Invention of the Camera

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Jamie Slaughter, with 32767 views

A camera is a device which enables the recording of still and moving photographs within seconds. Without the camera, it was not possible to capture and preserve good memories.

The camera was first designed by Joseph N. Niepce, a retired French Military Officer. He invented his first camera in 1826 in France. This camera was known as "Obscura", comprising of two wooden boxes out of which one box had a lens and the other had a screen, which was green in colour. He then invented a diaphragm, which helped in the clarity by sharpening the image.

The first discovery of the camera was made by a German Mathematician, Friedrich Risner. As there were more and more developments in the technology of the camera, this led to improvement in the quality of pictures, film, flash and colour pictures. With all these improvements and the developments in the camera, today we are able to see our past in our present.

Alhazen invented the first Pinhole Camera, also known as "Camera Obscura". It made people aware of the true reason as to why the image was often upside down. Joseph N. Niepce made the first photographic image. Joseph's main idea was to capture the image by making the light draw the picture.

With many inventors, there was a development of modern photography. In 1829, it was Louis Daguerre, who in partnership with Joseph N. Niepce, made a major improvement in photography. However, soon after the death of Joseph N. Niepce, Louis took over the charge to develop photography, which was named after him as the daguerreotype. He, together with the son of Niepce, sold the rights to the government of France. He quickly gained wide popularity and subsequently, there were as many as seventy photo studios developed in the city of New York.


Wet Plates Negatives

In the era of 1800, centaury wet plates negatives came into existence. Solutions of collodion were used. A wet plate was created by using a silver salt, which was coated over the glass. It is called a negative wet plate. There was just one disadvantage of the wet plate; the images were made to be developed before the emulsion could dry up.


Dry Plate Negatives

Here, instead of a solution, a dried solution of gelatin was spread over the dry plate. It was much easier to store these plates for a considerable period, as it did so without drying up. These plates had a capacity to absorb light rapidly, which is evident in today's cameras.


Colour Photographs

In the 1940's, films were created using three dye layers that combined to form a colour image. In addition, a modern process was used to create colour photograph's using dye colours.