My initial foray into digital photography was delayed by the high prices the first generation of cameras fetched, despite their palty capabilities.

I purchased my Apple QuickTake 100 about a year after it was released. The high prices it commanded were too rich for my blood, especially because I didn't have any consulting work that could be done with the QuickTake. When a local computer store owner mentioned that the model 150 had arrived and I could have his last model 100 for a third off the wholesale price I jumped.

Apple's first digital camera, the QT100 ran on three AA batteries, weighed a pound, and could store only 8 images at 640 by 480 pixels or a whopping 32 images at 320 by 240 pixels. It's held binocular-style, with both hands, although those of us with strong hands can use one.

(Luckily I'm an avid "PowerBook" user, onto which I can pull the pictures from the camera. Doing this every 32 pictures must is mind-numbing.)

That was the day before my 1995 trip to Eivissa and Gran Canaria. I was able to report from the field in both text and pictures. I read the user's manual on the airplane and gave the QuickTake a trial by fire: I was snapping images from the moment I sat in my seat, through sunsets, windy days, and low battery power.

My comments? The storage method used (QuickTake PICT) is goofy and too large, the software is unwieldy and seems to be from programmers who never read the Apple Human Interface Guidlines, and the PowerMac version is a bust: the 68k version refuses to run on a PowerPC but the PowerPC installer installs 68k code. Sigh.

All in all, however, I'm thrilled with the camera, especially since I didn't have to pay anything close to full price for it. Being able to add digital images to my web pages has been invaluable.

(It was a rugged thing, and survived many a trip overseas.)