Digital Cameras: A New (Old) Age?

Sarah Ramming, editor-in-chief

Even though phone cameras have higher quality than ever, teens are looking to the past for their cameras. The ever-classic digital cameras are making a comeback.  

Digital cameras began as most things do- with advancements for space travel. In 1961, Eugene F. Lally, who worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), first introduced the idea for a filmless camera, but the technology of his time was not enough to see his vision fulfilled. Eastman Kodak engineer Steven Sasson developed the first prototype for a digital camera in 1975. It weighed almost nine pounds and was the size of a small printer, and it took six more years to develop a high-quality true digital camera when University of Calgary’s ASI Science team built the Fairchild All-Sky camera. The digital cameras that we currently know developed from that by the mid 1990’s but soon faded into obscurity with the rise of camera phones.  

Ironically, there has been a trend on social media over the past couple of years that emphasizes disconnecting from social media and prioritizing in-person contact. Freedom, a downloadable app, temporarily blocks access to apps that you choose to “regain control of your digital time and reduce reliance on your phone” said Balance Phone, a phone company that sells minimalist devices- Samsung phones renovated to have all possible addicting apps removed. Different companies are also popping up with brand new “dumbphones”, like Meadow, whose phone has Google Maps, music, even uber and a clock function- but no social media or messages, so there is no possibility to get lost in the scroll. 

For some, it isn’t about lessening social media use; it’s about the vibe. Digital cameras have shown up on camping trips, dinners, hangouts and birthday parties as the primary camera. The 90’s-like aesthetic is becoming popular- grainy photos; varied exposures and a candid feel that phones cannot capture. Instagram reels and TikToks feature more of these photos, nostalgia as a primary feature in many.  

Whatever the reason, digital cameras are finally being dug back up from junk drawers and finding a new life in the spotlight of the 2020s.