Camera
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224519024
2008-07-09T05:53:30Z
Dicklyon
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Reverted 1 edit by [[Special:Contributions/200.181.176.57|200.181.176.57]]; Junk. ([[WP:TW|TW]])
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[[Image:Camara de fotos.svg|thumb|300px|A modern [[single-lens reflex camera]]]]
[[Image:Cam 01.jpg|right|thumb|210px|Left to right: an Agfa box camera, a Polaroid Land camera, and a Yashica 35 mm SLR]]
A '''camera''' is a device used to capture images, either as still [[photograph]]s or as sequences of moving images ([[movie]]s or [[video]]s). The term comes from the [[Latin]] ''[[camera obscura]]'' for "dark chamber" for an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura.
Cameras may work with the light of the [[visible spectrum]] or with other portions of the [[electromagnetic spectrum]]. A camera generally consists of an enclosed hollow with an opening ([[aperture]]) at one end for [[light]] to enter, and a recording or viewing surface for capturing the light at the other end. A majority of cameras have a [[photographic lens|lens]] positioned in front of the camera's opening to gather the incoming light and focus all or part of the image on the recording surface. The diameter of the aperture is often controlled by a [[Diaphragm (optics)|diaphragm]] mechanism, but some cameras have a fixed-size aperture.
== History ==
{{main|History of the camera}}
[[Image:Camera obscura.jpg|thumb|210px|[[Camera obscura]].]]
The forerunner to the camera was the [[camera obscura]]. The camera obscura is an instrument consisting of a darkened chamber or box, into which light is admitted through a convex lens, forming an image of external objects on a surface of paper or glass, etc., placed at the focus of the lens.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary.</ref> The camera obscura was first invented by the [[Iraq]]i scientist [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhazen) as described in his ''Book of [[Optics]]'' (1015-1021).<ref name="Alhazen">Nicholas J. Wade, Stanley Finger (2001), "The eye as an optical instrument: from camera obscura to Helmholtz's perspective", ''Perception'' '''30''' (10), p. 1157 – 1177.</ref> English scientist [[Robert Boyle]] and his assistant [[Robert Hooke]] later developed a portable camera obscura in the 1660s.<ref name="Constantine">Explanatory Notes (section) of David Constantine's 1994 translation of Goethe's ''[[Elective Affinities]]'', Oxford University Press.</ref>
The first camera that was small and portable enough to be practical for photography was built by [[Johann Zahn]] in 1685, though it would be almost 150 years before technology caught up to the point where this was practical. Early photographic cameras were essentially similar to Zahn's model, though usually with the addition of sliding boxes for focusing. Before each exposure, a sensitized plate would be inserted in front of the viewing screen to record the image. [[Jacques Daguerre]]'s popular [[daguerreotype]] process utilized [[copper]] plates, while the [[calotype]] process invented by [[William Fox Talbot]] recorded images on [[paper]].
[[Image:Tartan Ribbon.jpg|thumb|left|The first permanent colour photograph, taken by James Clerk Maxwell in 1861.]]
The first permanent [[photograph]] was made in 1826 by [[Joseph Nicéphore Niépce]] using a sliding wooden box camera made by Charles and Vincent Chevalier in [[Paris]]. Niépce built on a discovery by [[Johann Heinrich Schultz]] (1724): a silver and chalk mixture darkens under exposure to light. However, while this was the birth of [[photography]], the camera itself can be traced back much further. Before the invention of photography, there was no way to preserve the images produced by these cameras apart from manually tracing them.
The development of the [[collodion]] wet plate process by [[Frederick Scott Archer]] in 1850 cut exposure times dramatically, but required photographers to prepare and develop their [[glass]] plates on the spot, usually in a mobile [[darkroom]]. Despite their complexity, the wet-plate [[ambrotype]] and [[tintype]] processes were in widespread use in the latter half of the 19th century. Wet plate cameras were little different from previous designs, though there were some models, such as the sophisticated Dubroni of 1864, where the sensitizing and developing of the plates could be carried out inside the camera itself rather than in a separate darkroom. Other cameras were fitted with multiple lenses for making [[carte de visite|cartes de visite]]. It was during the wet plate era that the use of [[bellows (photography)|bellows]] for focusing became widespread.
The first colour photograph was made by [[James Clerk Maxwell]], with the help of [[Thomas Sutton]], in 1861<ref>{{cite book|author=Mahon, Basil |title=The Man Who Changed Everything – the Life of James Clerk Maxwell|location=Hoboken, NJ | publisher=Wiley|year=2003|id=ISBN}}</ref>
== Mechanics ==
=== Image capture ===
[[Image:Studijskifotoaparat.JPG|thumb|right|200px|19th century studio camera, with bellows for focusing.]]
Traditional cameras capture light onto [[photographic film]] or [[photographic plate]]. [[video camera|Video]] and [[digital camera]]s use [[electronics]], usually a [[charge coupled device]] (CCD) or sometimes a [[CMOS]] sensor to capture images which can be transferred or stored in tape or [[random Access Memory|computer memory]] inside the camera for later playback or [[digital image processing|processing]].
Cameras that capture many images in sequence are known as [[movie camera]]s or as ciné cameras in [[Europe]]; those designed for single images are [[still camera]]s. However these categories overlap, as still cameras are often used to capture moving images in [[special effects]] work and modern [[digital camera]]s are often able to trivially switch between still and motion recording modes. A [[video camera]] is a category of movie camera that captures images electronically (either using analogue or digital technology).
A [[Stereo camera]] can take photographs that appear "three-dimensional" by taking two different photographs that can be combined to create the illusion of depth in the composite image. Stereo cameras for making 3D prints or slides have two lenses side by side. Stereo cameras for making [[lenticular print]]s have 3, 4, 5, or even more lenses. Some film cameras feature [[Negative Imprinting|date imprinting]] devices that can print a date on the negative itself.
=== Focus ===
[[Image:Coco Peru is told its show time by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|left|Auto-focus systems can capture a subject a variety of ways; here, the focus is on the person's image in the mirror.]]
Due to the optical properties of [[photographic lens]]es, only objects within an exact range of distances from the camera will be reproduced clearly. The process of adjusting this range is known as changing the camera's focus. There are various ways of focusing a camera accurately. The simplest cameras have [[Focus free lens|fixed focus]] and use a small aperture and wide-angle lens to ensure that everything within a certain range of distance from the [[photographic lens|lens]], usually around 3 metres (10 ft) to infinity, is in reasonable focus. Fixed focus cameras are usually inexpensive types, such as single-use cameras. The camera can also have a limited focusing range or [[scale-focus]] that is indicated on the camera body. The user will guess or calculate the distance to the subject and adjust the focus accordingly. On some cameras this is indicated by symbols (head-and-shoulders; two people standing upright; one tree; mountains).
[[Rangefinder camera]]s allow the distance to objects to be measured by means of a coupled parallax unit on top of the camera, allowing the focus to be set with accuracy. [[Single-lens reflex camera]]s allow the photographer to determine the focus and composition visually using the objective lens and a moving mirror to project the image onto a [[ground glass]] or plastic micro-prism screen. [[Twin-lens reflex camera]]s use an objective lens and a focusing lens unit (usually identical to the objective lens) in a parallel body for composition and focusing. [[View camera]]s use a ground glass screen which is removed and replaced by either a photographic plate or a reusable holder containing [[sheet film]] before exposure. Modern cameras often offer [[autofocus]] systems to focus the camera automatically by a variety of methods.<ref> [http://travel.howstuffworks.com/autofocus.htm Auto focus] - How Stuff Works</ref>
=== Exposure control ===
The size of the aperture and the brightness of the scene controls the amount of light that enters the camera during a period of time, and the [[shutter (photography)|shutter]] controls the length of time that the light hits the recording surface. Equivalent exposures can be made with a larger aperture and a faster shutter speed or a corresponding smaller aperture and with the shutter speed slowed down.
== Image gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Contax-s.jpg|Contax S—the world's first pentaprism [[Single-lens reflex camera|SLR]]
Image:Asahiflex600.jpg|Asahiflex
Image:Retina-IIIC-600.jpg|Kodak Retina IIIC
Image:Nikonf.jpg|Nikon F of 1959
Image:Voigtlander camera.jpg|Voigtländer Vitoret of 1962
Image:Flexicamnew.jpg|Silvestri Flexicam
Image:Cine kodak.jpg|Opened up Cine Kodak, used 35mm movie film
Image:Voigtlaender Brillant.jpg|Voigtländer Brillant twin-lens reflex camera.
Image:1921 Kodak.png|1921 Kodak
</gallery>
== See also ==
=== Types ===
* [[Digital single-lens reflex camera]]
* [[Movie camera]]
* [[Pinhole camera]]
* [[Instamatic|Pocket camera]]
* [[Rangefinder camera]]
* [[Single-lens reflex camera]]
* [[Toy camera]]
* [[Twin-lens reflex camera]]
* [[Video camera]]
* [[View camera]]
=== Brands ===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* [[AgfaPhoto]]
* [[Agilux]]
* [[Aigo]]
* [[Alpa]]
* [[Arca-Swiss]]
* [[Argus (camera company)]]
* [[Asahiflex]]
* [[Balda Kamera-Werk]]
* [[Bolex]]
* [[Braun (company)]]
* [[Bronica]]
* [[Burke & James]]
* [[Cambo Photographic Industry]]
* [[Canon (company)]]
* [[Casio]]
* [[Clairex]]
* [[Contax]]
* [[Corfield]]
{{col-break}}
* [[Coronet Camera Company]]
* [[Diana camera]]
* [[Ducati Sogno]]
* [[Eastman Kodak]]
* [[Ebony cameras]]
* [[Edixa]]
* [[Ensign Cameras]]
* [[Exakta]]
* [[FED (camera)]]
* Folmer & Schwing ([[Graflex]])
* [[Fujica]]
* [[Fujifilm]]
* [[Gami]]
* [[Gateway, Inc.]]
* [[Graflex]]
* [[Hasselblad]]
* [[Hewlett-Packard]]
* [[Holga]]
{{col-break}}
* [[Honeywell]]
* [[Horseman USA]]
* [[Ilford Photo]]
* [[Imaging Solutions Group]]
* [[Kiev-Arsenal]]
* [[Konica Minolta]]
* [[Leica Camera]]
* [[Leidolf]]
* [[Linhof]]
* [[LOMO]]
* [[Lumix]]
* [[Mamiya]]
* [[Micro Precision Products]]
* [[Minox]]
* [[Miranda Camera Company]]
* [[Mustek Systems]]
* [[Newman & Guardia]]
* [[Nikon]]
{{col-break}}
* [[Norcent]]
* [[Olympus Corporation]]
* [[Oregon Scientific]]
* [[Osaka (camera)]]
* [[Panasonic]]
* [[Pentax]]
* [[Petri Camera]]
* [[Plaubel Makina]]
* [[Polaroid Corporation]]
* [[Praktica]]
* [[Promaster (camera)]]
* [[Reid and Sigrist]]
* [[Ricoh]]
* [[Rollei]]
* [[Samsung Group]]
* [[SatuGo]]
* [[Seagull Camera]]
{{col-break}}
* [[Sigma Corporation]]
* [[Silvestri camera]]
* [[Sinar]]
* [[Sony]]
* [[Tessina]]
* [[Thornton-Pickard]]
* [[Topcon]]
* [[Traveler (camera)]]
* [[Van Oosbree]]
* [[Vivitar]]
* [[Voigtländer]]
* [[Wisner Company]]
* [[Wray (lenses)]]
* [[Yashica]]
* [[Zeiss]]
* [[Zenit (camera)]]
* [[Zorki]]
{{col-end}}
=== Other ===
{{Portal|Photography|Large_format_camera_lens.png}}
{{Portal|Film|Film reel.svg}}
* [[Flash (photography)]]
* [[Photographic filter]]
* [[Tripod (photography)]]
* [[Viewfinder]]
* [[Mobile_phone_features#Video_cameras|cameras in mobile phones]]
== References ==
<references/>
== External links ==
{{commons|Camera}}
* [http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Camerapedia a free-content encyclopedia of camera information]
* [http://science.howstuffworks.com/camera.htm How camera works at How stuff works.]
* [http://www.pccgb.com/ Photographic Collectors Club]
* [http://www.photographyhistory.com/idccinfo.html Internet Directory of Camera Collectors]
{{Photography}}
[[Category:Cameras| ]]
[[Category:Photography equipment]]
[[Category:Optical devices]]
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