Changes

==History==

==History==

[[Image:Giroux camera 1839.jpg|right||200px|thumb|Alphonse Giroux's Dagerrotype camera, 1839.]]

[[Image:Giroux camera 1839.jpg|right||200px|thumb|Alphonse Giroux's Dagerrotype camera, 1839.]]

Arguably the first camera of any kind is the ''camera obscura'', a Latin term meaning "dark chamber".  In its original form the ''camera obscura'' was either a room or a box; a pin hole on one side allowed light to enter, and the laws of optics would transmit the image of whatever was outside to the interior, where it would be projected in true color on the opposite wall, albeit upside-down.  About 400 B.C. a Chinese philosopher named Mo-Ti made the first mention of the ''camera obscura'' in history<ref>http://www.obscurajournal.com/history.php</ref>. This was followed by unrelated experiments done by [[Aristotle]] (Greece, 384-322 BC) and Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haitham (Egypt, c.965 - 1039), who both recognized the optical qualities of the device; by 1544 Dutch scientist Reinerus Gemma-Frisius safely used it to observe a solar eclipse<ref>http://brightbytes.com/cosite/what.html</ref>. A convex lens was first placed on the opening about 1644, at which point it became a drawing aid for artists and an astronomical device, in addition to its attraction as a public curiosity which lasted to the end of the 19th century.   

Arguably the first camera of any kind is the ''camera obscura'', a Latin term meaning "dark chamber".  In its original form the ''camera obscura'' was either a room or a box; a pin hole on one side allowed light to enter, and the laws of optics would transmit the image of whatever was outside to the interior, where it would be projected in true color on the opposite wall, albeit upside-down.  About 400 B.C. a Chinese philosopher named Mo-Ti made the first mention of the ''camera obscura'' in history.<ref>http://www.obscurajournal.com/history.php</ref>  This was followed by unrelated experiments done by [[Aristotle]] (Greece, 384-322 BC) and Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haitham (Egypt, c.965 - 1039), who both recognized the optical qualities of the device; by 1544 Dutch scientist Reinerus Gemma-Frisius safely used it to observe a solar eclipse.<ref>http://brightbytes.com/cosite/what.html</ref>  A convex lens was first placed on the opening about 1644, at which point it became a drawing aid for artists and an astronomical device, in addition to its attraction as a public curiosity which lasted to the end of the 19th century.   

It was the small, portable box ''camera obscuras'' that were popular on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean which led to the creation of the first true camera.  In 1827 Joseph Nicephore Niepce of France experimented with bitumen-coated metal plates to produce the first photographic images.  Long exposure times (some eight hours in length) as well as the unreliability of the process led to a partnership with Louis Daguerre, who by 1839 was able to create much-shorter exposure times as well as replace the metal plate with light-sensitive coated glass, which was removable from the camera frame and replaced with another, speeding up the process.  The ''daguerreotype'' was born, ushering the age of modern photography.  

It was the small, portable box ''camera obscuras'' that were popular on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean which led to the creation of the first true camera.  In 1827 Joseph Nicephore Niepce of France experimented with bitumen-coated metal plates to produce the first photographic images.  Long exposure times (some eight hours in length) as well as the unreliability of the process led to a partnership with Louis Daguerre, who by 1839 was able to create much-shorter exposure times as well as replace the metal plate with light-sensitive coated glass, which was removable from the camera frame and replaced with another, speeding up the process.  The ''daguerreotype'' was born, ushering the age of modern photography.  

The best-selling camera of any type, fixed-focus cameras have been made to shoot celluloid roll film of differing sizes, the disk film of the late 1970's to 1980's, and instant film.  The size of the cameras allowed them to easily slip into pockets when not in use, and the added convenience of digital format beginning in the late 1990's allowed the user to upload finished images to a computer, dispensing with the development process of celluloid film.   

The best-selling camera of any type, fixed-focus cameras have been made to shoot celluloid roll film of differing sizes, the disk film of the late 1970's to 1980's, and instant film.  The size of the cameras allowed them to easily slip into pockets when not in use, and the added convenience of digital format beginning in the late 1990's allowed the user to upload finished images to a computer, dispensing with the development process of celluloid film.   

Fixed-focus cameras have seen a sales decline from 52 to 44 percent in recent years<ref>http://gigaom.com/2011/12/22/smartphones-killing-point-and-shoots-now-take-almost-13-of-photos/</ref>, ironically from another, more convenient device with a point-and-shoot camera built in: the cell phone.  Like the fixed-focus camera, the cell phone camera can be aimed at the subject and a picture taken at the touch of a button; however, the screen of the cell phone is the viewfinder, allowing the user to hold the phone comfortably away from him while aligning the phone for a good image.  And since it is a cell phone, the image (or video, as cell phones have that capability) can be immediately sent to anyone world-wide, and advantage that fixed-focus cameras lack.

Fixed-focus cameras have seen a sales decline from 52 to 44 percent in recent years,<ref>http://gigaom.com/2011/12/22/smartphones-killing-point-and-shoots-now-take-almost-13-of-photos/</ref> ironically from another, more convenient device with a point-and-shoot camera built in: the cell phone.  Like the fixed-focus camera, the cell phone camera can be aimed at the subject and a picture taken at the touch of a button; however, the screen of the cell phone is the viewfinder, allowing the user to hold the phone comfortably away from him while aligning the phone for a good image.  And since it is a cell phone, the image (or video, as cell phones have that capability) can be immediately sent to anyone world-wide, and advantage that fixed-focus cameras lack.

==References==

==References==

[[Category:Inventions]]

[[Category:Inventions]]

[[Category:Photography]]

[[Category:Photography]]