Where do ideas come from? brochure (1995)

This brochure is titled “Where do ideas come from?” and the cover features icon-size images of a QuickTake digital camera, an Apple inkjet printer, an Apple scanner, an Apple laser printer, and an Apple display. The first 2-panel spread reveals a statement about creativity interspersed with the same icons. The copy reads:

“Creativity begins with your imagination. You have an idea and you want to see it. You start with words, but words alone don’t express it, so you decide to add a few quick photographs. And maybe an illustration or two from a rare book you found at the library. Now you’re ready to see the results on paper, so you point! click! print. But something’s missing. Hmmm… Color! Voilà! Apple Imaging Products. Run wild.”

The brochure opens into 4-panel horizontal spreads that outline Apple product lines including printers, displays, scanners, digital cameras, printer supplies, and digital camera supplies.

Folded, this brochure measures 3.875 x 8.75 inches.

An Overview of Apple Products brochure (1996)

This quad-fold brochure from 1996 is titled “An Overview of Apple Products” with the subtitle “Choosing the system that’s right for you.” The opening 2-panel spread is an overview of the brochure with the headline “Apple Macintosh: Ease-of-use, power, compatibility, and multimedia.”

Fully unfolded, the brochure reveals 4-panel spreads that alternate between a photo featuring a product and overview, followed by a spread with a product specifications grid. The sections include: Macintosh Performa and Power Macintosh Computers, Macintosh PowerBook Computers, Displays and Printers, and Apple Servers and Services.

The end pages of the brochure shift focus to discuss ways to use Apple products. Each category uses a four-panel spread and includes Communications, Multimedia, and Publishing. These last three sections include several Apple peripherals from the time, including the GeoPort Telecom Adapter Kit, the Newton MessagePad 130, AppleCD 600e/600i drives, AppleDesign Powered Speakers II, Apple ColorOne Scanners, and QuickTake 150 digital cameras.

Folded, this brochure measures 3.875 x 8.25 inches. I also have a similar version of this brochure from 1995 with product specifications from that year.

QuickTake 200 Digital Camera (1997)

The QuickTake 200 was the third and final digital camera by Apple. It was released in 1997 and was built by Fuji. The QuickTake 200 was a major step ahead compared to the QuickTake 100 and 150 cameras that came before it, due to its 1.8-inch color LCD preview screen, removable memory cards, and additional controls. Further, the QuickTake 200 looked and functioned more like a traditional camera than its predecessors.

The QuickTake 200 shipped with a 2 MB SmartMedia card that allowed up to 20 high-quality or 40 standard-quality photos. The camera used four AA batteries and had controls for aperture and focus with three different modes: close-up (3.5–5 inch), portrait (17–35 inch), and standard (3 feet–infinity). It also shipped with a snap-on optical viewfinder to save battery. Unlike the previous QuickTake 100 and 150, the QuickTake 200 did not have a flash.

I used the QuickTake 200 digital camera extensively both as an educator and personally. In fact, I took my QuickTake 200 on my most memorable vacation to date on a trip to London in 1998. At the time, digital cameras were not well known and it allowed me capture many more photos than I’d taken in the past on film because of the removable SmartMedia cards. By no means was the experience similar to today’s virtually unlimited mobile phone camera photography, but it was my first indication of what was coming, years before everyone had a camera all the time.

As a fan of vintage Apple, I was intrigued to notice that Apple brought back the “QuickTake” name for a camera feature in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro cameras in 2019. The Apple Support website states, “Grab a video with QuickTake. iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro have QuickTake, a new feature that lets you record videos without switching out of photo mode.”

Sources: Wikipedia, Apple Support

QuickTake 100 (1994)

The QuickTake 100 is considered one of the first consumer digital cameras and was only available for about one year, from 1994 to 1995. The QuickTake 100 model was replaced by the QuickTake 150 in 1995 (using the same design) and then the QuickTake 200 in 1996 (a new design manufactured by Fuji).

The camera had 5 button controls: one to control the shutter, and four surrounding a small black/gray LCD panel on the back to control flash, resolution, self-timer, and a recessed button to delete all photos.

The camera sold for $749 and could take eight photos at 640×480 resolution, 32 photos at 320×240 resolution, or a combination of the sizes in 24-bit color. Although the QuickTake 100 had a built-in flash, it had no zoom or focus controls, nor could it preview or delete individual photos from the internal memory. Photos were downloaded to a computer using a serial cable and included QuickTake software. The QuickTake software also included functions such as rotate, resize, crop, and export.

After the Macintosh version of the QuickTake 100 was released, a Windows version followed six months later.

QuickTake cameras also included several accessories, such as a leather cover with a hand strap, a neck strap, a leather case, a battery booster pack (shown here), and a snap-on close-up lens.

Source: Wikipedia

QuickTake 150 (1995)

The QuickTake 150 was Apple’s second consumer digital camera, replacing the QuickTake 100. The camera was built by Kodak and had a resolution of 640×480 pixels at maximum resolution (0.3 Megapixels). 

Compared to the QuickTake 100 before it, the QuickTake 150 could store 16 full-resolution images (instead of 8) and could connect to a Windows computer. Further, the QuickTake 150 included a clip-on close-up lens.

In my experience as a school Technology Director, we used QuickTake 100, 150, and 200 digital cameras extensively for class projects. They were relatively easy to use and connected to a Mac serial port for quick transfer to the Mac. Although the QuickTake line was not the first digital camera, it was among the first successful consumer cameras available.

This QuickTake 150 camera is shown both with and without its protective black leather case. The case was very comfortable and made the camera difficult to drop with its Velcro strap.

Several other accessories were also available for the QuickTake 150. These included a black leather case with an embossed Apple logo, a shoulder strap for the leather case, a neck strap for the QuickTake 150, and a wide-angle lens for the QuickTake 150 in its original protective wrap inside its vinyl case.

Source: Wikipedia.com