The camera and photography are an important part of the communication history of the world.

16th Century German scientist Johannes Kepler known for his study of astronomy and optics is often referred to as the founder of modern optics. He used the simple pinhole camera (invented many centuries before his time and known to Aristotle as early as 322 BC) to understand how pictures can be formed.
Early cameras of the 16th and 17th century were able to project images onto paper or glass but the study of capturing, processing and printing the images took many more years. The early camera that first became a phenomenon was a little more than a pinhole camera and can be traced back to 1558. It was called the Camera Obscura. The Camera Obscura was seen as a drawing tool for a clearer and realistic portrayal of objects.

Studies however continued well into the 1800¡¯s on how to actually capture the image onto material. It was during this time, around 1822 that French researcher Joseph Nicephore Niepce( france, 1765-1833), created the first photograph by using paper that was coated with a chemical. The image would not stay permanently on the paper and would disappear after a short while. Even so, despite the short-lived nature of the image, the concept of photography was born with this experiment and paved the way for further study and development in this field.

     

apturing images to retain them longer and permanently became the next big quest for researchers. Another Frenchman Louis-Jacques-Mand¨¦ Daguerre( france, 1787-1851) partnered with Joseph Nic¨¦phore Ni¨¦pce in 1829, to develop the process of creating permanent photographs. Joseph Ni¨¦pce died in 1833 but Daguerre continued with the work and succeeded in 1837 after many long years of experimentation. The process of capturing photographic images that would not fade away, introduced by Daguerre came to be known as the ¡®daguerreotype¡¯. The word ¡®photography¡¯ was coined by scientist Sir John F.W. Herschel in 1839 and it is actually is derived from two Greek words ¡®photos¡¯ meaning light and ¡®graphein¡¯ meaning draw.

    A slightly more advanced version of the daguerreotype called the Calotype process that makes multiple copies possible using the negative and positive method became available very soon after. In fact, it was during the 1840¡¯s that the use of photographic images in advertisements first started and cameras made their mark on the power of visual communication.

Kodak created in 1888 by George Eastman has been a modern day pioneer of sorts in cameras and photography for the masses. George Eastman and the scientists who worked with him at Kodak developed the photographic film in 1889 and made it available in rolls for the mass use of consumers. An important milestone in our entertainment and communication history was the development of transparent roll film by Eastman. This development led to another key invention ¨C the motion picture camera by Thomas Edison¡¯s in 1891.

35 mm still-camera was created by Oskar Barnack, a mechanical engineer of Leitz, in 1913.

The flash bulb was introduced by General Electric Co. in 1927.

From 1935, Kodak starts marketing Kodachrome film and subsequently launches Kodacolor negative film. Canon released the Hansa Canon in 1936, the first 35mm focal-plane shutter camera.

   In 1948, the concept of the Polaroid camera is introduced in the market. American scientist Edwin Land developed the process for instant photography. Later Polaroid Corporation developed the ¡®instant color¡¯ film around 1963.

 

   In 1972, the electronic camera that does not require film was created and patented by Texas Instruments. This is however not the same as a digital camera though you don¡¯t require film in digital cameras as well. The launch of the digital camera is still many years away.

 

   In 1981, Sony launched a commercially available electronic still camera. Similar to the 1972 invention by Texas Instruments, the Sony electronic camera came with a mini disc on which images were recorded and stored. The recorded images could be later printed or viewed on a monitor using a reader device.

    In 1985, digital processing technology made its entry. Digital imaging and processing was introduced by Pixar. In 1991, Kodak introduces a digital camera targeted at professionals and journalists. Kodak is credited with the invention of a pixel based camera technology known to us as the digital camera. Digital cameras don¡¯t use film similar to their predecessor electronic cameras but the storage method is entirely different and the final photograph is of much higher resolution. In a digital camera photos are recorded and stored in digital form. This digital data can be transferred to a computer and processed for printing. Kodak and Canon are well known digital camera manufacturers and there are also several other key brands as well.

    In 1995, the Kodak DC40, a home use digital camera was launched.