Photographic Innovation: Steve Sasson’s Invention of the Digital Camera

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” There is no better role model for this Thomas Edison quote than Steve Sasson, the electrical engineer fresh out of grad school who was hired to work in a Kodak research lab, in 1973. With a passion for scavenging parts and a penchant for invention, he developed the world’s first self-contained digital camera just two years after his arrival in the lab.

In honor of National Camera Day, we invited Sasson to the podcast for an in-depth discussion about his invention of this revolutionary device. Listen in to hear about the surprising reception Sasson’s prototype received from Kodak executives during early demonstrations of its use, the complicated mix of cultural and business factors confronting a company in the throes of innovation, the many years that elapsed before Sasson was allowed to speak publicly about the camera, and much, much more.
 
In addition to being a storyline worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster, our conversation offers rare insight into the inner workings of a long-established, successful company that knows a lot about the problem but doesn’t like the answer. Stay to the end to hear Sasson make a comparison to a groundbreaking technological development in the corporate world today.

Guest: Steve Sasson

For more information on our guest and the gear he uses, see:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/invention-of-digital-camera

Above photograph © Courtesy of the George Eastman MuseumStay Connected

Steve Sasson Profile at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: https://eng.rpi.edu/about/alumni-achievements/steven-j-sasson
Steve Sasson at the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame: https://www.invent.org/inductees/steven-sasson
Steve Sasson at the National Science & Technology Medals Foundation: https://nationalmedals.org/laureate/steven-sasson/
The George Eastman Museum: https://www.eastman.org