When I first publicised my new interest to my parents, my dad gave me his old SLR from when he was my age which was an Olympus OM2-Spot with the full kit of different lenses, extenders, filters and a flash. That's when film came into things and it started my interest as well as teaching myself everything about the camera and how everything worked.
After about two months of using this precious film camera religiously I knew everything about the relationship between shutter-speed, aperture, iso and the different lenses. With my first developments looking like this:
After learning all I could with film I started to save up for my first DSLR with a job I bagged at a spanish restaurant in my town. This lead me to purchasing a Canon EOS 450D with an 18-55mm lens on ebay for £320
This became one of my essential things to take around with me when I was out and about along with phone, keys and money. I would always look out for moments and opportunities to use my camera and get as much as I could out of it.
In my second year of college, I decided to enrol into an extra AS - level in Photography to see if I could extend my knowledge any further. Most of what I developed on that course was how to analyse photographs and use theory to my advantage as all of the technical aspects had already been covered by myself the previous Summer.
When I got to university, photography became more of a hobby than anything else, I'd have a good time going out and exploring places I hadn't been or doing shoots for my business but a more able camera was needed if I wanted to carry on my hobby properly so I sold my EOS 450D and invested into an EOS 60D through work for £700 with an external flashgun too.
By this time I already had a f/1.8 50mm lens which I still favour as my best lens and absolutely love taking photos with it. Since upgrading my camera I have developed my interest in digital photography as well as starting to play with film and video as I now have the equipment to make that possible. Here are some photos I have taken with this camera.
History:
The history of the camera is a very long one, from Joseph Niepce taking the first photograph to the Kodak roll film camera to the c.d. being used as a digital image storing device.
Below is a detailed table which will take you through the development of the camera.
| Date | Event | |
| 1814 | A Frenchman called Joseph Nicéphore Niépceobtained the first ever photographic image with his “Camera Obscura”. This image was taken by having the shutter left open for eight hours ad faded shortly after. | |
| 1837 | The French artist Louis Jacques MandéDaguerre took the first fixed image on his Daguerreotype. This image did not fade and took less than thirty minutes of exposure. | |
| 1841 | William Henry Talbot patented the process ofCalotype- which involves the first negative-positive printing process making it possible to make multiple copies of a picture. | |
| 1843 | The first advertisement using a photograph is made in | |
| 1851 | The Collodion process is invented by Frederick Scott Archer. This requires only two or three seconds of sunlight exposure for the image to be captured. | |
| 1859 | The panoramic camera is patented In Sutton. | |
| 1871 | A man called Richard Leach Maddox invents a gelatin dry plate silver bromide process-negatives are no longer needed to be developed immediately. | |
| 1880 | Eastman dry plate company is founded. | |
| 1884 | Flexible, paper based photographic film is invented by company “Eastman”. | |
| 1888 | Eastman has another invention, the Kodak roll film camera. | |
| 1900 | The turn of the century brought around the first mass marketed camera “the Browning”. | |
| 1913-1914 | The first 35mm still camera is developed | |
| 1927 | Electricity company General Electric invents the modern flash bulb which enables the photograph to be brighter or taken in dark areas and seen clearly in the finished picture. | |
| 1935 | Eastman Kodak starts selling Kodachromefilm on the market | |
| 1941 | Eastman Kodak introduces Kodacolournegative film | |
| 1948 | Edwin Land markets his invention, the Polaroid camera. | |
| 1954 | Eastman Kodak develops hi-speed tri-x film. | |
| 1960 | EG&G produces a camera that can withstand extreme underwater depths for the | |
| 1963 | Polaroid releases instant colour film. | |
| 1968 | The first ever literally “out of this world” photograph is taken. And we receive an image of our planet taken from the moon. | |
| 1973 | Polaroid develops one step instant colourfilm, shoot and print with one click. | |
| 1978 | Konica invents the point and shoot auto focus camera | |
| 1980 | Sony publicly gives a demonstration of their newest addition to the original camera, the camcorder. | |
| 1984 | Four years later canon demonstrates their next big thing for many years, an electronic still camera. | |
| 1985 | Pixar releases a digital imaging processor. | |
| 1990 | Eastman Kodak develops the photo cd as a digital image storing device. | |
Below is the first photo ever taken on a camera.
Camera Basics:
A film camera is full of mechanical, optical and some electronic circuitry for automatic systems aimed at producing an image on film. A digital camera replaces the film with chip circuitry, otherwise usually the remaining features of lens, shutter and aperture, remain the same. Despite these differences in image capture and storage, all other processes, principles, techniques and accessories are identical in photography.
A camera can be thought of as nothing more than a light-tight box with a hole on each side - one side has a lens attached, the other side has a holder that accomadates a strip of light sensitive film or a sensor. To enable an image to be formed, a series of optically ground lenses transform objects in front of the lens into a sharp image on the film or sensor.
The focus is often managed automatically in the camera. Focus depends on the distance between the lens and the film or sensor. When you change the focus, you are moving the lens towards or away from the film/sensor.
The exposure is the amount of light passing to the film or sensor and this is modified in two ways; the diaphragm which controls the qualityof light by opening or closing the aperture; and the shutter which regulates the amount of time the light is allowed to pass through to the film or sensor.
Diagram of a 35mm Single Lens Reflex:
Diagram of how a digital camera works:
Cameras Today:
Computers have changed the way cameras are used. By using a digital camera the advantage is that many shots can be taken and then deleted with only the best to be kept. They can be stored on disc or printed.
Main Types of Cameras:
Following are the main types of cameras available today.
1. Advanced Photo System (APS) (1x240) camera- Light-weight "point and shoot" rangefinder compact camera or SLR camera with interchangeable lenses. Formats can be changed mid-roll. Produce excellent results and ideal for beginners.
2. 35mm compact (point and shoot) camera. Simple all-in-one camera with the minium of accessories. Automatic focus and exposure control. Excellent first camera for young and beginner photographers.
3. 35mm rangefinder camera. Subject is viewed through a separate viewfinder. Variety of models available. They are high quality ones and are easy to operate.
4. Digital viewfinder camera. Looks like a 35mm rangefinder camera, but records images digitally.
5. 35mm SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. Very popular camera with many attachment available. The subject is viewed through the lens. Some brands and models are highly sophisticated.
6. Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. Has the appearance and features of a 35mm SLR camera, yet records images digitally. These cameras are improving very rapidly. Digital cameras are now available up to 36.3 megapixels which is close to a film camera image which is 18 megapixels.
7. Range-finder medium Format camera. Takes pictures 6x7, 6x9, 6x4.5 cm formats. They use ISO 120 or ISO 220 film.They are portable and good for big enlargements.
8. Panoramic Cameras. Available with rangefinder systems and have either fixed formats or interchangeable backs.
9. SLR Medium Format cameras. Takes pictures with many formats and are good for big enlargements.
10. Large Format Cameras. Thes are used by commercial and specialist photographers.They use 5x4 or 10x8 inch sheet film and produce amazingly clear enlargements.
11. Instant and Polaroid cameras. Photograph develops instantly due to chemicals in the film. Can be adapted to take ISO 120 or ISO 220 film. Some models accept either 5x4 or 10x8 inch sheet film.
12. Stereo Camera (for 3D photography). Available in rangefinder only. Produces 3-dimensional image by taking two pictures, one 63.5 mm from the other.
Cameras have changed an developed in many ways since the first camera and in the years to come will continue to develop. Cameras are noe also available in mobile phones and many are very small but the quality on some can be more impressive than a normal digital camera.
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