Steven Sasson
Kodak engineer who built the first digital camera
- Age
- 76 yrs
- Birthday in 240 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Invention
- Honours
- 3
- Most recent 2011
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Steven Sasson is an American electrical engineer who built the first self-contained digital camera at Eastman Kodak in 1975. The prototype took 23 seconds to record a black-and-white image onto cassette tape. He received the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2009.
Biography
Background
Sasson grew up in Brooklyn, studied electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and joined Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York, in 1973.
The first digital camera
Asked to see what could be done with a new charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor, Sasson built a camera from a movie-camera lens, the CCD, circuits and a cassette recorder. In December 1975 it captured a 100-by-100-pixel black-and-white image, viewed on a television.
Kodak’s dilemma
Kodak executives saw little commercial reason to replace film, and Sasson was told not to talk about it publicly. Kodak patented the camera in 1978 and later earned billions in licensing, but the company filed for bankruptcy in 2012 after the industry moved to digital.
Recognition
Sasson worked at Kodak until 2009. He received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2011.
Timeline
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1950
Born in Brooklyn, New York, United States
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1973
Joins Kodak
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1975
First digital camera works
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1978
Patent granted
-
2009
National Medal of Technology; retires
-
2011
National Inventors Hall of Fame
Notable works
-
1975
Digital camera prototype Invention
Awards and honours
-
Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame
2007
-
National Medal of Technology and Innovation
2009
-
National Inventors Hall of Fame
2011
Did you know?
-
1
The camera weighed about 3.6 kg.
-
2
Each image took 23 seconds to record and another 23 seconds to display.
-
3
His first test photo was of a lab technician.
Connections
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Brendan Eich
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Nadiem Makarim
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Richard Garriott
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1961
- Donna Dubinsky Technology · CEO of Palm who made the PalmPilot a success 1955
Frequently asked
Who is Steven Sasson?
Steven Sasson is an American electrical engineer who built the first self-contained digital camera at Eastman Kodak in 1975. The prototype took 23 seconds to record a black-and-white image onto cassette tape. He received the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2009.
How old is Steven Sasson?
Steven Sasson is 76 years old, born on 4 July 1950 in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
Where is Steven Sasson from?
Steven Sasson was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
What is Steven Sasson known for?
Steven Sasson is best known for Inventing the self-contained digital camera at Kodak (1975).
What awards has Steven Sasson received?
Notable honours include Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame (2007), National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2009), National Inventors Hall of Fame (2011).
References
- Steven Sasson — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Steven Sasson (Q2092981) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Steven Sasson”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Steven Sasson.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/steven-sasson
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