Nikon E2s (1995)

Nikon's first digital SLR came out in 1995. It's an odd hybrid. The E2s is a film-era Nikon F90/N90 body with a digital back grafted on, built in partnership with Fuji. It is essentially identical to the Fujix DS-505, just wearing a Nikon badge. It sold mainly in Japan, and only a limited run of bodies was exported to the US.

The E2s uses a 1.3-megapixel, 2/3-inch CCD sensor that captures 1,280 × 1,000 pixels, with a crop factor of around 3.9×. The sensor is much smaller than the 35mm frame the F90 body was designed for. So the optical viewfinder shows the full F90 view, while the captured image is only the central portion. A prism and mirrors direct light to both the viewfinder and the sensor. Autofocus works through the F90 body's system, and the camera accepts Nikon F-mount lenses.

The E2s is the higher-resolution top of the E2 line (a lower-spec E2 also existed). It was priced at US$16,000 at launch. Sensitivity is fixed at ISO 800, the shutter range is 1/2000 to 2 seconds, and burst mode runs at 1 frame per second. Files are saved as uncompressed TIFF to an internal PCMCIA hard disk or card, so you'll need old PC card drives to read the images today. A 2-inch TFT LCD sits on the back, and the camera runs on an NP-100 battery. It weighs 1.9 kg.

Owner accounts describe the E2s as a proper, fully functional DSLR with a good grip, a huge bright viewfinder and a solid feel. The caveats are real, though. Fixed ISO 800 limits it largely to daylight shooting without flash, images show a strong colour cast, and file transfer is clunky.