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Louis Daguerre invented a rudimentary imaging device in France, in 1839.  The images, known as "daguerrotypes," were directly made onto metal slides covered with photo-reactive material.  As a result, no photo negatives were required.  Daguerrotypes required long exposures, so were not practical for many applications.

Louis Daguerre invented a rudimentary imaging device in France, in 1839.  The images, known as "daguerrotypes," were directly made onto metal slides covered with photo-reactive material.  As a result, no photo negatives were required.  Daguerrotypes required long exposures, so were not practical for many applications.

[[Image:Daguerre 1.jpg|thumb|Daguerreotype, ca. 1838.]]

[[Image:Daguerre 1.jpg|thumb|Daguerreotype, ca. 1838.]]

The camera as we know it today was invented by [[George Eastman]] in 1880. Eastman's first camera used the "dry plate" method, which involved the manipulation of heavy glass slides coated with light-reflecting [[silver nitrate]] powder. Rolled film would not invented for two decades. Eastman founded the [[Eastman Kodak Company]] in 1885, the same year he patented the brand name [[Kodak]]for his particular style of hand-held camera. ("Kodak", meaning a type of camera, should not be confused with [[Kodiak]], a species of [[bear]].)  Kodak would go on to become the world's largest producer of photographic film.

The camera as we know it today was invented by [[George Eastman]] in 1880. Eastman's first camera used the "dry plate" method, which involved the manipulation of heavy glass slides coated with photochemically reactive [[silver nitrate]] powder. Rolled film would not invented until 1884. Eastman founded the [[Eastman Kodak Company]] in 1885, the same year he patented the brand name [[Kodak]]for his particular style of hand-held camera. ("Kodak", meaning a type of camera, should not be confused with [[Kodiak]], a species of [[bear]].)  Kodak would go on to become the world's largest producer of photographic film.

In 1937, [[Ed Land]] founded the [[Polaroid]] Corporation (perhaps hoping to ride some of the Kodak's popularity by continuing the tongue-in-cheek tradition of naming cameras after bears). The Polaroid camera was fundamentally different from the Kodak in its design. For one thing, it used real paper to print the photos immediately as they were taken; and for another, it was marketed to young teenagers and their parents as opposed to professional photographers. Land hoped to win a larger market segment with his inexpensive "instant gratification" camera. Indeed, many older people today have fond memories of their family Polaroid.

In 1937, [[Ed Land]] founded the [[Polaroid]] Corporation (perhaps hoping to ride some of the Kodak's popularity by continuing the tongue-in-cheek tradition of naming cameras after bears). The Polaroid camera was fundamentally different from the Kodak in its design. For one thing, it used real paper to print the photos immediately as they were taken; and for another, it was marketed to young teenagers and their parents as opposed to professional photographers. Land hoped to win a larger market segment with his inexpensive "instant gratification" camera. Indeed, many older people today have fond memories of their family Polaroid.