Hitachi

Hitachi MP-EG10 (1997)

The MP-EG series of Hitachi digital cameras have an awful lot of electronics and mechanical parts in them, so they are bigger than they look in the photos and heavier too.

That’s because they were the first digital cameras to shoot MPEG movies as well as stills, and record sound. In fact, Hitachi promoted the MP-EG series as a “mobile information tool”.

To underline the array of video features, Hitachi gave these devices the nickname MPEGCAM – get it?
The model shown here followed soon after the launch of the initial model, the EG1, and has lots of improved video handling electronics as well as a high-capacity (260mb) card with a built-in hard disc drive.
To accompany its ability to show movies on a computer or TV, the camera even has a remote.
There is also a PowerPoint facility, which the company brochure describes in fascinating detail. “The PowerPoint Converter for the Hitachi MPEGCAM program is bundled with the MP-EG10W. This program converts the PowerPoint sheets in the PC to JPEG files and copies them to the MPEGCAM. After that, all you have to do is bring the MPEGCAM to the customer's on-site and make a presentation.” There you go, it’s all in the palm of your hand, if you have a large hand.

Remember this was 1997, a time when digital video was novel. Not many years earlier, you lugged your video camera on your shoulder when shooting. How advanced were the folks at Hitachi, therefore.