Kodak DCS (Digital Camera System) was announced by Kodak in 1991. The camera consists of an unmodified F3 HP camera body attached to a custom made winder and a digital back. Captured photos are stored on a separate digital storage unit (DSU) that connects to the camera winder via an interconnect cable.

The original DCS cameras are much harder to find than later Kodak DCS models. I was fortunate to find a near mint condition DCS kit in July 2005.

The Digital Camera System was originally labeled DCS, but was later referred to as DSC100 to avoid confusion with later models. According to a NikonWeb.com forum posting by former Kodak DCS Product Manager Jay Kelbley:

On the "DCS 100", keep in mind that while it was "current' this was never sold as a "DCS 100".. It was sold as the "DCS" ("Digital Camera System"). It was not tagged with the "100" until we annouced the "DCS 200"..

There were MANY models of the DCS 100.. Different buffers, Mono, Color, Transmission versions (with keyboard & modem)...

This article will be updated with more details and photos as time permits.

These units are rarely seen on eBay, but they show up from time to time. Here are a few:

In case you were wondering: The German DCS kit starting at 7500 euro did not sell..

Discuss this and other vintage Kodak models in the Kodak DSLR forum

A brief info on Kodak DCS-Series Digital Still SLR cameras (Photography in Malaysia web site)