Camera and Its Evolution

8/20/2019 Camera and Its Evolution

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Early cameras of the 16th and 17th century were able to project images onto paper orglass but the study of capturing, processing and printing the images took many moreyears. Up until the 17th century, scientists believed that light was composed basically ofthe white that is perceived by the human eye. !t took the research done by famousphysicist !saac "ewton to discover that light is actually composed of a spectrum ofcolors. #hile he made a big contribution to the study of optics $that is at the core ofcamera advances% with this discovery, "ewton did not actually have anything to do withcamera development per se.

&he early camera that first became a phenomenon was a little more than a pinholecamera and can be traced back to 1''(. !t was called the )amera *bscura. &he )amera*bscura was seen as a drawing tool for a clearer and realistic portrayal of objects. !t wasin the early 1+th century that an invention named the )amera ucida was introduced by)ambridge scientist #illiam -yde #ollaston that consisted of an optical device that couldhelp an artist view a distant scene or person or object on a paper surface that he or shewas using to draw. !n other words the artist gets to view a superimposed image of asubject on paper and this image could be effectively used to attempt to draw, trace or

paint it. oth the )amera *bscura and the )amera ucida provided an image that wastemporary, which could not be lastingly captured on to paper for later reference.

/tudies however continued well into the 1(00s on how to actually capture the imageonto material. !t was during this time, around 1( that 2rench researcher 3oseph"icephore "iepce, created the first photograph by using paper that was coated with achemical. &he image would not stay permanently on the paper and would disappear aftera short while. Even so, despite the short4lived nature of the image, the concept ofphotography was born with this e5periment and paved the way for further study anddevelopment in this field.

)apturing images to retain them longer and permanently became the ne5t big uest forresearchers. nother 2renchman ouis43acues48and9 :aguerre partnered with 3oseph"ic9phore "i9pce in 1(+, to develop the process of creating permanent photographs.3oseph "i9pce died in 1(;; but :aguerre continued with the work and succeeded in1(;7 after many long years of e5perimentation. &he process of capturing photographicimages that would not fade away, introduced by :aguerre came to be known as thedaguerreotype.

&he word photography was coined by scientist /ir 3ohn 2.#. -erschel in 1(;+ and it isactually is derived from two <reek words photos meaning light and graphein meaningdraw.

slightly more advanced version of the daguerreotype called the )alotype process thatmakes multiple copies possible using the negative and positive method became availablevery soon after. !n fact, it was during the 1(=0s that the use of photographic images inadvertisements first started and cameras made their mark on the power of visualcommunication. !t was not much later, in the 1('0s that photographers first startede5perimenting with underwater photography of seascapes.

Up until 1('0, the process of capturing images was cumbersome reuiring upto half anhour of light e5posure. &he discovery made in 1('1 by 2rederick /cott rcher was ablessing since the new method termed the )ollodion process called for just 4; secondsof light e5posure to capture an image.

>rior to 1(71, photographers went through a development process where they had tocoat the plate with wet chemical each and every time and process the imageimmediately. #ith the invention the gelatin dry plate silver bromide process by ?ichard



each 8addo5, negatives did not have to be developed immediately. &his was animportant discovery since up until then the captured image had to be processedinstantly.

@odak created in 1((( by <eorge Eastman has been a modern day pioneer of sorts incameras and photography for the masses. <eorge Eastman and the scientists whoworked with him at @odak developed the photographic film in 1((+ and made it availablein rolls for the mass use of consumers. n important milestone in our entertainment andcommunication history was the development of transparent roll film by Eastman. &hisdevelopment led to another key invention 4 the motion picture camera by &homasEdisons in 1(+1.

44A8odern &imes

:uring the 0th century the pace of technology development in cameras andphotography continued at an accelerated pace much like many other key technologydevelopments. #hile several key inventions like car, telephone and the gramophonerecord happened in the later half of the 1+th century, it is the last 100 years that sawmajor developmental work in many areas of communications technology and as well asin other fields 4 &B, aircrafts, >)s, digital technology, digital cameras, mobile phones, fa5machines and the internet, to name a few.

!n the case of the camera, the developments simplified the whole process ofphotography, making it accessible to one and all at affordable prices and the cameraindustry deniCens of our times made it into a mass phenomenon. &he first mass usecamera became available at the turn of the 0th century and can be traced back to theyear 1+00. &here are hundreds of models of cameras available today both for theamateur as well as the professional and the camera is an important part of any familysrepertoire of must have gadgets.

44A0th century chronology in the history of the cameraD

1+1;D ;' mm still4camera created

1+7D &he flash bulb introduced by <eneral Electric )o. $&he concept of camera flashe5isted much before but was based on the use of a flash light powder that was inventedby <erman researchers%

1+;'4 1+=1D @odak starts marketing @odachrome film and subseuently launches@odacolor negative film. )anon released the -ansa )anon in 1+;6, the first ;'mm focal4plane shutter camera.

1+=(D &he concept of the >olaroid camera is introduced in the market. merican scientistEdwin and developed the process for instant photography. ater >olaroid )orporationdeveloped the instant color film around 1+6;.

1+'7D 2renchman 3aues ves )ousteau invented the first waterproof ;'mm camera forunderwater photography named the )alypso >hot. &he actual camera was developed bythe elgian airplane technical designer 3ean de #outers based on the blueprint andsuggestions given to him by )ousteau.

1+7D &he electronic camera that does not reuire film was created and patented by&e5as !nstruments. &his is however not the same as a digital camera though you dont

reuire film in digital cameras as well. &he launch of the digital camera is still manyyears away.



1+7'D @odaks e5periments with digital imaging kicked off around the mid seventies butit will take another 0 years before a digital camera for the home consumer market islaunched.

1+7( 4 1+(0D sian players like @onica and /ony begin to make their mark. &he pointand shoot automatic focus camera is launched by @onica while /ony starts talking aboutthe camcorder and demonstrates a prototype.

1+(1D /ony launches a commercially available electronic still camera. /imilar to the 1+7invention by &e5as !nstruments, the /ony electronic camera came with a mini disc onwhich images were recorded and stored. &he recorded images could be later printed orviewed on a monitor using a reader device.

1+('D :igital processing technology makes its entry. :igital imaging and processing isintroduced by >i5ar.

1+(6D &he camera industry becomes even more consumer focused and taps the fun and

travel connotations behind camera usage, with the launch of the concept of thedisposable single use cameras. 2uji is credited with the development of this concept.

lso in 1+(6 4 1+(7, @odak started taking giant strides in digital development. :igitalmeans, the photographic image is divided into tiny units of dots or suares known aspi5els. >i5els are the programmable units of an image that can be processed bycomputers. Each image could be made up of millions of pi5els. &he use of pi5els in digitaltechnology allows storing large volumes of pi5els to deliver high definition print uality.

1++0D @odak introduces >hoto ):s. !t is a system of storing photographic images on ):and then viewing them on a computer. #ith this development the user4friendly approachof the camera industry began to take concrete shape.

1++1D @odak introduces a digital camera targeted at professionals and journalists. @odakis credited with the invention of a pi5el based camera technology known to us as thedigital camera. :igital cameras dont use film similar to their predecessor electroniccameras but the storage method is entirely different and the final photograph is of muchhigher resolution. !n a digital camera photos are recorded and stored in digital form. &hisdigital data can be transferred to a computer and processed for printing. @odak and)anon are well known digital camera manufacturers and there are also several other keybrands as well.

1++=D &he pple Fuick&ake camera, a home use digital camera is launched. &his isfollowed by the launch of a clutch of home use digital cameras by )asio, @odak and

others in uick succession during 1++' 4+6.

44A&he digital eraD

&he development of digital camera technology is considered to be linked to thedevelopment of &B and Bideo technology. &he principles of transmission and recording of audio4visual images using digital electrical impulses finds use in camera imaging as well.

&hrough the 1++0s the developments continued in camera technology, the focus nowshifting to the field of digital imaging which is where the future lies. Use4friendly featureslike software that can download digital images directly from camera onto homecomputers for storing and sharing on the internet is the new norm in the market place.



&he camera, the computer, the software industry and the worldwide web are todayirrevocably interlinked to empower the user in e5periencing the benefits of camera usageto full potential. &he innovation that sparked many an invention in the camera industryfound its way into the digital world as well and continued among digital cameramanufacturers. :uring 001, the @odak and 8icrosoft partnership ensured that digitalcamera manufacturers could use the power of >icture &ransfer >rotocol $>&>% standard

through #indows. &he digital photo e5perience is a key visual driver in the !nternet era.8any of @odak digital camera models with Easy/hare capabilities are compatible with#indows G>. &he @odak Easy/hare software enables users to transfer digital camerapictures directly from camera to their computers and then print the pictures or evenemail them.

8anufacturers in a related industry like the printing industry have adapted their productsto be in sync with the images created by digital cameras. )ell phone manufacturers havetied up with digital camera manufacturers to develop new age camera phones in recentyears. &hese camera phones can capture images and share the images through the cellphone.

mong the 1st century digital developments are the advanced product offerings fromdigital cameras manufacturers and these are sure to occupy an important place in theensuing history of camera development. 2or instance, the @odak >rofessional :)/ >ro/?Hc is a high4end digital camera and the @odak website calls the :)/ >ro /? modelsthe most feature4rich digital cameras on the market. !t has an image sensor that canhandle 1;.(+ million pi5els and this makes it the highest resolution digital cameraavailable. -igh resolution determines the sharpness or level of detail in photographicimages. &his is just a glimpse of the capabilities that digital technology places in a usershands. :igital camera sales figures for 00; show that the two key players @odak and)anon have recorded impressive growth.

44A#hat does the future holds for camera usersI

&he features offered by digital cameras can be uite mind4boggling for the average userand pretty e5citing for most pros. 2our key ongoing camera developments that are likelyto further improve the process of photographyD

1. <reater resolution from even the simplest, low cost camera models

. Usage in any type of lighting conditions,

;. )ompatibility across a range of software, hardware and image types

=. ?ich colors and tone

#hile the higher4end digital evolution continues, the prices of the simple camera havecrashed to such an e5tent that even children and teens are proud owners ofuncomplicated cameras. &he camera and photography interest starts young and thiscreates a truly large audience base for the camera industry.

nd throughout history, it is evident that the endeavor of researchers and developershas been to make the camera available to a wide section of society. #ithout cameratechnology and photography, the other key developments of cinema and &B would havebeen delayed and what a boring place the world would have been without &B and filmsJJ

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Camera and Its Evolution