Reference: The History of Photography, Beaumont Newhall
1550: The first camera was the camera obscura, which means dark room in Italian. Shutters were closed to darken a room. A small hole was drilled in the wall which projected an inverted image on the opposite wall. The camera was reduced in size to 2' x 4' box with a lens. The image was projected on a sheet of paper, and traced with a pencil by an artist.
1802: Thomas Wedewood discovered that a sheet of paper coated with a solution of silver nitrate would produce a photographic image, but the image would fade when exposed to light.
1807: The camera lucidida by W. H. Wollaston. It used a prism mounted on a brass rod to project an image, and was another substitute for artistic talent.
1816: Joseph Niepce found that asphalt dissolved in lavender oil would harden when exposed to light. This was the first photomechanical process.
1835: Louis J. M. Daguerre exposed silvered copper plates in a camera, and processed them with the fumes of heated mercury. He fixed the positive image in a hot solution of cooking salt. This was the first permanent photomechanical image.
1839: William Henry Fox Talbot and astronomer John Herschel discovered that sodium thiosulphate would fix silver chloride images on paper creating a negative. Herschel coined the terms photography, photographic, positive and negative. The first negative/positive process was called Calotype and later Talbotype.
1851: Frederick Scott Archer invented the collodian process (wet plate). A sheet of glass was coated with a solution of collodion and potassium iodide. This produced a far superior negative which immediately replaced the daguerrotype and the talbotype.
1854: The first photographic society was established in England
1856: The tintype was patented by Hannibal L. Smith. The produced a positive image that was not as fragile as glass. Daguerrotypes, talbotypes, collodian plates and tintypes made inexpensive portraits possible.
1861: Mathew Brady popularized "new photography" by publishing battle photos of the Civil War. Most of Brady's photos were taken by his employees who were never given credit for their work. For this reason, in 1863, Alexander Gardner left Brady's employ and started his own company with most of Brady's best photographers.
1861: James C. Maxwell proved that any color be created by mixing red, green and blue light in varying proportions.
1864: Sayce and Bolton created the first dry plates that could be used any time without the mess of the wet plate process. The photographer no longer had to be his own plate maker. The glass plates could be purchased like film.
1871: Richard L. Maddox invented the gelatin emulsion which was faster and far superior to collidion, and continues to be used in film today.
1878: E.J. Muybridge invented the first stop action photography
1888: George Eastman invented a paper based gelatin film and camera that would take 100 pictures on a roll of film. The camera and film had to be sent to the factory for processing. This revolutionized photography making it possible for everyone to own a camera. Eastman invented the name Kodak for his products, because it could be easily pronounced in any language.
1889: Eastman improved the film by coating the emulsion on a plastic base (cellulose nitrate)
1914: The first 35mm cameras were introduced in the USA. Both the Simplex and the Tourist failed to catch on with the public.
1924: E. Leitz introduced the Leica 35mm with changeable lenses.
1925: The flash bulb was patented and revolutionized news photography.
1931: Dr. Harold Edgerton invented the electronic flash.
1932: Carl Zeiss brought out the Contax 35mm camera.
1935: The first modern color film (Kodacolor) was introduced.
1947: Edwin Land invents the Polaroid instant camera.
1963: Polaroid color film was introduced.
1972: Texas Instruments invents the first electronic filmless camera.
1981: Sony introduces the Mavica, the first digital sensor.
1986: Kodak invents the first megapixel sensor.
1991: Kodak and Nikon produce the first professional digital camera.
1994: The first affordable consumer digital cameras were introduced. |