Evolution of the Camera

First Photograph

Period: Jul 7, 1826 to Jul 7, 1827

It is debated what year exactly the first photograph was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, a French scientist. The photograph was taken with a camera obscura (a pinhole camera), took 8 hours of exposure, and faded away soon after. Source

Invention of Daguerreotype Process

Jul 7, 1839

Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, another French scientist who helped Niépce, invented the Daguerreotype process. This process involved using mercury vapor to develop images. A common salt solution is used to fix the photograph afterwards. It shortened the time needed to develop photos to under 30 minutes as opposed to Niépce's 8 hours. Source

First Patent on a Camera

Jul 7, 1840

The first patent of photography in America was issued to Alexander Walcott in 1940. He used the daguerreotype process for developing his photos and combined past discoveries by others to create his camera.

Invention of Gelatin Silver Process

Jul 7, 1871

With the invention of the gelatin silver process by Richard Leach Maddox in 1971, negatives no longer had to be developed immediately. Exposure times of 1/25th of a second were possible. Source

Kodak Camera & Roll-Film Patented

Jul 7, 1888

George Eastman invented the Kodak camera and roll-film in 1888. It sold for $25 each. The Kodak camera became the first widely accepted box camera. The camera was made of wood and covered in leather. The lightweight film was easy to carry around and the customers didn't have to develop their photos themselves; Kodak would do it for them. Source

First Mass Produced Camera

Jul 7, 1900

In 1900, the Eastman Kodak Company mass produced an affordable, easy to use camera called the Brownie. Each one was only $1. Pictures taken were developed by Kodak for the customers to save them materials, money and time. Source

First Underwater Photograph

Jul 7, 1926

This photo of a hogfish was the first underwater photograph, taken in 1926 by Dr. William Longley and Charles Martin off in the Gulf of Mexico. They used waterproof casing and magnesium flash powder for underwater illumination. Source

First Polaroid Camera Sold to Public

Jul 7, 1948

Edwin Land invented the first polaroid camera in 1947 and it was put on sale for the public in 1948. Sixty were intially made and fifty-seven were sold after the first day of demonstrations. It took less than sixty seconds for the photograph to appear. Source

First Photograph of Earth from the Moon

Jul 7, 1968

"Earthrise" was the name given to the first photograph taken of the Earth from the Moon by astronaut William A. Anders. Source

First Digital Camera

Jul 7, 1975

Steve Sasson, an electric engineer, invented the first digital camera in 1975. It ran on 16 nickel-cadmium batteries and only took 23 seconds to record a digital image to its cassette deck. The introduction of the digital camera eventually made Kodak go out of business. Source

First Mass Produced Autofocus Camera

Jul 7, 1978

The first mass produced point-and-shoot autofocus camera, a Konica C35 AF named "Jasupin", was launched in 1978. It even had a flash. It was made by Konica, a Japanese camera company. Konica was said to have sold a million units. Source

Fuji's Disposable Camera

Jul 7, 1986

Fujifilm developed a disposable camera in 1986 called it the Utsurun-Desu ("It takes pictures"). It was sold intially at around 2000 yen ($20 today) and became widely accepted around the world. Source