-
500 BCE
Camera Obscura
A tool used by artists to draw/paint realistic landscapes. Used by projecting a scene in dark room that the artist can trace over. -
1021
Ibn Al-Haytham
Muslim Arab mathematician invents the first pinhole camera, a small box with a hole in it, where light is reflected through a surface to project a coloured image. -
Leonardo Da Vinci
The italian artist, scientist and inventor sketched diagrams about the camera obscura, including both pinhole cameras and simple glass lenses. -
Johannes Kepler
The German astronomer an mathematician referred to telescopic optics used to project an image onto a sheet of paper to draw the stars. -
1685 - Johann Zahn
German author envisions the idea of the first camera, for his book 'Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus Sive Telescopium. -
First Photograph - Nicéphore Niépce
'View from the Window at Le Gras' is the earliest surviving photograph, taken by the French inventor, with the aid of the camera obscura. -
Celluloid Film - Henry Fox Talbot
The British scientist invented a method of spreading a gelatine emulsion on paper, making a reflective film. -
Daguerréotype - Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre
Named after its inventor, the daguerreotype was the first successful photographic process. Being an accurate, sharp and detailed camera, it was only affordable for the rich and wealthy. -
First Photographic Portrait - Robert Cornelius
The American photographer designed the photographic plate used for the first photograph taken in the US -
First Portrait Studio - Alexander Wolcott
The American photographer created the world's first portrait studio and patented the first U.S camera, alongside partner John Johnson. -
Photojournalism - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Using images to tell a news story. First used only to show still images, but the term now refers to videos in broadcast journalism. -
First Glass Camera Lense - E. Suter
The Swiss manufacturer invented the first glass camera lenses. They also designed and manufactured brass barrel lenses. -
Kodak Camera - George Eastman
The American Entrepreneur founded the (still running) Kodak Company and invented the first -
Video Camera - John Logie Baird
Named the 'Baird Televisor', It still took around 70 years before modernizing this camera, as it wasn't completed until 1977. -
35mm Still Camera - Oskar Barnack
Created the world's first commercially successful 35mm Still Camera. -
Polaroid Camera - Edwin Land
This was a revolutionary event, as the american scientist had invented a camera that could instantly capture a photo. -
Underwater Camera - EG&G
This camera was invented for the US Navy, and was able to photograph up to 20 feet underwater. -
First Digital Camera - Steve Sasson (Kodak)
The camera was about the size of one's head and took 23 seconds to capture a single image. -
Konica C35 AF - Konica
A milestone camera in that it was the first revolutionary 'autofocus' camera. -
Modern Video Camera - Sony
A prototype of Sony's first Still Video Camera was released. -
First Sony Camera - Sony
The camera worked with a TV screen display, and wasn't updated until 1996, with the release of Sony's first Cyber-Shot model. -
Visual Phone VP-210 - Kyocera Fineceramics GmbH
This revolutionary phone had an 0.11MP camera that could take up to 20 photos before its storage was full. -