The camera got its name from camera obscura, the predecessor of the modern day camera. It is a Latin term which means “dark chamber,” and it refers to the early mechanism of projecting images and using an entire room as a real-time imaging system. Camera obscura consisted of a darkened chamber or a box that allowed light into the box through a convex lens. The image of the object was then formed on a surface of paper or glass, which was placed at the focus of the lens. The credit of inventing this gadget goes to an Iraqi scientist, Ibn al-Haytham. He described it as early as the 11th century in his Book of Optics (1015-1021).

But the first camera that was both portable as well as practical for photography was built by Johann Zahn in 1685. It included more advanced technology and features like sliding boxes for focusing and the placement of a sensitized plate in front of the viewing screen to capture an image. The process for capturing an image underwent a lot of development and so did the plate. From copper plates and paper to finally the glass plate, which was used in the popular wet plate process.

Modern day cameras capture light on a photographic film or photographic plate, whereas digital cameras use a charge coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) to capture images, which can then be transferred and stored in the camera’s internal memory for later playback or processing.

Bookmark It