Brief history of
the camera
Pinhole cameras/camera obscura
Pinhole cameras/
camera obscura
• 1000 AD – Ibn al-Haytham
Wet plate cameras
1100 – early 1800s
• Discovery of
silver nitrate,
silver chloride,
diaphragm,
photochemical
effect
Wet plate cameras
1825-1827 – Joseph
Nicephore Niepce
• The first
photographs
• Used a pewter
plate coated with
bitumen and
exposed to light
Wet plate cameras
1836 – Louis Jacques
Daguerre
• Daguerreotype
camera
• Copper plate
coated with silver,
treated with iodine
vapor
• Developed using
mercury vapor and
fixed with a salt
solution
Wet plate cameras
1840 – William Fox
Talbot
• Calotype camera
Dry plate cameras
1855 – von Monckhoven
• Collodian dry plates
Dry plate cameras
1871 – Richard Maddox
• Gelatin dry plates
• Began to rival wet
plates
• Pros: Photographers
could use commercially
made dry plates instead
of preparing their own
emulsions in a mobile
dark room
• Allowed cameras to be
small enough to be
hand-held
• Shortened exposure
times lead to invention
of the shutter
Photographic film
1885 – George Eastman
• Invented paper film
Photographic film
1888 – Kodak camera
• Simple box camera
• Fixed-focus lens with
single shutter speed
• Low cost – brought
photography to the
“masses”
• Preloaded with 100
exposures, had to be
returned to the
factory for
processing and
reloading
Photographic film
1889 – Celluloid film
Photographic film
1910 – Kodak
Brownie
• Simple and
inexpensive enough
to introduce the
snapshot
• On sale until the
1960s
First modern cameras
1925 – Leica 1
• Introduced 35mm
film
First modern cameras
1928 – Rolleiflex
medium format
TLR
First modern cameras
1933 – Exakta
SLR
The modern cameras
1938 – Super Kodak
Six-20
• First auto-exposure
camera
The modern cameras
1948 – Polaroid Model
95
• First instant picture
camera
The modern cameras
1960 – TTL metering
The modern cameras
1977 – Konica C35AF
• First mass produced
AF point and shoot
The modern cameras
1978 Polaroid SX-70
• First AF SLR
The modern cameras
1981 – Pentax ME-F
• First 35mm AF SLR
• Utilized a motorized
lens
The modern cameras
1986 – Minolta Maxxum
7000
• Integrated AF system
The digital camera
1986 Canon RC-701
• First analog digital
camera
• First used by
USAToday for the
1986 World Series
• Poor quality, could
transmit pictures
over the phone
The digital camera
1988 Canon RC-250
Xapshot
• Analog camera
marketed to consumers
The digital camera
1990s – Introduction of
the digital P&S
The digital camera
1999 – Nikon D1
• 2.74MP, first
professional digital
SLR
The digital camera
2003 – Canon 300D
(digital rebel)
• First DSLR under $1000
The digital camera
2007 – Canon 40D
• First live view DSLR
Any reference to or reproduction of material
contained herein should include attribution to
[Link].
This material may not be reproduced for
commercial purposes without permission
from the owner.
All trademarks referenced herein are
intellectual property of [Link].
A production of
[Link]
Sharing Information to Join GenerationsTM
© [Link] 2012. All Rights Reserved.