You probably know Kodak as a manufacturer of cameras and a leader in photography. What might interest you is that Kodak dips its toes into just about all imaging applications, including business, entertainment, scientific, and medical imaging as well. Kodak is a leading producer of printers, CR’s and DR’s here at Amber, so let’s dive into their history a bit shall we?
1.) George Eastman is the founder of Kodak, and in the 1880’s he perfected film in roll form. He released the first Kodak camera in 1888. In 1900, the Kodak Brownie was released; the first camera affordable enough for consumers. The camera was a dollar and a roll of film 15 cents.
2.) Eastman was directly responsible for making motion pictures a reality, as roll film was used as a basis for motion picture film, used by the “Father of Cinematography” Louis Le Prince, and later by his successors the Lumiere Brothers and George Melies (famous for his 1902 film A Trip to the Moon, the first science fiction film.) More than 80 Oscar winning “Best Pictures” have been shot on Kodak film, and even though today the majority of filmmakers have switched to digital, a select few keep the roll film tradition alive (Christopher Nolan, Paul Wes Anderson, and Quentin Tarantino among them, who shot his most recent film The Hateful Eight in Kodak 70 mm.)
3.) Kodak’s role in health imaging began a year after the X-Ray was discovered in 1895. In 1896, Kodak introduced the first capture medium (photographic paper) designed specifically for X-Ray capture. During WWII, Kodak devised films to detect radiation exposure for workers developing the atomic bomb. Over the years, films specific to medical applications like cardiology, mammography, and oncology were developed, and later developments in health imaging technology include film for MRI and CT, as well as CR, DR, and PACS.
4.) Kodak invented the world’s first digital camera in 1975; and in 1976 released the first Kodamatic instant picture cameras, similar to Polaroid’s instant cameras.
5.) John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and Kodak recorded him traveling through space at 17,400 miles per hour. He also used a Kodak Digital Camera when he returned to space 35 years later.
