Brief history of
the Camera:
The Box - approx 500 BCE
In ancient times, Greek and Chinese philosophers discovered a curious
optical effect, and it worked like this:
The effect came to be known as the "camera obscura" which is Latin
for "dark room". This was the first camera. The hole acted like a
lens, focusing and projecting light onto the wall of the dark chamber.
Lenses and Optics - 17th
century
In the 17th century, the modern camera came one step closer
when Isaac Newton and Christian Huygens perfected the understanding of
optics and the process of making high quality glass lenses.
Film - 19th century
Soon there were small, portable camera obscuras, but an
important piece was missing..
Then in 1827 Joseph Nicéphore Niépce added the final touch. He added
*film* to create the first successful photograph, and the modern camera
was born:
A glass lens, a dark box, and film.
Modern film and digital
cameras:
New cameras are very easy to use, just point and shoot. The
camera's built-in computer handles focus and exposure so you don't have
to.
A camera is still a camera
It's comforting to know that even the latest digital cameras work
the same way as their ancestors:
Light passes through the lens, into the camera, and exposes the
film. And guess what? The end result is still a photograph.
Digital Film
So what has changed? The most recent revolution in
photography is the invention of digital film.
Replacing old-fashioned plastic film, digital cameras capture the
images with an electronic sensor called a CCD. Photographs are stored
on reusable computer memory devices.
The result is that modern photography is cheaper (and more
environmentally friendly) than it has ever been before.
