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First Camera
The very first camera was called the Camera Obscura. -
Early Fixed Images
The first partially successful photograph of a camera image was made in approximately 1816. -
Daguerreotypes and Calotypes
After Niépce's death in 1833,his partner Louis Daguerre continued to experiment and by 1837 had created the first practical photographic process, which he named the daguerreotype and publicly unveiled in 1839. -
Dry Plates
Collodion dry plates had been available since 1857, thanks to the work of Désiré van Monckhoven, but it was not until the invention of the gelatin dry plate in 1871 by Richard Leach Maddox that the wet plate process could be rivaled in quality and speed. -
Kodak and the Birth of Film
The use of photographic film was pioneered by George Eastman, who started manufacturing paper film in 1885 before switching to celluloid in 1888-1889. His first camera, which he called the "Kodak," was first offered for sale in 1888. -
Instant Cameras
While conventional cameras were becoming more refined and sophisticated, an entirely new type of camera appeared on the market in 1948. -
Digital Cameras
The first digital camera of any kind ever sold commercially was possibly the MegaVision Tessera in 1987, though there is not extensive documentation of its sale known.
