About Cameras

1. Why Was the Camera Invented?

People have always wanted to show or share ideas with others. The ability to record and leave a record for people in the future drove early men to paint hunting scenes on the cave walls in Lascaux France, and for artists to record images in paint and stone. Photography, which was developed in the 19th century allowed humans to record scenery and people almost exactly as they are in real life. Cameras made photographs possible and are the tool which is still used today.

2. Early Cameras

Camera Obscura

The first cameras were called "Camera Obscura" (meaning "dark room" in Latin). The very first camera obscura worked by making a small hole in the wall of a dark room so that the light coming into the room from outside through the hole would project the scenery or people outside onto the dark wall inside opposite the hole. By placing paper on that wall, painters and artists could draw the projection by hand, creating a sketch which was similar to the real thing. The name of the "camera" today came from this camera obscura.


The Niépce Camera and Daguerreotypes

Then around 1825, Frenchman Niépce developed the world's first recognizable camera, which could shoot and record items that did not move such as landscapes.

This camera was basically a very small camera obscura, with a chemically treated metal plate in the back. The light coming in the aperture caused the chemicals to harden wherever it touched the plate. After the excess, unhardened chemicals were washed away the photograph would appear on the metal plate.

These cameras created the first images that could be considered photographs by modern terms. However, there were several drawbacks:

  1. The photographs were one-of-a-kind; you could not make copies.

  2. The chemicals used were dangerous.

  3. A laboratory was required to create each plate and process the photos.

  4. The camera and equipment was very expensive and not available for most people to use.

  5. The camera was not very convenient; since it needed to let a lot of light in for it to record taking a picture took about 8 hours.

  6. The chemicals used were not very stable; the photographic image would fade if exposed to too much light.

Another inventor, working at the same time came up with a similar solution using a different combination of chemicals. His process, which created photographs we now call daguerreotypes, were stable, so the images did not fade. They also took less time to take, usually only about 20 minutes.

The Camera Obscura

A recreation of the Niépce camera

The first "picture."

A daguerreotype

The Kodak Camera

George Eastman invented flexible roll film and in 1888 introduced the Kodak camera. It came pre-loaded with a roll that could take took 100 circular images 2 5/8" in diameter. Once the photographer took all 100 pictures, they would send the whole camera in; the film would be processed, new film would be loaded, and the camera and pictures would be shipped back to its owner.

While the quality was not up to professional standards it proved popular with amateur photographers and contributed to the growth and interest in photography.

In 1888 an original Kodak #1 sold for $25 (about $600.00 in today's money) loaded with a roll of film and included a leather carrying case.

Roll film cameras became the standard for cameras - for both amateurs and professionals. However, there were still several drawbacks:

  1. The photographs were one-of-a-kind, you could not make copies.

  2. Processing was only done at a laboratory - the camera needed to be mailed back to get the images processed, which took time and money (about $250.00 in today's money to get the 100 photos printed.)

  3. The lens was fixed - it was easy to have images out of focus.

  4. There was no viewfinder - you would point the camera in the direction that you wanted to take a picture and shoot. You may or may not have the image you wanted and you wouldn't know until after you got the photos back from processing, which may be months later.

An ad for the first Kodak camera

A "snapshot" from the Kodak #1

3. Modern Photography

Developments in Film Photography

During the remainder of the 20th century other developments contributed to the advancement of photography as a popular pastime.

  • Plastic negatives: Allowed multiple copies of photos to be easily created from a single negative.

  • Cartridge film: Rather than sending back the camera, the film was in a canister that could be removed from the camera and sent in for processing. This allowed photographers to continue using their cameras while film was developed.

  • Viewfinder: The addition of a small window on the camera which allowed the photographer to see what the camera saw.

  • Focusing lenses: Allowed cameras to focus on objects at different distances. At first they were manual - the photographer had to make the adjustment by hand, but later auto-focus (automatic focus) lenses would do it without assistance.

  • Polaroid: A all in one photographic process. The chemicals for developing the picture were attached to the negative in a pouch; as the exposed negative was ejected from the camera the chemical would cover the image and expose it. It was a truly instant photo.

Some of the different types of cameras from the 20th century.

A 35mm negative for a color photograph.

A Polaroid camera and photograph.

Digital Photography

The world of photography has been dramatically changed by the invention of digital photography. Rather than relying upon specially treated materials that create a physical representation of the light that touches them digital cameras use sensors that read type and amount of light that hits them and encodes it as a series of numbers. This has had several impacts:

  • Digital images can be easily transferred and shared.

  • They can be easily manipulated and changed.

  • Lacking a physical form they take up little storage space and do not fade or get damaged by heat or water.

  • The continuing advancement in computer technology has allowed for cameras small enough to be placed in cellular phones. The newest advancement has created a camera that is the width of a piece of spaghetti, small enough to be used in heart surgery.

The history of the digital camera began with Eugene F. Lally of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the 1960s who wanted to develop cameras to help with interstellar navigation. The first digital still camera was a prototype developed by Eastman Kodak. They didn't pursue that avenue of research and the first commercially available digital camera came to market was the 1990 Dycam Model 1. Digital camera rapidly gained in popularity, with the availability of smaller cameras, and the ability to print to local printers.

In 2000 the first cellular phone with a camera was released ushering in a new era in photography with nearly everyone having a phone at hand at all times. This has changed how we share information, explore the truth, and preserve our memories for the future.

Dycam Model 1

Digital camera that uses a floppy disc to store images

The Leap surgical camera.