NikonWeb.com

Not much is known about the Kodak Digital Science SCS 2000. Sometimes it was called a military version of the dcs 720x with better weather sealing (it is not) or a version for government use (who knows?). In this thread the SCS 2000 was mentioned as prototype for the DCS 720X (this seems to be true).

So I will give a few facts (and questions) about this camera. It looks nearly like a DCS 620X:



But the white balance sensor is missing. This means, that the white balance technology is that of the 720X. The place of the white balance sensor is closed with a simple black piece (the 720X and 760 had a nameplate at this place). The vertical-shooting release button is missing (but why?). This is a speciality of the SCS 2000, both DCS 620X and 720X have it.

The resolution is 1720 x 1160, the ISO range is 400-4000. On the nameplate on the front the camera is named "SCS 2000", on the bottom it is called "SCS2000C". This name is also written in the exif data.

I do not know the purpose of the SCS 2000. But it seems to be intendend for use only in the USA. On the bottom plate the only compliance mark is the FCC sign. All other compliance marks, that can be found on the other Kodaks, are missing.

The SCS 2000 does not use a special firmware, my camera has the version 3.2.8 of the 7XX firmware.

According to an earlier reply by former Kodak Professional product manager Jay Kelbley:

"The SCS 2000 was like a 720x on steroids, with a ton of sexy gaskets...
I don't believe that they were ever sold through "normal" channels..."

Source: http://www.nikonweb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24

Jarle

I knew this thread. But I cannot find any sealing or gaskets. The microphone and the vertical AF-ON switch are missing, the remote-control release port has a larger cover, but the screws are the same as in a normal Kodak and I cannot find other differences in the outer apperance. And the SCS 2000 is older than the 720X.

I've never studied any of these cameras, so I don't know anything about the physical differences. Perhaps the SCS 2000 is simply an earlier model made for "government use" (e.g. military, law enforcement, etc.) that was later made public, as suggested by Stan Disbrow in the above thread: "It's not unusual for a company to produce low-volume 'specials' for a large customer and then leverage that development into a mainstream product." Sounds plausible.

According to the complete Kodak DSLR list the DCS 720X was relased a year after the SCS 2000. I'm not sure how accurate the dates in this list are, but it should be a good indication. According to this contemporary dpreview article, the 720X was announced on June 4, 2001: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0106/01060 ... cs720x.asp

Jarle

Hi,

Yep, that's what it looks like to me as well. They updated the 620x to fufill this contract model and then used that work to later update the 620x into the 720x.

As far as I'm concerned, one needs to have both the 760 and the 720x and continue to use them. In tandem, the pair pretty much cover almost all shooting situations and for a very low cost these days.

The only problem is one needs multiple units since there is pretty much no chance of a repair on these any longer. Fortunately, there are still plenty showing up on eBay.

Later!

Stan

_________________
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer

Yes, and this is the reason, why the SCS 2000 should not be called a mutation of the 720X, as in the linked statement about the "military version of the dcs 720x with better weather sealing". It cannot be a "version" of the 720X coming later and it has no better sealing. The most important parts on the top of the camera are from Nikon, and Kodak would not be able to change the sealing.



Yes, this seems to be true. Perhaps Kodak didn't want to update the 620X because of the expected low numbers. And it seems they would have been right. Only about 1600 720X were built. The SCS 2000 should be much rarer. But I cannot derive the total number from the serial number of my SCS 2000.

Another piece of information from Jim McGarvey's DCS history:

"The Kodak Digital Science SCS2000 C camera was an FSD-modified, weather-resistant version of the DCS 720x."

(FSD = Kodak's Federal Systems Division)

According to McGarvey's DCS list (at the end of the PDF document), the SCS2000 was announced in 2001, about the same time as the DCS 720x (Sep 15, 2001). This supports the former statement that "the SCS 2000 was like a 720x on steroids".

Jarle

We already knew, that the SCS 2000 is technically nearly identical with the DCS 720X. Which of both is older, has not yet been clarified. The announcement date of the 720X was not 15 Sep 2001, but 4 June 2001 (announcement on dpreview). I thought to have found, that the SCS 2000 was mentioned before, but I cannot verify it.

The SCS 2000 is a "weather-resistant version" of the 720X, but there are no special sealings. It a simplified version, which avoids some weak points.

The new information is the use for governmental purposes in the USA. This was often believed, but never proven.