Remember the ’90s – Camera Edition

Remember the ’90s – Camera Edition

1280 853 Josh Solomon

The decade that brought us Dunkaroos and the Macarena also brought with it a scourge in the form of plastic-fantastic, homogeneous camera design that manufacturers would milk for far too long. As such, many cameras from the ‘90s are forgotten and often reviled.

What are we children of the ‘90s to do? Sure, we had Nickelodeon and the Nintendo 64, but we’re hard-pressed to reminisce about a decent Nikon, while older photo geeks wax poetic about their timeless machinations of brass and titanium. But were things really that bad?

Though marred by many marketing and manufacturing missteps, the film industry reached its technological zenith in the ’90s, with manufacturers scrambling to outdo each other year after year. This obsession with technology combined with the explosion of the photographic mass market resulted in the most capable film cameras ever made, along with some of the most hilariously designed cameras of all time.

It’s about time we gave these machines a proper tribute, so here’s our list of the most quintessentially ‘90s cameras. Whatever that means.


spice-girls-polaroid-camera

No. 5: Polaroid 600 Spice Girls Edition

I’ll kick things off with a camera so ‘90s it almost hurts – a Spice Girls themed Polaroid 600. The 1980s were very good to Polaroid. For a long time it seemed like every self-respecting tourist owned a cork board peppered with white-framed snapshots. Looking to ride this gravy train through the final decade of the century, Polaroid updated the little, folding box that had carried them through the ‘80s, endowed it with the infamous curves of ‘90s design, and began manufacturing countless special editions of the 600.

What pushes this camera to a spot on my shortlist is, of course, the Spice Girls theme and decor. It’s a glorious testament to the empire that was the ‘90s pop music industry, and the industry’s increasingly pervasive mass merchandising methods.

Everything about this camera screams low-budget, low-effort and mediocre quality; even the Spice Girls decals are just stickers. But that was the spirit of late ‘90s pop capitalism; sacrifice quality for quantity and milk the latest trend for all it’s worth. Polaroid paid dearly for this reckless behavior in the next decade, but who cares? It gave us a Spice Girls themed Polaroid. And I really, really want one.

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olympus-stylus-epic

No. 4: Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic / Mju-II

Not everything in the ‘90s was built around mindless pop frivolity. Some companies thrived in a market based around quality and consumer knowledge, chief among them being the masters of the compact camera, Olympus. While earlier decades saw Olympus redefine the abilities of super compact cameras with the XA series, the ’90s saw them perfect the genre with the Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic (or Mju-II for all you non-Americans).

If the previous Polaroid was a gross culmination of ’90s design, the Olympus Stylus Epic is the same’s idealized expression. Though it possesses the same noncommittal ’90s curves, these curves help the Stylus fit deftly into the palm of your hand for a more comfortable shooting experience. I won’t mince my words here; the Olympus Stylus Epic might just be the most well designed and beautiful camera of the ’90s.

It’s also one of the most ubiquitous cameras of the era. The Stylus Epic reigned supreme among the dime-a-dozen point-and-shoots of the decade simply because it was a fairly-priced, easy-to-use camera with an incredible lens. Sure, there was the Contax T2 and the Nikon 35Ti, but these were uncommon luxury accessories for the rich, rather than a blue-collar compact camera. The public bought in, and the Stylus sold in unbelievable quantities. What that means today is that Stylus Epics can be found hiding out in many a garage sale, flea market, and thrift store.

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nikon-n90s

No. 3: Nikon N90s

Nikon’s kind of like Cher. Somehow, they come back every decade with a #1 hit. And if “Believe” introduced autotune in popular music, the Nikon N90s heralded Nikon’s true entry into the autofocus arena. Sure, I could’ve picked the F4, but the N90s is a better camera. Plus, just look at the name. It literally says “90s”.

Naming conventions aside, the N90s really is Nikon’s greatest hit of the decade. It featured a faster autofocus and a slimmer profile than the pro-level F4, while still offering almost all of the pricier camera’s high-end features. And I’m not alone; the N90s was loved by many professionals due to its simplicity, high quality, and rugged nature, qualities that few equated with the often fragile technology of the ‘90s. The N90s helped dispel the notion that autofocus cameras were unreliable toys only suited for amateurs.

Of all the cameras on this list, the N90s is the one I’d recommend to any serious photo geek. It’s the biggest bang-for-your-buck film SLR, bar none. Everything is here, a 1/8000th of a second to 30 second shutter speed range, full PASM mode selection, center-weighted, spot, and matrix metering, an AE lock, fast autofocus, a durable metal chassis, and a suite of lenses many working photographers today still use and swear by. This is the photographic world’s best kept secret, and it would behoove any serious shooter to own a copy.

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minolta-maxxum-9-alpha-9

[image source]

No. 2: Minolta Maxxum/Dynax/Alpha 9

Because the ’90s represented film’s technological golden age, I had to include what I consider to be the most innovative and technologically advanced camera of the decade. The award goes to Minolta’s swan song, the Maxxum 9.

There’s no two ways around it; the Maxxum 9 is a technological masterpiece. It possessed nearly every photographic innovation ever; PASM mode selection with matrix, spot, and center weighted metering, eye-start AF, mid-roll reload, 5.5 FPS built in motor drive, AF lock, AE lock, a top shutter speed of an absurdly fast 1/12000th of a second… and the spec sheet goes on and on.

But as we’ve seen with certain recent DSLR designs, it’s extremely easy to make a camera this feature-heavy complicated and unwieldy. Fortunately, Minolta’s design team were at their peak brilliance while designing the Maxxum 9. It’s comically easy to operate, and it’s one of the easiest cameras for today’s digital shooters looking to make the transition to film. In fact, many DSLR design cues find their genesis in the Maxxum 9. But to this day, I’d be hard pressed to find a modern DSLR that shoots as well as the Maxxum 9 did at the tail end of the ’90s.

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konica-aiborg-vader-camera

[John Nuttall (Image rights)]

No. 1: Konica AiBorg

And the number one spot on the list goes to the most shamelessly ‘90s camera of them all, the Konica Aiborg. Konica themselves described this camera as “futuristic”, “black”, and perhaps most curiously, “ellipsoidal”. These descriptors sound like the ramblings of an uneasy marketing team, so the photographic populace came up with a much clearer name – the Darth Vader camera.

The Konica AiBorg takes the number one spot because it epitomizes the overwrought and confused design of the ‘90s. It’s bulbous, it’s plasticky, and it’s coated in rubber. If that wasn’t enough, a ridiculous feature set showcases an obsession with excessive automation that defined the decade. These include a 39-exposure multiple exposure mode, and a long exposure mode capable of 100 hour exposures. Very useful.

Perhaps more than anything else, the AiBorg represents the infectious optimism of the 1990s like no other camera. No terribly massive wars, a booming global economy, TV shows about nothing… The weight of previous decades had lifted off our collective shoulders, and it felt as though we were finally free to do anything and everything. We attempted these things without fear, but it also meant we sometimes launched our ambition without hesitation or thought. The Konica AiBorg perfectly embodies the rash optimism that made the ’90s so much fun.

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Honorable mention: the Pokemon Camera

One final spot goes to my personal favorite, the Pokemon camera. Just look at it. It’s everything that made the ‘90s great; a classic anime, shameless merchandising, rotund plasticity, and bright primary colors. It’s a glorified disposable camera, but who cares? Half of it’s a Pikachu and the shutter button’s a Diglett. If that doesn’t conjure memories of watching the “Bye, Bye, Butterfree” episode of Pokemon while eating French Toast Crunch in a Shaquille O’Neal jersey on a Saturday morning, then you’re either too old or too young.

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And that does it for my list of the most ’90s cameras ever. Love it? Hate it? Did we miss any? Think we should spotlight another decade? Let me know in the comments.

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Josh Solomon

Josh Solomon is a freelance writer and touring bassist living in Los Angeles. He has an affinity for all things analog. When not onstage, you can find him roaming around Southern California shooting film and humming a tune.

All stories by:Josh Solomon
19 comments
  • Nikon N8008S. Well, maybe a late 80s camera, but was and still is a workhorse for me.

    • The N8008s is a wonderful camera! Check out James’s review of it here: https://casualphotophile.com/2015/06/08/nikon-n8008-f-801-camera-review/

      • I followed the link and read the review. I agree with the entire assessment. It weighs like a sack of bricks, the AF is as noisy as a diesel locomotive, and it shoots like a dream. I used it all the way up to 2005 with regularity. Once I got a Nikon DSLR 3 years ago, I learned to shoot the N8008s even better and love is even more because there was a certain backwards compatibility from the D7100 back to the N8008s. From my 1st Nikkormat to my 1st F model to my N8008s right up to today there’s a continuity with the Nikon brand that’s 2nd to none. I still use the first 50mm 1.4 lens that came with my 1st Nikkormat in 1970. Try that with Canon.

  • Thanks for reminding me that all ’90s camera design was not crap! I own a Nikon N90s and it is flat out wonderful. It’s easy to forget it was a ’90s baby — but there it is, right in its name!

  • The Stylus Epic was the first point and shoot I owned since receiving my very first camera, a Kodak Instamatic, as a child. I still use one to this day. It’s not perfect, but the lens, size and the fact that it’s water resistant outweigh any negatives.

    I also have an N90s. I didn’t know that the autofocus was faster than the F4! I bought this because it had all the same features as the F4 but for a much lower price. The only disadvantage compared to the F4 was durability. If you were a pro and shooting hundreds of rolls each month the F4 was worth buying to withstand the punishment. A photographer I assisted for back then had an F4 as his main 35mm body and 2 N90s as backup bodies. I haven’t used my N90s very much since getting out of professional photography but I may have to take it out for a spin.

  • I believe Nikon did a silly thing doing a tie-in with Sharp on the N90/F90: a special cable and card to link the camera with a Sharp digital organizer allows the latter to programme and control the camera functions. But of course, the digital organizer was bound to get outdated way before the camera: not a good move.

  • Love that M3 in the background, was simpler too. 🙂

  • I bought my N90s brand new in…the 90s. It cost a fortune then. I sold during my divorce. I wish I had kept it. Wonderful camera.

  • Sometime last year, I bought a mint Nikkor 35mm F2 AF-D and it came with a free Nikon F90X (aka N90s)! The camera is excellent condition and I consider this to be one of my better deals last year. As for the Minolta, I think it’s just a gem. I own a Dynax 7 and a Dynax 9 and they never fail to impress me each time I pick either of them up – solid heft, bomb-proof and confidence-inspiring. Along these lines, I’ll like to give the Canon EOS 3 a special mention as well.

  • “It gave us a Spice Girls themed Polaroid. And I really, really want one.”

    So tell me what you want, what you really really want.

    ;p

    Great, fun reading article!

  • For me the best of the 90’th is the canon eos 3. The only camera that reads your mind (eye controled AF). I really miss this one.

  • I love the N90s so much , that I have 2 of them, 2 N8008s an F4 , a Nikonos V for rainy days and the beast–an F5.I do use the N90s a lot and the F 801s with a 50 f/1.8 is almost a pocket model. Love the ME function. Yep get a N90s, you won’t be sorry.

  • How strange the world works. 6 weeks ago at a BBQ a man told me I could “have all the film cameras – I never use them”. I thought this was BBQ talk fuelled by beer, but no…..when I got home from work yesterday there was a message to collect something from next door (my landlord). I walked in anyway, thinking it was not for me, and on the table were 3 camera bags!! Canon EOS10, Minolta X300 and that blast from the 90s (I think?) Dymax 3L!!! Oh yes and 10 rolls of film in a bag. Got batteries for the X300 and the Dymax and lo and behold, they look to be 100% working!! The EOS needs a special battery I couldn’t get at Tescos or Sainsbury’s….so that will be checked out on the weekend.

    X300 is most familiar to me, will fit right in with the FE once I get used to it. Dymax 3L is featherweight after the heft of my Nikon, autofocus, autowind, all sorts of program stuff……see how it goes but I suspect I will give it to my daughter if it checks out OK and she shows an interest. Though at the age of 12, she is a digital child.

  • Nice memories, I got into photography as a hobby in the early 90’s so point and shoots as well as SLR’s of that era hold fond memories. I still have my Olympus Infinity Zoom 230 that was a birthday gift from my mother. I also have a Konica Off Road Wide 28 which was a ruggedized 28mm fixed point and shoot that camera also was a gift. I recall that some long zoom point/shoots got over the $200 mark and that’s not even talking Leica, etc.

    The Konica Z-UP VP series point/shoots were quite flashy looking, they had a champagne colored aluminum upper front 2 tone with dark grey or charcoal bottom half whic were either rubberized (Z-UP 150vp) or plastic bottom halves(Z-up 110 and 120VP).

  • Just picked up an AiBorg because I just needed to have a camera that looks like a video game controller.
    This should be interesting!

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Josh Solomon

Josh Solomon is a freelance writer and touring bassist living in Los Angeles. He has an affinity for all things analog. When not onstage, you can find him roaming around Southern California shooting film and humming a tune.

All stories by:Josh Solomon