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5 BCE
The First Cameras
It is not until an Irakian scientist invented something called the camera obscura in the 1century that the art was born. The basic principle of photography was born since about the 5th century B.C.E. Still the camera wasn't taking images, it was simply projecting them to another surface. The pictures were also reverse, while precise sketches of actual objects such as constructions may have been traced. -
The First Permanent Images
As we know it today, photography started in France in the late 1830s. Niépce used a handheld dark camera to display the illumination of a bitumen pewter plate. This is the first picture that has not disappeared soon. -
Daguerreotype
The experiment Niépce led Louis Daguerre to collaborate. This led to the invention of the daguerreotype, a prototype for modern movies. -
Emulsion Plates
Emulsion or wet plates were lower than daguerreotypes and only allowed two or three seconds of exposure. This made them much more suitable for photography portraits, which at the time were the most widely used. Many Civil War pictures have been taken on wet plates. -
Dry Plates
Photography took a big step forward in the 1870's. In line with the previous innovation, Richard Maddox improved to manufacture dry gelatine plates almost identical to wet plates in speed and consistency. These dry plates can be stored instead of produced as required. This allowed photographers to take images much more openly. The method also permitted the hand-held smaller cameras. The first camera with a mechanical shutter was produced with reduced exposure times. -
Cameras for Everyone
Photography was for professionals only and the wealthy until in the 1880s the business Kodak was founded by George Eastman. Eastman has developed a lightweight roller film that does not need to adjust the solid plates continuously. This helps him to create a box camera containing 100 film displays. The camera had a small single, focus less lens. -
The Horrors of War
In 1930, Henri-Cartier Bresson and others started using small 35mm camera taking pictures of life instead of staged portraits. Many photojournalists followed this style when World War II began in 1939. -
The Wonder of Instant Images
Polaroid launched Model 95 at the same time as 35 mm cameras became popular. For creating movies inside the camera, Model 95 used a hidden chemical process in less than one minute. This new camera was pretty costly, but the new pictures captured the attention of the public. Polaroid had several versions on the market in the mid-1960s and the prices had plummeted to make even more people for it. -
Advanced Image Control
The Asahiflex was invented in the 1950s by Asahi, who later became Pentax and the Nikon F camera. These are both SLR cameras and Nikon F for lenses and other accessories. They were interchangeable. -
Introducing Smart Cameras
Compact cameras, able to monitor images themselves, were released in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With casual photographers, the automated cameras became extremely popular. Professionals and serious amateurs tended to choose to change themselves and enjoyed the available image control using SLR cameras. -
The Digital Age
Many cameras which stored images electronically were worked by a number of companies in the 1980s and 1990s. The first was point-and-shoot cameras which used digital media rather than film.
