The earliest precursor of camera technology began to appear in the fifth century B.C. – the camera obscura. This “dark chamber” consisted of an enclosed box with a small opening through which sunlight passed, projecting temporary images of the outside world onto a nearby wall.
A camera without a lens is useless to a photographer. The lens is what focuses light from what you see through the viewfinder into a tiny, (typically) 35mm spot on the back of your film, DSLR, or mirrorless camera. If you remove the lens from your camera, the only kind of image you can produce is white light. EoSens Creation cameras also offer sensitivity of 20V/Lux @ 550nm to achieve high-contrast, detailed images in low light environments. In addition, the camera's SFP+ connection works with both copper and fiber interfaces, making it possible to install long cable runs using low-cost Ethernet cabling, switches and network interfaces. The ZV-1 is designed for content creation with a selfie-friendly vari-angle LCD screen, body grip, and a recording lamp. A directional 3-capsule mic with wind screen picks up your voice clearly with less wind noise; and the Bokeh switch and Product Showcase Setting make videos more interesting with less effort. TrueLook offers both fixed position and PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras The fixed position cameras deliver images up to 20 megapixels and the PTZ cameras can be robotically controlled for a full 360 degree view of your jobsite. All construction cameras are equipped for live viewing, time-lapse and intelligent security.
The camera’s history can be traced back to the Middle Ages with the first pinhole camera. A physicist by the name of Alhazen discovered the idea of Camera Obscura, which led him to the creation of the first pinhole camera. Camera Obscura, in short, is reproducing an image with color and perspective preserved.
Photo: Wes Jones
In 1816, inventor Nicéphore Niépce began to experiment with photography, although at the time he called it heliography. Niépce used light to create an almost photographic image of nature from his office window. He experimented with different materials to print the image on, including bitumen and pewter. The process began by Niépce placing an engraving onto the material of his choice. He would then expose it to light which would react to different chemicals that were coated on the plate, this would then create an image. The process took around eight hours and would fade away depending on the material used. However, this image could be considered the first photographic image.
Photo: Britannica
In 1839, Louis Daguerre, the former partner of Niépce, created a practical photographic process with a daguerreotype. This process consisted of Daguerre taking a silver plated sheet that was made of copper and coated with silver iodide. When exposed to light this material would produce an image; this development is the first of many to point us towards the invention of the camera.
An amazing discovery by Richard Leach Maddox created the first gelatin dry plate. This invention created the first “instantaneous” picture which rendered tripods unnecessary. This invention began the birth of hand held cameras becasue large bulky cameras were no longer needed to produce an image.
Photo: The Camera Site
Then, in 1885, George Eastman began to produce and manufacture paper film. Later Eastman created the Kodak camera, which was similar the one pictured above. The box consisted of a fixed focus lens and one single shutter speed. The camera was equipped with enough film for 100 pictures and required Kodak to process the photographs and reload the film at the end of each roll. These cameras were priced surprisingly low and this invention was the beginning mass marketed photography.
In 1913 Oskar Barnack began to research the possibility of inventing a smaller camera that anyone could use. The Leica camera began to be commercialized after World War 1, and they eventually developed second model called the Leica 1. Many of the camera manufacturers at the time followed this example and began to produce more compact cameras to sell to the public. Over the years, cameras began to shrink in size and become more sophisticated. In 1948, Polaroid came out with an unconventional camera for the time, which is commonly known as the first instant-picture camera. By the 1960’s, Polaroid cameras were considered the most popular cameras at the time.
Best Content Creation Cameras
Photo: Polaroid
The first digital camera was developed in 1988, but was never sold to the public. It wasn’t until 1991 that Kodak released the Kodak DCS, which was their first in a long line of digital cameras. The production and development of digital cameras has continued to increase over the years. Interestingly enough, despite the move from digital cameras to smartphone cameras, there has been a rise in popularity of Polaroid film cameras.
Like many important technologies, the cameras we use today are the result of a long, iterative process many great minds contributed to. The earliest precursor of camera technology began to appear in the fifth century B.C. – the camera obscura. This “dark chamber” consisted of an enclosed box with a small opening through which sunlight passed, projecting temporary images of the outside world onto a nearby wall.
Of course, Aristotle and others who knew of the camera obscura didn’t use it to take pictures. The actual mechanism of the camera obscura was lost to history until the 11th century, when astronomers started to use similar devices to protect their vision while observing the sun. It would still be many years before the technology matured.
The First Modern Photograph: 1827
Although it took time, it was the ancient camera obscura that led to the first photograph. It was taken by Nicéphore Niépce, a French inventor, in 1827, and survives under the title View from the Window at Le Gras. He captured the image by focusing a camera obscura onto a 6.4x8.0 inch pewter plate coated with asphalt. Thus, the asphalt hardened in the brightly lit areas but could still be easily washed away in the darkened areas.
Creation Cameras Free
Louis Daguerre’s Amazing Innovation
Niépce’s contribution was brilliant, but it had limitations. It took eight hours for the image to be fully exposed. Capturing a long-lasting image required a complex and methodical chemical process – without immediate treatment, the image would be lost. But another great inventor was about to make his mark: Louis Daguerre. Daguerre had been experimenting with ways to capture and reproduce images. Working together, they discovered an apt solution.
The partnership lasted until Niépce’s death, and in 1839, Daguerre introduced a new method of photography – the daguerreotype. This was the leap all modern camera technology pays homage to: A process that “fixed” images onto sheets of silver-plated copper that could be coated in iodine to enhance light sensitivity. After a short exposure, immersion in silver chloride created a lasting image.
Modern Film Cameras Arrive on the Scene
Between Daguerre and the first modern film cameras, about five distinct iterations of camera technology came and went. It wasn’t until the 1940s that camera film as we know it was invented. The films used dye-coupled colors, a chemical process that connected dyes together in a close simulation of natural color. The first electronic camera emerged from the labs of Eastman Kodak in 1975, partially inspired by Jet Propulsion Laboratory research dating to 1961.
Creator Camera
Consumer digital camera technology started to make an impact in the 1980s, with Sony being the first to market. The years that followed saw many companies strive to produce better image sensors that would lead to higher image quality. Today of course, the smartphone revolution has led to millions of people carrying powerful digital cameras in their pockets. This proliferation of digital camera technology is a culmination of the innovation in cameras throughout history, dating all the way back to the ancient camera obscura.
Comments are closed.