When Were Cameras Invented? A Journey Through Time
The evolution of the camera from a simple device to a captivating obsession with things eternal, from shaping art and science to communication, is driven by the development of tools, fantasy, and human research. But what epoch saw the appearance of the camera device? When and how did it turn into the complex gadget you have today?
In this essay, you will be taken through the movement of camera inventions starting from the oldest cameras to the newer digital cameras that almost everybody is having today. At the end of the essay, you will not only be aware of the timeline of the camera history but also with the importance of cameras which in one way or the other have helped the world.
The Ancient Beginnings: Camera Obscura (5th Century BCE – 11th Century CE)
The idea of a camera – or thinking about the use of light in order to capture an image has existed for a very long time in the history of mankind. The camera obscura, meaning dark chamber in English, is considered as the very first known type of camera.
What Is the Camera Obscura?
The camera obscura is not a camera in the contemporary way of thinking, but it is an optoelectronic instrument. It is designed as a box or a room painted black in color except for a tiny aperture on any one surface. The exterior light comes in through the small opened aperture, and since light travels in a straight line, the scene outside is projected on a wall opposite to the aperture but namely upside down.
The phenomenon is first referred to in texts written by the fifth century BC Chinese philosopher Mozi who noted the effect of light while viewing through a pinhole. Then in the 11th century, the Arab scholar Ibn al-Haytham (or Alhazen) came up with multiple texts explaining refractive optics which became the precursor of cameras. The scientist got to work with the camera obscura as well, looking into the sun without damaging his sight during solar eclipses.
Camera obscura may be considered rudimentary, yet it was a precursor to the invention of complex devices for capturing images. These early images or lenses referred to as ‘cameras’, however, did not lock or print projections permanently as the know-how had not been developed or discovered.
The Advent of Photography: The First Permanent Photograph (1826)
Leaping ahead through the progression of ages, let us consider the 19th century as the century when the pursuit of creating and keeping images took a huge step. Drawing with the camera obscura was a technique that had been available for some time to painters, yet the projected picture could not be fixed in any way. Everything altered with the advent of the camera.
Nicéphore Niépce and the First Photograph
In 1826, heliography was declared as the world’s first successful permanent photograph alternative by Niépce, a French inventor. A camera obscura was employed by Niépce to create an image on a piece of metal where upon he painted light sensitive bitumen. After exposing the plate for light up to eight hours, he used a solution to clean the plate, leaving an image scratched where the window was.
This creation deserves its place in the history of photography but something positive came from the effort; the heliograph was rather cumbersome and produced rather poor pictures. However, it was the beginnings of more important changes.
Daguerreotype: The First Commercially Viable Camera (1839)
Daguerreotype: The Start of the Photographic Revolution
The daguerreotype was the first commercially viable photographic process, and it quickly gained popularity. Daguerre’s invention was announced to the world in 1839, and the French government acquired the patent, offering it freely to the public, which accelerated its adoption globally.
By the 1840s, daguerreotype studios were popping up across Europe and America, allowing people to have their portraits taken for the first time. These early cameras were bulky and required long exposure times, but they represented a significant leap forward in the democratization of image-making.
However, the daguerreotype had its limitations: it produced only one image, required toxic chemicals, and the photographs were fragile. The search for improved photographic methods continued.
The Wet Collodion Process and the Birth of Film (1851)
In 1851 photography took another pivotal technological leap. Frederick Scott Archer, an Englishman, devised what came to be known as the wet collodion technique. It involved creating glazed material on which photographic prints could later be made. These images came out clearer than daguerreotypes and exposures durations were short.
The demerit, however, was that the whole procedure was quite tedious and time sensitively done to the wet photographic medium. However, the section of the photography philosophy with the wet plate method was to the majority for the period of twenty years and was very instrumental where there was need of capturing a lot of history such as during the american civil war.
Dry Plates and Roll Film: Kodak and the Rise of Mass Photography (1871 – 1888)
The photograph was made more accessible with the invention of dry plates by British physician Richard Leach Maddox in 1871. Unlike wet collodion, which demanded immediate photographic work after wet application, dry plates could be manufactured beforehand and stored for use whenever convenient. So it did make photography more ‘friendly’. Dry plates also meant faster exposure times and so cameras could be handheld.
…And then came a true change of paradigm in photography: in 1888, a businessman from the USA named George Eastman had launched the Kodak camera, which functioned on roll film instead of glass plates. This was a turning point. The Kodak camera was small, easy to handle and came with enough film to take a hundred pictures. When the film was over, patrons would send the whole camera to Kodak, where the film would be processed within the camera and then the camera accepted again for further use filled with another film.
“We press the button, you do the rest,” neatly summed up the idea behind the Kodak. Despite it being considered more of a professional and elaborate pastime with a guaranteed appeal, it was now possible for the average person.
he Rise of Color Photography (1907 – 1935)
In the beginning, photos were mostly in black and white but from the onset there was an interest in taking color photos. The first commercial color photography technique was developed by the Lumiere brothers in France in 1907. Their method known as Autochrome used colored starch grains placed inside glass plates to create colored images. It was not only a long boring process but also costly, still this process marked the inception of color photography.
Another giant leap in graining better color pictures came in 1935 when Eastman Kodak unveiled the Kodachrome film. Kodachrome, the first color film on the market for the public, will be for many years the color filmmaking benchmark. It’s bright colors and excellent resolution appealed to both amateurs and professionals alike.
The Birth of Digital Photography (1969 – 1990s)
Shifting to the more advent camera enabling technology can be digital evolution of photography. The latter, in 1969, together with his fellow engineer george e.smith designed the charge – coupled device (ccd) which was the first of its kind that could be described as an imaging and recording chip that converted optical images to electrical signals. This great innovation helped usher in the era of digital cameras.
The majority of the first digital cameras to make their way on commercial markets were designed with science and military applications in mind but by the 1990s, a period during which all apologies for such insanity could be considered irrelevant, digital cameras started being developed for the masses. Again, the operating principle of digital cameras did not rely on films since the pictures taken were in form of electrical data, this allowed the photographers to review, edit and even delete the captured pictures immediately.
With the improvements of the digital technologies, the digital photographic devices improved as well with the decrease of their costs. By the first few years of the 2000s, the traditional film cameras were no longer available in the market as everyone was using the digital image devices for any kind of professional or non – professional work.
The Smartphone Revolution: Camera for Everyone (2000s – Present)
Smartphones were the major instruments in or phase of this century which led to the design and invention of other types of cameras. Nowadays, almost all people already possess a powerful camera inside their pockets in the form of a mobile device. Today’s smartphone cameras are equipped with multiple lenses, improved sensors and software that adjusts light, focus and color for optimal image resolution.
As such smartphone cameras have brought photography to the masses as it opposed to the past where photograph where taken, edited and published a long time after this was impossible. Social Networks brought with them changes where photography is more than an art but rather a tool for engagement in a lot of activities which includes distractions by services like to Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Innovation
The birth of the camera was not an event that took place at a particular point in time but rather a complex affair that took a number of centuries to perfect. From the theoretical concept of camera obscura to the more advanced smartphone, each technology has progressed in building the last revolutionizing how we view and take images of the environment. No wonder, these days everyone has a camera in their possession and it is nearly impossible to imagine a people’s everyday life in present-day society without a camera – people take photographs of everything starting from a pile of dirty dishes and ending with a breathtaking view from the hilltop.
Even so, it would be safe to assume that the changes and improvements expected in future cameras will be more fascinating still, largely because of technology proliferation.
