I really feel like I robbed the guy on this one. He let it go with a Buy It Now price of only $19.95. I think at auction it could have easily fetched 100. Not only is it mint in the box, but it is sealed!

In my quest for Apple products that I never knew existed, I stumbled upon the Shrine of Apple. What a great site. They showcased the Apple VideoPhone Kit. I’d never seen it before. Looks like another product Jobs nixed when he returned in ’97. The box is dated 1996, so it looks like these guys weren’t around too long. I kept my eye on eBay for a couple weeks, but I never saw a single one posted. Then one day, BOOM! This one was listed for $19.95 Buy It Now. How can you go wrong?













Power switch on one side, focus knob on the other.





Flicking the power switch opens the lens; similar to what we’d see later with the iSight.





There are connections on the back for power and video, as well as a knob for the iris.



Both power and video connections are made with the included “Y” cable.



Strange how the cable has become discolored while inside the box. I thought that only happened over time being exposed to light. It almost looks like gold spray paint.



Now here’s an oddity. This is the only Apple product that I can think of (off the top of my head) that does not have an Apple logo on it. The only branding it has is the little Apple logo on the decal underneath. This camera would have looked really cool with a rainbow logo on top. At minimum I though it would have a recessed Apple logo on it like the old mice or a 400K external floppy drive.



It’s too bad I can’t get this guy up and running. 11 Macs, and not a single one with the specs it needs. Either my Macs are too old or too new. The VideoPhone Kit needs a PowerMac with 16M of RAM.

In time I’m sure I’ll acquire a PowerPC equipped Mac that I can try it with. Funny, most people buy peripherals for their computers. I buy computers for my peripherals!

It looks cool on the shelf next to the QuickTake and iSight. If two is a coincidence and three is a collection, it looks like I just started an Apple-Optics collection!