Editing Apple QuickTake 100

{{Infobox computer peripheral
| name         = Apple QuickTake 100
| image        = [[File:Apple QuickTake 100.jpg|260px|frameless]]
| caption      = QuickTake 100 (photo: Hannes Grobe, CC BY-SA 4.0)
| manufacturer = Apple Computer, Inc.; designed by Kodak, built by Chinon
| type         = Digital still camera
| release_date = 1994
| price        = US$749
| interface    = Serial, 8-pin mini-DIN socket on the camera
| compatible   = Macintosh with a 68020 or later processor; PCs running Windows 3.1 (Windows edition)
| resolution   = 640 × 480 or 320 × 240 pixels, 24-bit colour
| storage      = 1 MB flash EPROM, not removable
| power        = Three AA cells, or 4.5 V DC/1.75 A to 8.0 V DC/1.0 A external
| dimensions   = 155 × 135 × 55 mm
| weight       = 0.5 kg
| model        = M2613 (camera label); M1644LL/A and M1644LL/B (Macintosh package)
| successor    = [[Apple QuickTake 150]]
}}
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The '''Apple QuickTake 100''' is a fixed-focus digital still camera that Apple Computer sold from 1994 for Macintosh and Windows computers. It records up to eight 640 × 480 pictures or 32 at 320 × 240 into 1 MB of internal flash memory, has no screen for viewing them, and sends them to the computer over a serial cable.<ref name="qt100ug">Apple Computer, ''Apple QuickTake 100 User's Guide for Macintosh'', 1994, part number 030-6161-A, hosted as [[:File:Apple QuickTake 100 Users Guide for Macintosh 1994.pdf]]. Package contents and system requirements p. 2; controls p. 3; charging p. 4; installing batteries p. 5; taking pictures, storage time, focus and flash range p. 11; flash settings p. 12; resolution settings p. 13; battery icon p. 14; timer p. 15; sleep p. 16; connecting p. 18-19; setting the clock p. 36; Erase All p. 38; power adapter p. 39; travel case and battery booster pack p. 40; care p. 51-52; solving problems p. 52-54; specifications (Appendix A) p. 55-56; battery information (Appendix B) p. 57-59; Windows (Appendix C) p. 61; QuickTake Setup (Appendix D) p. 63-64.</ref> Kodak designed the camera and Chinon, Kodak's manufacturing partner, built it;<ref name="wpqt">"Apple QuickTake", ''Wikipedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_QuickTake (retrieved 2026-10-02). Source for: Kodak design and Chinon manufacture of the 100 and 150; Fujifilm manufacture of the 200; first US sale date and list price of the 100; release month of the 150; the 200's similarity to the Fujifilm DS-7; discontinuation in 1997. Used for history and dates only.</ref> Apple's user's guide carries a "Portions Copyright Eastman Kodak Company" line.<ref name="qt100ug" />

== History ==
Apple launched the QuickTake 100 at Macworld Expo in Tokyo on 17 February 1994. John Henshall, reviewing it for ''Digital Imaging Plus'' in March 1994, reported that one camera served both Macintosh and Windows users and that only the interface differed.<ref name="henshall">John Henshall, "Apple QuickTake 100: Apple's first digital camera - a 'serial killer'", ''Digital Imaging Plus'', March 1994, http://www.epi-centre.com/reports/9403cdi.html (retrieved 2026-10-02). Source for: launch at the Tokyo Macworld Expo on 17 February 1994; one camera for Macintosh and Windows with a different interface; three AA batteries; a weight of one pound; storage for up to a year in internal flash memory; the copyright notice shared by Apple and Eastman Kodak (Japan).</ref> It went on sale in the United States on 20 June 1994 at a list price of US$749.<ref name="wpqt" /> Apple's Macintosh package was M1644LL/A and later M1644LL/B. The later package's software ran on the Power Macintosh; owners of the first needed an extra QuickTake for Power Macintosh 1.0 disk.<ref name="til14991">Apple Computer, "QuickTake 100: Power Macintosh Compatible", Tech Info Library article 14991 (TA31427), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: package numbers M1644LL/A and M1644LL/B; Power Macintosh compatibility of the M1644LL/B software; the QuickTake for PwrMac 1.0 update disk for M1644LL/A owners.</ref> Apple's support note for the Windows edition, dated June 1994, gives its bundle as the camera, a DIN-8 to DB-9 serial cable, a DB-9 to DB-25 adapter, three NiCad cells with a charger, a neck strap, software and a manual.<ref name="til15604">Apple Computer, "QuickTake 100 for Windows: Description (6/94)", Tech Info Library article 15604 (TA31906), in the archive.org collection ''Apple's Technical Information Library Articles'', https://archive.org/details/APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: Windows bundle (camera, software, DIN-8 to DB-9 serial cable, DB-9 to DB-25 adapter, three NiCad batteries and recharger, neck strap, manual); RS-232C connection up to 57,600 bps; battery life of 120 images with about half using the flash; images stored for over a year; expected shipping in late June 1994.</ref>

The [[Apple QuickTake 150]] replaced it in 1995.<ref name="wpqt" /> From 2 August to 15 December 1995 Apple ran a QuickTake 100 Upgrade Program. Apple's own description calls it a firmware upgrade with no change to the case: the upgraded camera stored 32 standard or 16 high-quality images, both at 640 × 480, and came back with a close-up lens, the QuickTake 150 manual, PhotoFlash 2.0 (Macintosh) or PhotoNow! (Windows) and a "QuickTake 100 Plus" label.<ref name="til18091">Apple Computer, "QuickTake 100: Upgrade to QuickTake 100 Plus (Discontinued)", Tech Info Library article 18091 (TA34002), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: programme dates 2 August to 15 December 1995; firmware-only upgrade with no change to the housing; storage of 32 standard or 16 high-quality images at 640 × 480; close-up lens, QuickTake 150 manual, PhotoFlash 2.0 or PhotoNow!; QuickTake 100 Plus label; one-year warranty on the firmware.</ref> ''TidBITS'' reported the offer in August 1995 as costing about $200, open until 30 November 1995, with units sent to an upgrade centre "to be fitted with new components".<ref name="tidbits">Geoff Duncan, "QuickTake 100 to 150 Upgrade", ''TidBITS'', 7 August 1995, https://tidbits.com/1995/08/07/quicktake-100-to-150-upgrade/ (retrieved 2026-10-02).</ref> The two accounts differ on the closing date and on whether hardware was changed.

[[File:Apple QuickTake 100 Plus label.jpg|thumb|220px|Underside of an upgraded camera: the "QuickTake 100 Plus" strip above the original M2613 label (photo: TKems1, CC BY-SA 4.0)]]

== Specifications ==
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%;"
|+'''QuickTake 100 specifications'''
! Item !! Value
|-
| Type || CCD still frame camera<ref name="qt100ug" /><ref name="qt100ss">Apple Computer, ''QuickTake 100'' Service Source, 23 pages, from the Apple Service Source 2.0 CD (1996), hosted as [[:File:Apple QuickTake 100 Service Source.pdf]]. Specifications: Characteristics p. 1, Environmental p. 2, Electrical p. 3, Physical p. 4. Parts 1-15: accessory kit 601-0485, battery booster pack 922-0751, battery rechargers 922-0661 (US, 110 V) with J, Z, X and B prefixes for Japan, Europe, Australia and the UK, DIN-8 to DB-9 cable 922-0676, Macintosh DIN-8 to DIN-8 cable 922-0671, PC adaptor DB-9/DB-25 922-0675, battery cover 922-0673, neck strap 922-0674, 17 W power adapter 922-0043 (replacing 699-0517), whole unit 661-0880 (international only).</ref>
|-
| Image size || 640 × 480 (high resolution, up to 8 pictures); 320 × 240 (standard, up to 32)<ref name="qt100ug" />
|-
| Colour || 24-bit
|-
| Memory || 1 MB flash EPROM; Apple quotes storage for up to one year<ref name="qt100ug" />
|-
| Lens || Fixed focus, 8 mm (Apple's equivalent: 50 mm on 35 mm film)
|-
| Focus range || 4 ft to infinity
|-
| Aperture || f/2.8 to f/16, set automatically
|-
| Shutter speed || 1/30 to 1/175 second
|-
| Sensitivity || About ISO 85
|-
| Flash || Built-in; automatic, fill or off; 4 to 9 ft
|-
| Self-timer || 10 seconds
|-
| Interface || GeoPort (Macintosh), RS-232C serial (Windows)
|-
| Internal power || Three AA cells, 3.6 to 5.4 V DC
|-
| External power || 4.5 V DC at 1.75 A to 8.0 V DC at 1.0 A
|-
| Power consumption || Under 500 mW standby, under 4.5 W operating<ref name="qt100ss" />
|-
| Operating temperature || 0 to 40 °C; 20 to 95 per cent humidity, non-condensing
|-
| Dimensions || 155 × 135 × 55 mm (6.1 × 5.3 × 2.2 in), 0.5 kg<ref name="qt100ug" />
|}

Apple's ''Apple Facts'' guide of October 1994 prints different case figures, 2.0 × 5.0 × 6.0 in and 0.41 kg; the user's guide and the Service Source agree on the figures in the table.<ref name="facts9410">Apple Computer, ''Apple Facts'', October 1994, QuickTake 100 entry, https://vintageapple.org/applefacts/pdf/Apple_Facts_9410_10.94_October_1994.pdf (retrieved 2026-10-02). Source for: dimensions 2.0 × 5.0 × 6.0 in and weight 0.9 lb (0.41 kg); 1 MB flash EPROM storing up to 32 images for over one year; three rechargeable AA NiCad batteries with charger, and support for NiCad, alkaline or lithium AA cells; the accessory list (battery booster pack, AC adapter, travel case, Connection Kits for Windows and Macintosh).</ref><ref name="qt100ss" /> The label on the camera's base gives the model as M2613 and the rating as 7.5 V DC, 2.0 A.<ref name="label">Photograph of a QuickTake 100 base label, [[:File:Apple QuickTake 100 Plus label.jpg]] (TKems1, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0). Readable text: QuickTake 100, Model No. M2613, Rated 7.5V 2.0A, FCC ID BCGM2613, Made in Japan, (c) 1993-1994 Apple Computer, Inc.</ref>

== Hardware ==
[[File:Apple QuickTake 100 control panel.jpg|thumb|300px|The back of the camera: viewfinder, control panel display and buttons (photo: Eduort, CC BY-SA 3.0)]]
The camera switches on when the sliding lens cover is opened. The front carries the lens, the viewfinder window with a light sensor above and below it for the light meter, the shutter release, a timer light and the flash. The serial port and the power adapter socket are behind a small sliding cover. The back has the viewfinder eyepiece, an LCD control panel and four buttons: flash, resolution, timer, and an Erase All button that is pressed with a pointed object. The battery compartment takes three AA cells, with a ribbon under them for pulling them out.<ref name="qt100ug" />

Pictures are kept in flash EPROM, which needs no power to hold its contents. Apple's support note on the memory says the chip is surface-mounted and soldered to the circuit board, that erasing overwrites every byte with FF, and that if the memory will not erase to FF the camera declares a hard failure, shows an error and stops working.<ref name="til16881">Apple Computer, "QuickTake 100: Information Stored on Flash EPROM", Tech Info Library article 16881 (TA33034), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: picture data stored in non-volatile flash EPROM; erasure by overwriting every byte with FF; a hard failure and error display if the memory does not erase; the EPROM is a surface-mounted part soldered to the board.</ref> The clock is a different matter: it stops when the batteries go flat or are removed, and has to be set again from the computer.<ref name="qt100ug" />

Colin Leroy-Mira, who wrote QuickTake software for the Apple II, describes the inside of the 100 and 150 as at least five circuit boards joined by flat flexible cables, ribbon cables, bare wires and board-to-board connectors. The serial port sits on the smallest board, which plugs into the large bottom board through two surface-mount connectors.<ref name="colinofix">Colin Leroy-Mira, "Fixing a Quicktake 150 serial connector", colino.net, 21 June 2026, https://www.colino.net/wordpress/archives/2026/06/21/fixing-a-quicktake-150-serial-connector/ (retrieved 2026-10-02). Community repair report. Source for: construction from at least five PCBs joined by FFCs, ribbon cables, bare wires and board-to-board connectors; the I/O board carrying the serial port and its two SMT connectors to the bottom board; a QuickTake 150 that sent its greeting but did not answer the computer, traced to an open receive line and an open pin 2 at the serial connector and repaired with bodge wires; the map of serial pins to resistors and to U309 and U310; the statement that this applies to the QuickTake 100.</ref> See [[Apple QuickTake 100 General Maintenance]] before opening the case: the flash has a high-voltage storage capacitor.

== Connecting the camera ==
The Macintosh package uses a mini-DIN-8 to mini-DIN-8 cable into the modem or printer port; the Windows package uses a mini-DIN-8 to DB-9 cable with a DB-9 to DB-25 adapter.<ref name="qt100ug" /><ref name="qt100ss" /><ref name="colinoqt2">Colin Leroy-Mira, "Quicktake for Apple II", colino.net, https://www.colino.net/wordpress/quicktake-for-apple-ii/ (retrieved 2026-10-02). Community software and cabling notes. Source for: support for the QuickTake 100, 150 and 200 (the 200 through the same driver as the Fujifilm DS-7); the camera end of the 100/150 cable as a mini-DIN-8, with the computer's DTR line wired to its pins 2 and 7 and ground on pin 4; the mini-DIN-8 to DB-9 cable supplied with the Windows version; the QuickTake 100 starting to talk only once DTR is cleared; a standard AppleTalk 8-pin cable working on the Apple IIgs; use of dcraw's QTKT and QTKN decoders.</ref> Apple lists the Macintosh requirement as a 68020 or later processor, which rules out the Macintosh Plus, SE, Classic, Portable and PowerBook 100, with System 7.0.1 or later.<ref name="qt100ug" /> The camera and the computer talk at 9600 bps to begin with and can then agree a higher speed; the camera starts the conversation only after the computer lowers its DTR line.<ref name="colinoproto">Colin Leroy-Mira, "The Apple Quicktake 100 and 150 serial communication protocol", colino.net, 29 October 2023, https://www.colino.net/wordpress/archives/2023/10/29/the-apple-quicktake-100-150-serial-communication-protocol/ (retrieved 2026-10-02). Community reverse-engineering notes. Source for: the shared protocol of the 100 and 150; opening the port at 9600 bps 8N1 and dropping DTR to wake the camera; the camera's seven-byte greeting; negotiation to 19,200, 38,400 or 57,600 bps; picture sizes of 115,200 and 28,800 bytes for the QuickTake 100; ADPCM data from the 100 and a different compression from the 150; deletion of all pictures only.</ref> The cables, adapters and kits are described on [[Apple QuickTake accessories]].

The QuickTake 1.0 application downloads, crops, rotates and saves the pictures; the QuickTake Setup control panel mounts the camera on the desktop.<ref name="qt100ug" /> Later software, and the formats the camera produces, are covered on [[Apple QuickTake Software]].

== Known problems ==
* The camera displays "ER" in an error state. Apple's advice is to check the power adapter, switch the camera off and on, and send it for service if the letters stay.<ref name="til15681">Apple Computer, "QuickTake 100: LCD Panel Showing "ER" (6/94)", Tech Info Library article 15681 (TA31974), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: ER as an error state; checking the power adapter and its connection; switching off and on; servicing if ER remains.</ref>
* Alkaline cells run down very quickly in this camera. Apple recommends lithium cells first and NiCads second.<ref name="til15423">Apple Computer, "QuickTake 100: Use NiCad not Alkaline Batteries (5/96)", Tech Info Library article 15423 (TA31756), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: the very short life of alkaline cells in the QuickTake 100; lithium as first choice and NiCad as second; AA size for the 100 and 150.</ref>
* QuickTake 1.0 fails to show pictures under QuickTime 2.1; Apple's fix was QuickTime 2.5.<ref name="til19990">Apple Computer, "QuickTake 100 & System 7.5.3 Incompatibility (10/96)", Tech Info Library article 19990 (TA35661), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: QuickTake 1.0 quitting or reporting "Unable to view the slide because of an error" with QuickTime 2.1, cured by QuickTime 2.5.</ref>

The symptom tables, communication checks and repair notes are on [[Apple QuickTake 100 Troubleshooting Guide]], which also covers the QuickTake 150.

== Documentation ==
* [[Apple QuickTake 100 Documentation]]: the user's guide for Macintosh (030-6161-A) and the QuickTake 100 Service Source.

== Related pages ==
* [[Apple QuickTake 100 General Maintenance]]
* [[Apple QuickTake 100 Troubleshooting Guide]]
* [[Apple QuickTake 150]]
* [[Apple QuickTake 200]]
* [[Apple QuickTake accessories]]
* [[Apple QuickTake Software]]
* [[Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage]]

== References ==
<references />

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[[Category:Apple Vintage Accessories]]