THE HISTORY OF THE CAMERA

PHOTOGRAPHY THROUGH THE YEARS

By Sarah and Tess

500 B.C.

In 5th and 4th century B.C., Chinese and Greek philosophers are able to describe the basic principles of optics and the camera.

1500 A.D.

The first pinhole camera (also known as the camera obscura) is invented by Alhazen Ibn Al-Haytham. He was a Muslim scientist, mathematician and philosopher, and is considered to be the father of modern optics.

Alhazen’s camera obscura

1814

Joseph Niepce achieved the first known photographic image with a camera obscura. However, the image required eight hours of light exposure and later faded. Joseph Niepce’s

photograph. It was taken at Saint-Loup-de-Varrenes.

1837

In 1837 Louis Daguerre invented the daguerreotype camera. It was the first camera that could take a fixed image that would not fade and needed only 30 minutes of light exposure.

This is the design for the daguerreotype camera.

1841

1841William Henry Talbot patents the Calotype process; which is the first negative-positive process making it possible to make multiple copies.

One of Talbot’s negative-positive photographs.

1859

The panoramic camera is invented and patented by Thomas Sutton. This camera achieved a panoramic effect by using curved glass plates and a hollow glass lens filled with distilled water giving an angle of 140 degrees.

Thomas Sutton’s panoramic camera.

1884-1900

In 1888,George Eastman patents Kodak roll-film camera. Eastman was a pioneer in photographic films usage. He also started manufacturing paper films in 1884. His first mass-marketed camera, the Brownie, went on sale in 1900 and continued to be sold until 1960. Two examples of

the brownie camera,

1900

In 1900 the Reise-camera was invented. It was a light, foldable camera that made it easy for photographers to take landscape pictures.

Two types of the reise-cameras.

1913

In 1913 the first 35mm still camera was invented by Oskar Barnack. It became the standard for all film cameras.

Oskar Barnack’s 35mm camera.

1927

In 1927, the General Electric Company invents the modern flash bulb. It had a tremendous light output, nearly 180,000 lumen-seconds, necessary for the rather slow speed captures of the time.

Advertisement for the Sashalite flash bulb; GEC’s first commercial flash bulb.

1948

In 1948, Edwin Land invented the Polaroid camera which could take a picture and print it in about one minute.

Edwin Land’s first polaroid camera

1978

Konica introduces the first point-and-shoot, autofocus camera called Konica C35 AF.

The Konica C35 AF

1981

Sony demonstrates the Sony Mavica – the world’s first digital electronic still camera. Images could be displayed to a television monitor or color printer.

The Sony Mavica

1986

Fuji introduced the disposable camera. The inventors also call this device “single-use cameras”. The camera was easily accessible and made photography available to everybody, no matter their wealth

The current Fuji disposable camera

1991

In 1991 Kodak released the first professional digital camera system (DCS) which was of a great use for photojournalists.

1994

The first digital camera for the consumer-level market that worked with a home computer via a serial cable was the Apple QuickTake 100 camera.

2000

In Japan, Sharp’s J-SH04 introduced the world’s first camera phone

2005

The Canon EOS 5D is launched, This is the first consumer-priced full frame digital SLR.

2007

On June 29, 2007, the first Apple iPhone was released. It featured a 2 MP camera. With each new iPhone release, a better and better camera accompanied it

Sources

http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/Photography.htm

http://photodoto.com/camera-history-timeline/

http://www.myplace.edu.au/TLF_resources/R6388/description.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View_from_the_Window_at_Le_Gras