I remember using my Targa system. I think my Targa is the first model made, as it has no Truevision logo, and the date on it is 1985. Not that Wikipedia is a true authority, but it states the first Targa card was introduced in 1987. I may be wrong, but I'd swear I was using mine in 1986. It had a standard video card that would output to a monochrome CRT. The TIPS software and Summagraphics drivers were loaded using command switches from a DOS prompt. I remember editing the autoexec.bat file several times to try different loading procedures. The system has a JVC vidcam with a BNC adapter that goes to a 9 pin DIN input on the Targa, and the Targa has a 9 pin DIN to BNC connector that went to a VERY large monitor, which I believe was a SONY.
The computer would boot up the TIPS software on the monochrome monitor, and the TIPS software would appear on the SONY, with several menus on the side and top, if I remember correctly. The Summasketch pad controlled the TIPS software on the SONY. A person would sit/stand in front of the JVC camera, and pictures would be taken. File save format was of course TGA. I only have 3 pics from back then, and I can't share them, as they are of a friend of mine from way back when. It's odd, as the pictures are split in the middle, and the back half is in the front for some strange reason. I've tried several photo prog's and they all display like that. Perhaps it was a very early form of TGA, and they changed the spec's.
I remember using the pen on the Summasketch to distort, blend, smooth, stretch any part of the anatomy. The TIPS software has a large color palette, and has the ability to sample the color from one area, to use on another. This was back in 1986, so it was pretty state-of-the-art. The system I have was built for a plastic surgeon.
On another note, I've decided to part with the system, and am putting it up on tha Bay today, so if you know anyone interested, I'm listing the Targa, JVC cam, SummaSketch and all the adapters, cables, and power supplies that came with everything. The things needed are an ISA-capable PC with cheap video card, and a monitor with an RGB BNC input. The monitor may be difficult to find, unless there's an adapter available that converts the 3 BNCs to a newer video format.
If the stuff doesn't sell, I might build a 486 system, as long as I can find some kind of adapter for the Targa output.