History of Cameras

Series Summary

Photography is the practice of making images by exposing film or another medium to a timed flash of light. The basic equipment used for photography has changed dramatically in the last decades, many people finding digital photography an inexpensive and creative hobby. We use photography as a means of communication worldwide: to sell things, to tell stories, capture memories, evoke passions, fight for causes, make new meanings, and inspire the imagination. Mastering the art of photography is a technical and challenging experience. Even with an automatic, digital camera, one has to learn how to frame a shot, choose a background, interact with the subject, use natural light, and select the right supplies and tools.

In this free guide to digital cameras, professional artist Cody Davis teaches you all you need to know about the features and options of digital cameras. Cody covers consumer level cameras, commenting on popular megapixels and noise levels; prosumer or semi-pro cameras, giving tips on filters and accessories; and praises the professional-grade SLR cameras, which allow lens switching and have everything a pro photographer needs. You will learn about batteries, memory cards, resolution options, USB connectors, and more.

Video Transcript

"Film cameras have been around a long time. Basically they've been invented in the late 1800's, actually a little after 1890. And they were black and white for many years before they got the color, it was probably in the 50's or 60's before they got into color film. And they had different size negatives so you could blow them up larger and larger, with larger cameras, and one of the drawbacks was that the film had to be developed and that the film was costly, because every shot that you took had to be on film and you may not need every shot. With digital cameras, it's a different story. You don't really use film, you use electricity from the battery and it goes onto a memory that's within your digital camera, so that really you're not paying a lot, and you don't have to go out and buy film, and you don't really have to go develop it. It does have to be printed, but it can be used just on your computer."