The resolution is limited by the device's playback system, which is equivalent to pausing a single field or frame from a video recorder.

Processing the image data from a CCD sensor into a digital file would have required a supercomputer at the time, so a strategic decision was made to use analog recording methods, and Canon recruited Sony and other manufacturers to create a standard format, resulting in the Video Floppy.

It offered shutter speeds ranging from 1⁄60 to 1⁄2000 sec; the video floppy (branded "Mavipak" by Sony) was capable of storing up to 50 images.

[4] At the time, both Polaroid Corporation and Eastman Kodak were rumored to have developed competing still cameras similarly using image sensors instead of film.

Polaroid offered no comment regarding Sony's Mavica,[3]: 131  but previously had published a patent describing a camera that stored images electronically by 1980.

[16] The Yomiuri Shimbun approached Canon in September 1983, asking for a SVC to use at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics; the resulting system would also require a transmitter, receiver, and printer.

[1] Nikon released the NT-1000 in 1983 as an alternative solution for photojournalists on location, the first portable machine to scan and transmit conventional film.

[31] Nikon countered by announcing its competing QV-1000C professional SVC with supporting system hardware, including two dedicated lenses and a transmitter, in August 1988.

[18] The first photographs in a United States newspaper taken with the Canon Still Video System were published in USA Today on October 19, 1987, covering the 1987 World Series.

[35] Both the Canon and Sony used the "High Band" recording format, which increased the luminance carrier frequency and bandwidth to improve resolution.

[29] However, the increased interest and availability of consumer SVCs was paralleled by the rise of still cameras recording digital files, which was marked by rapid developments including the prototype Fujix DS-1P, announced at Photokina '88 and equipped with a removable memory card developed with Toshiba;[37] the Dycam Model 1 of 1990, also marketed as the Logitech FotoMan as the first consumer digital camera;[7] the 1991 Nikon F3-based Kodak DCS 100 for professionals;[9] and the Casio QV-10 of 1995, which was equipped with a color LCD, allowing users to review and delete still images on the same unit.