Camera Types Timeline by Durham, William J

Camera Obscura

2025-05-05 17:21:52 UTC

Dates back to the 5th century BC . It is a natural image projection occuring when a small hole of light goes into a small dark space creating an image. The camera obscura was important because it was the start of photography

Camera Lucida

2025-05-05 17:22:04 UTC

Camera Lucida invented in 1807 by William Hyde Wollaston is similar to a camera obscura but does not require a dark space. The camera lucida is a prism that reflects an image allowing artists to trace onto paper

2025-05-06 16:02:19 UTC

camera Obscura 500 BC, was the first camera ever made, the camera focuses light through the lens, technically a small hole and projects it into a screen.

2025-05-06 16:03:57 UTC

The pinhole camera 1500, takes photos upside down, in a huge box closed on all sides to make it dark and a little pinhole was made so light comes through, thats how the photos were taken.

Ensign Klito Quarter Plate

2025-05-06 16:08:35 UTC

The Ensign Klito Quarter Plate Folding Cameras was invented in 1900, to utilize a falling plate system for loading and unloading photographic plates, constructed from wood and aluminum, It was easy to carry, good quality, not too expensive and easy to use.

2025-05-06 16:15:53 UTC

wet plate colodian was made in 1851 A.D, coat the glass or metal with collodion, sensitizing it with silver nitrate, exposing it in a camera, and then developing and fixing the image while the plate was still wet, it improved existing photographic methods.

2025-05-06 16:19:40 UTC

The Daguerreotype camera 1839, was the first camera ever made light sensitive, in order to capture information and store it indefinitely.

2025-05-06 16:22:22 UTC

The Rosie camera 1943, it used lens to focus light onto a light-sensitive sensor, to give new life to discarded objects while also honoring a historical figure and the spirit of ingenuity.

Brownie No.2A

2025-05-06 16:33:11 UTC

The Brownie No.2A came out and sold in 1939 it was popular because it was cheap, the it had film advance, exposure time, and made photography more accessible to the masses.

2025-05-06 16:40:20 UTC

Kodak Electro Optic Camera came out in 1987, Kodak Electro Optic Camera Had electronic sensors, and it was one of the first digital cameras.

The Daguerre-Giroux Camera

2025-05-06 17:42:11 UTC

The Giroux Daguerreotype camera, was made in 1839. It was the first commercially produced camera and worked by creating a highly detailed image on a sheet and using chemicals to develope a black and white image.it opened the door to photography making it widely accessible.

The Medium Format Camera

2025-05-06 17:48:17 UTC

Its origins trace back to 1901 the first widely accessible one being the Kodak Brownie. Medium format camera refers to film and digital cameras that record images with more pixels to capture intricate details. This camera is used in professional areas to achieve high quality and detailed images.

Kodak Vest Pocket

2025-05-07 16:07:39 UTC

First model was made in 1912. It was able to fold and fit into a vest pocket while still offering many camera attributes. The lens was on a separate piece from the rest of the camera and could extend and retract.

Leica 1 Model A

2025-05-07 16:14:10 UTC

The Leica 1 Model A was first sold to public in 1925. It was the first commercially available 35mm camera and had many advance features compared to its contemporaries.

Large Format Camera

2025-05-07 16:19:22 UTC

Large format camera was made in 1830s, it's a camera that have the ability to take photos in a large format (9cm x 12cm). The first large format camera was the camera obscura.

Stereoscopic Camera

2025-05-07 16:44:24 UTC

The Stereoscopic Camera was invented in 1838. They were important because they allowed for capture and display of 3D images. It worked by capturing two slightly different images of the same scene. The images were presented through a device like binoculars.

Contax S

2025-05-07 16:48:34 UTC

The Contax S, made in 1949 was the first 35mm SLR camera with a pentaprism. This made it easier to see the image the right way up in the viewfinder. . The camera worked by using a mirror and prism to show the image through the lens, and it had a manual shutter.

Nikon F

2025-05-07 16:56:23 UTC

The Nikon F, released in 1959, was a 35mm SLR camera that became popular with professional photographers. It was known for being tough, reliable, and part of a full system with interchangeable lenses, viewfinders, and motor drives. It worked like other SLRs by reflecting light through a mirror and a prism.

Kodak "Vest Pocket" Camera

2025-05-07 16:59:10 UTC

The Vest Pocket Kodak was invented in 1914. It was particularly important for the war photographers. It was small and portable and was one of the most popular cameras of all time. It worked by extending a Lens panel on bellows allowing the photographer to focus and compose the shot.

Polaroid Model 20 "Swinger"

2025-05-07 17:02:10 UTC

The Polaroid Model 20 was introduced in 1965 as aaffordable instant camera for teenagers and young adults. The camera used Polaroid film and had a function that displayed in the viewfinder. After snapping a snapshot, you removed the film, and peeled it apart to reveal the image.

Kine Exakta

2025-05-07 17:03:21 UTC

The Kine exakta, introduced in 1936, was one of the first 35m SLR cameras,. This was a big deal at the time, as it gave more control over the composition of the shot. The camera used 35mm film, which was more compact and easier to handle. The Kine Exata was also known advanced features for its time, like interchangeable lenses

Argus C3

2025-05-07 17:04:39 UTC

The Argus C3, introduced in 1939, was a 35m rangefinder camera known for being afordable and easy to use. it had a sturdy, compact design. The C3 was a great entry level camera for beginners and hobbyists, offering manual controls for shutter speed and aperture. It was praised for its reliability and the quality of its photos.

Leici 1 Model A

2025-05-07 17:05:18 UTC

The leici 1 model A camera was invented in 1924 .. It was the first widely successful 35mm camera and popularized it. It operated with fixed 50mm f/3.5 lens, a focal plane shutter offering speeds from 1/25 to 1/500 second. A knob would advance the film one frame at a time and simulatanoesuly cocked the shutter.

Kodak Brownie

1babelay11 — 2025-05-07 17:05:50 UTC

The Kodak Brownie was made in 1900. It was important because it was more affordable. The Kodak Brownie is a box camera. It is made with a two-piece glass lens and a rotary shutter. The way it works is that when the shutter opens, light goes through the lens and puts the image on a light sensitive film.

The Dubroni wet plate camera 1864

2025-05-08 16:37:18 UTC

The Dubroni wet plate camera was made around 1864. It had glass-lined interiors, that held the chemicals needed for the wet collodion process from damaging the wood, it was the first camera made with a glass interiors.

Pentax K1000

2025-05-08 17:01:24 UTC

The Pentax K1000 is a 35mm film camera that was first released in 1976 Because of its simple and dependable design, The K1000 is ideal for learning photography as it requires users to manually adjust focus, shutter speed, and aperture. It has a built-in light meter the camera can operate without a battery.

Medium format camera

2025-05-09 16:02:05 UTC

The medium format was made in 1901, it had film roll camera that had a paper backing that made it easy to handle in daylight. Sheet film in 4-by-5-inch and 8-by-10-inch sizes, ending the need for fragile glass plates.

The Kine Exakta was made in 1936

2025-05-09 16:10:45 UTC

The Kine Exakta was made in 1936. it had a bayonet lens mount, a fabric shutter, and a viewfinder with a magnifier. People used it to take pictures using 35mm film. They could see through the lens to focus and frame the photo.

Stereoscopic camera

2025-05-09 16:27:23 UTC

The stereoscopic camera, was made in 1856, constructed with two lenses positioned to mimic the separation between human eyes, capturing two images of the same subject, these images are then viewed through a stereoscope.

Camera Obscura

2025-05-09 16:35:14 UTC

la cámara obscura hecho en el siglo V a. C. es una caja que tiene pequeño agujero y los científicos lo utilizaron. que les permitía trazar paisajes o figuras proyectadas,

Rolleiflex

2025-05-09 16:41:45 UTC

The Rolleiflex was made in 1929. It had two lenses: one to look through and one to take the photo. It was made with strong metal and used 120 film, the top lens was to see the picture, and the bottom lens took the photo, it gave clear pictures and easy to carry, It was made to help photographers take good photos without using big, heavy cameras.

Graflex Speed Graphic

2025-05-09 22:30:35 UTC

made in 1912 to 1973, known for its durable construction and ability to handle fast action with its focal plane shutter, it was developed specifically for press and photojournalism, particularly for news and sports photography, its ability to capture fast-action photography and its durability.

Large Format Camera

1babelay11 — 2025-05-12 17:29:26 UTC

created in 1816. This was important because it was able to make photos with quality, detail, and sharpness. The Large Format Camera uses flexible bellows to connect the lens to the film for a more percise control.

Pinhole

1babelay11 — 2025-05-12 17:53:54 UTC

The Pinhole camera was first discovered in 1856 but then was invented in 1925 by Eugene Estanave. This was important because they were able to figure out a way to capture the movements of the sun in a long period of time without a lens. it works similar to the Camera obscura by having a small hole in a box.

Dubroni Wet-Plate Camera

1babelay11 — 2025-05-13 00:43:05 UTC

The Dubroni Wet-Plate Camera invented in 1864 . This was important because it was able to do the sensitization, development, and fixing in the camera itself. which made it portable. the Appareil Dubroni uses the wet plate process which is when the container is made with glass or ceramic and uses silver nitrate.

The Graflex Speed Graphic

2025-05-13 16:13:35 UTC

The Graflex Speed Graphic camera was produced by Graflex from 1912 , It's known for its rugged construction and portability, making it ideal for news photographers who needed a camera for on the go shooting.

Rolleiflex

2025-05-19 16:37:01 UTC

The Rolleiflex was made in 1929. It had two lenses: one to look through and one to take the photo. It was made with strong metal and used 120 film. People used it by looking down into the top lens to see the picture, and the bottom lens took the photo. It was quiet and easy to carry.

Polaroid land camera 1947

1haxayadethponelate — 2025-05-28 16:39:49 UTC

made in 1947
introduced instant photography
it worked by using a diffusion transfer process