For the penultimate part of my decade-by-decade history of cameras, let’s imagine ourselves at the start of the millennium. Digital technology seems to have taken over everything. In the UK, digital TV has been launched and DAB radio is well established. This is the decade when digital stills cameras will overtake and eventually obliterate the sales of film-based stills cameras for all but niche markets. Non-linear digital editing is commonplace in both cinema and TV, but for cinema acquisition, exhibition and distribution, 35mm movie film is still king. It won’t be until the end of the century that digital intermediates are in common use and digital projectors a viable alternative for cinemas.
Technology advances slowly in the movie world. Companies established before the middle of the previous century still dominate movie camera manufacturing. At the end of the 90s, Sony starts producing CineAlta cameras aimed at cinema production and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones in 2002 is shot entirely with a digital camera, a 1080p camera with 3 x 2/3” CCDs recording on to HDCam cassettes. However, take-up of digital cinematography is slow and the cameras remain expensive.
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