Camera industry shudders over shift

Some cameras used to be the size of a whole room, requiring multiple people to operate. Now, they’re in the palm of our hands on a daily basis. ⬤ According to Statista, digital camera sales dropped 87% between 2010 and 2019. One reason is the popularity of smartphone technology. ⬤ PopPhoto’s Harry Guinness confirms this slump is mainly due to the decline of compact DSLR cameras. Cellphone cameras now provide a more convenient alternative – but he says the camera industry should not be concerned. “The market for so-called ‘good’ cameras,” he writes, “has just gone back to baseline.”

When was the camera invented?

The first camera was invented in 1816 by Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. The invention of the camera was documented in letters to his brother, according to “The History of Photography” by Beaumont Newhall.

In 1826, his prototype was used to take the first photograph ever, which captured the view out the window of his home at Le Gras in France. The image took Niépce at least eight hours to produce.

In 1829, Niépce partnered with Parisian painter Louis-Jacques-Mande Deguerre, hoping to reduce the long exposure time his previous invention required. This led to the invention of the daguerreotype, the first form of photography with practical exposure times.

When was the video camera invented?

The invention of the video camera has a mysterious history. In the 1890s, American inventor Thomas Edison received a patent for his kinetograph, an early video camera, and was credited as its inventor.

According to a 2015 documentary titled “The First Film,” artist Louis Le Prince shot a film on a video camera of his own invention in Leeds in 1888, two years before Edison’s invention. Before coming to the United States, Le Prince mysteriously disappeared and was never found. According to a BBC entertainment report, Le Prince’s wife, Lizzie, accused Edison of arranging his murder.