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Who Invented The Camera Where would we be without our cameras? We use cameras to record our lives, capture our memories, and show the world what is and was important to us. Most of us give little thought as to what life would be like without our cameras, yet if we stopped to think about it we’d have to admit that we should be grateful to the person who invented the camera. Once we’ve embarked upon that train of thought, the next logical question would be: who did invent the camera? As early as the 11th century, devices were being used to project images from pinholes or lenses onto larger surfaces. These devices, called camera obscuras, could do little more than that, however. The images that were projected could not be captured. It wasn’t until the invention of photography that this obstacle was overcome. The question then expands from who invented the camera to who invented photography. |
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In 1827, French citizen Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, using a sliding wooden box camera made by Parisians Vincent and Charles Chevalier, was able to obtain the first captured, or photographic, image. For Niépce to capture the image it took 8 hours of light exposure - and the image eventually faded. Although this was indeed a photographic image, it can’t really be said that Niépce was the one who invented the camera, since he was using a camera device that was already built. Although he was not the one who invented the camera, Niépce was the first to, however rudimentary it might have been, turn the camera into a more practical device.
During this time another Frenchman, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre was also working on capturing images from cameras. After years of experimenting, Daguerre was able to get image exposure time down to 30 minutes and keep images from disappearing. In 1829, Daguerre and Niépce formed a partnership to continue trying to improve the photographic process. Niépce died in 1833, but Daguerre continued on with the work, eventually inventing the method of photography that he named the ‘daguerreotype’. The daguerreotype was a much more practical method of photography, and Daguerre and Niépce’s son eventually sold the rights to this method to the French government.
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At about the same time, British citizen William Talbot was inventing and improving a different process that he patented and named the ‘calotype’. Both Daguerre and Talbot used similar methods; a sheet of paper or sensitized plate situated in front of a viewing screen for capturing images. Though who invented the camera may be a matter of opinion, Niépce, Daguerre and Talbot have all been credited at different times with being the forefathers of modern photography.
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Photography and cameras continued to be improved upon over the years, taking advantage of more advanced technology as time went by. In 1850 Frederick Scott Archer developed the collodion wet plate process, which enabled exposure time to be reduced considerably but required photographers to develop their glass plates immediately. The gelatin dry plate was invented by Richard Leach Maddox in 1871, and was a great improvement on collodion wet plates in respect to quality and speed.
George Eastman started manufacturing paper film in 1885, changing to celluloid film in 1889. In 1888, Eastman started selling the first ‘Kodak’ camera. Although it was not Eastman who invented the camera, the Kodak camera that he sold came pre-loaded with film, making the camera a more marketable product that could be used by anyone who followed simple directions. The Kodak ‘Brownie’ was one of Eastman’s most popular cameras, and remained on the market from 1900 until the 1960’s.
Today we are seeing the ever-increasing popularity of the digital camera, which captures digital images that are uploaded straight from the camera, hence negating the need for film. One thing is certain; we will never stop trying to invent a better camera!
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