In 1981, Sony unveiled the Mavica, the first electronic still camera. It was an analog device that recorded TV-grade images onto small magnetic disks, with a resolution of about 0.28 megapixels. Canon later entered the market in 1988 with similar 'stills video' cameras like the Xap Shot, but these early models were commercially limited and, by modern standards, 'utterly awful'.
The real breakthrough came in 1997 with Sony's first true digital Mavicas, the FD5 and FD7. These were not the first digital cameras, but they were the first massively successful ones, quickly capturing 40% of the market. Their key feature was the use of standard 3.5-inch floppy disks for storage, the most affordable digital medium at the time, storing about 20 JPEG images per disk at 0.3 megapixels.
Using one today reveals a boxy but solid device. Images take several seconds to save, the screen is hard to see in sunlight, and the fixed ISO of 100 demands good light. Yet, its simplicity—no cords needed to transfer files to a contemporary computer with a floppy drive—was revolutionary.
Production of the Mavica line spanned from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, with over 1 million units made. The final floppy-based model, the 2-megapixel FD200, arrived in 2002. Despite their flaws, these cameras were profoundly influential in paving the way for the digital photography era.