Cameras were invented over a long period, with key milestones marking their development:
- The earliest camera-like device was the camera obscura , a natural optical phenomenon known since ancient times, which projects an image through a small hole. Written records of the camera obscura date back to around 400 BC.
- The first portable camera design was invented by Johann Zahn in 1685. However, this was more of a concept and design rather than a fully functional camera.
- The first photographic camera that could capture permanent images was invented in about 1816 by French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. He created the first device recognized as a camera and took the first permanent photograph in 1826 or 1827, using a bitumen-coated plate in a camera obscura.
- Further development was made by Louis Daguerre , who invented the daguerreotype in 1839, an early form of photographic camera that produced more practical and fixed images.
In summary, the camera as a concept dates back to antiquity with the camera obscura, the first camera design was in 1685 by Johann Zahn, and the first photographic camera capable of permanent images was invented in 1816 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.
