Durham Museum: Cameras

A camera is a device that records images either as a still photograph or as a series of moving images.

The first camera-like device, the camera obscura, was developed in 1021 AD by Iraqi scientist Ibn al-Haytham. It was basically a simple ‘pin-hole camera’ and projected an image onto a viewing surface, in color and upside down. A copy could then be made by tracing the image.

Over time the concept of a ‘camera’ has evolved. Here are some milestones that have helped create cameras as we know them today.

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  The earliest devices were the size of rooms that could allow 1-2 people inside.
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  By 1685 there was a camera small enough for portable use.
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  The first roll-film camera was invented in 1888 by George Eastman and patented under the name Kodak.
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  In 1900, ‘the Brownie’ was the first mass-marketed camera.
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  General Electric invented the modern flash bulb in 1927.
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  In 1963, Polaroid introduced instant color film.
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  The 1970s and 80s ushered in Konica’s ‘point and shoot’ camera and Sony marketed the first camcorder.
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  In the early 1990s, digital cameras were introduced and Kodak announced the ‘photo CD’ as the premium storage medium for photographs.

Below is a brief slideshow of some of the cameras on display at the Durham Museum along with their approximate dates in which they were made.