Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Peter Macann and Kate Bellingham dig out some old Tomorrow's World reports from the archive, focusing on the gadgets that were meant to revolutionise photography. Have any of them been successful? If not, why not?
First up, Peter looks back at his own 1986 report on a digital video stills camera, that stored images on floppy disk. Four years on, consumer digital cameras tailored to the amateur market are available, but they are costly and prints suffer from poor resolution. The latest prototype digital camera is a hybrid - allowing the use of conventional film, or digital storage using a - rather hefty - attachment.
Next, we look back at the quadroscopic Nimslo 3D camera, first shown in 1981. The Nimslo failed to catch on, likely due to the prohibitive cost of the camera itself, but the patented four-lens system has been sold to the Japanese firm Nishika, who have now designed their own 3D camera which will launch in Britain this year.
One photographic revolution that has taken off is autofocus - back in 1981, Michael Rodd demonstrated the first camera featuring an interchangeable lens with autofocus - now, it comes as standard on the majority of cameras.
Finally, we look back at a 1986 report, where a somewhat incredulous Maggie Philbin demonstrated a disposable camera. Despite - or perhaps because of - its comparative simplicity, four years on, the disposable camera has proven to be a resounding success.
Clip taken from Tomorrow's World, originally broadcast on BBC One, 22 February, 1990.
You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.
Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1
You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - bbc.co.uk/archive
Peter Macann and Kate Bellingham dig out some old Tomorrow's World reports from the archive, focusing on the gadgets that were meant to revolutionise photography. Have any of them been successful? If not, why not?
First up, Peter looks back at his own 1986 report on a digital video stills camera, that stored images on floppy disk. Four years on, consumer digital cameras tailored to the amateur market are available, but they are costly and prints suffer from poor resolution. The latest prototype digital camera is a hybrid - allowing the use of conventional film, or digital storage using a - rather hefty - attachment.
Next, we look back at the quadroscopic Nimslo 3D camera, first shown in 1981. The Nimslo failed to catch on, likely due to the prohibitive cost of the camera itself, but the patented four-lens system has been sold to the Japanese firm Nishika, who have now designed their own 3D camera which will launch in Britain this year.
One photographic revolution that has taken off is autofocus - back in 1981, Michael Rodd demonstrated the first camera featuring an interchangeable lens with autofocus - now, it comes as standard on the majority of cameras.
Finally, we look back at a 1986 report, where a somewhat incredulous Maggie Philbin demonstrated a disposable camera. Despite - or perhaps because of - its comparative simplicity, four years on, the disposable camera has proven to be a resounding success.
Clip taken from Tomorrow's World, originally broadcast on BBC One, 22 February, 1990.
You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.
Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1
You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - bbc.co.uk/archive
