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Antique and vintage cameras are valued by collectors for many reasons, from the historical significance of 19th century wood cameras to the fine optics of classic vintage Leicas. Kodak and Polaroid are two other big names in camera collecting, as is Bolex in movie cameras.

The principles of the camera obscura - a simple light projection box - have been understoo...

Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre formed a partnership in 1829, and figured out a new chemical bath for prints, which shortened the exposure process to eight hours. Daguerre continued this research until he perfected the Daguerreotype, a print made on silver that was used up until the mid 1850s. Daguerreotypes and other formats (e.g. cyanotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes) were made with wood cameras, which were essentially camera obscuras with lenses, allowing for clearer image refraction.

It wasn't until George Eastman's 1885 invention of film that cameras got smaller - with his Kodak film loaded in, you would send the whole camera back to the factory to have it developed. Oskar Barnack began experimenting with 35 mm film in 1914 and built some prototypes of what eventually become the Leica I, the first practical 35 mm camera, released in 1925.

More improvements came when Kodak introduced the Retina I, the first camera to use a modern 135 film cartridge. Photography soon became affordable to all, even before the 1947 introduction of Polaroid's instant camera.

Development of movie cameras kept pace, building atop the basic slide projection technology (magic lantern) which had been in use since the 1500s. The first movie cameras were developed around 1888, and Thomas Edison produced the first copyrighted film in 1894. In 1895, the Lumiere brothers of France first showed off their 'Cinematographe,' a handheld combination projector and camera, in the first commercial public film screening.

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Interviews & Articles

Cool Cameras: The Univex Mercury

The Universal Camera Corporation found great success in the early/mid-1930s by selling very inexpensive cameras and film. Univer… [more]

An Interview With Antique Wood Camera Collector Rob Niederman

How did I start collecting cameras? Actually, I had an interest in photography as a kid and owned a darkroom by the age of 12 or 1… [more]

An Interview With Vintage Bolex Movie Camera Collector Michael Tisdale

Collecting Paillard-Bolex cameras was something I started doing by accident. It was a combination of several interests I had, incl… [more]

An Interview With Antique Photograph and Camera Collectors Jack and Beverly Wilgus

We both come from families that had collections and we both had collections as children. Jack lost his when his grandmother threw … [more]



Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Antique and 19th Century Cameras

Antique and 19th Century Cameras

Rob Niederman’s homage to (and collection of) late 19th century wood cameras. This site contains extensive galler… [read review or visit site]

George Eastman House

George Eastman House

This showcase of vintage cameras and photography is plainly designed, but the camera collection and related referen… [read review or visit site]

Collection D'Appareils Photo

Collection D'Appareils Photo

While we couldn't read everthing - it's mostly in French - the images on this site speak for themselves. Its an ext… [read review or visit site]

Magic Mirror of Life

Magic Mirror of Life

Jack and Beverly Wilgus have put together a great trove of information and images of camera obscura-related photos … [read review or visit site]

Photography in Malaysia

Photography in Malaysia

With in-depth information on a variety of cameras and lenses from manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Lei… [read review or visit site]

Cameras and Co

Cameras and Co

An impressive collection of antique and vintage cameras, this site features high-resolution images of over 120 came… [read review or visit site]

Antique Cameras D. Tristram Ludwig

Antique Cameras D. Tristram Ludwig

David Tristram Ludwig shares high resolution images of his in-depth personal collection of antique cameras, includi… [read review or visit site]



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Recent News: Cameras

Source: Google News

Where to Get That Perfect Guy a Gift on Valentine's Day
Patch.com, February 2nd

If cameras and video equipment is more up your guy's alley, head over to another long-time Studio City purveyor, Dru'e Washington, owner of Harry's Camera & Video, who has had bought and sold new and vintage camera and video equipment since 1985...Read more

Movie Museum of the Week
Santa Barbara Independent, January 30th

Antique cameras, film magazines, and editing equipment are also on display, along with some spectacular props. The timing could not be better for this truly enlightening tour of silent film–era Santa Barbara. The Flying A: Silent Film in Santa Barbara...Read more

Goodwill now sells online
Greensboro News & Record, January 30th

Vintage camera and video game collectors also should check out the site. These items always sell well, Lamb says. And, of course, there are the bargains. A $900 wedding gown — with the price tag still attached — recently sold for $29.99...Read more

South Jersey's photography industry has seen the fall of Kodak coming for years
Press of Atlantic City, January 28th

T&F Camera Shop co-owners Bart and Mike Feldman look at vintage cameras while discussing the impact of Kodak filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday at their store on Delsea Drive in Vineland. Kodak was called the "Great Yellow Father"...Read more

Vintage Camera iPhone App Downloaded 3 Million Times In First Month
MotoringCrunch, January 25th

Recall that Vintage Camera app we featured just over a month ago? Well if you did read our review and download the app then it will come as no surprise to you that it has broken the 3 million download mark in its first month in the App Store...Read more

Vintage Camera hits three million downloads in one month
Know Your Mobile, January 23rd

The iPhone and iPod Touch Vintage Camera app has been downloaded more than three millon times since it was launched a month ago. According to its developer Presselite, the app was also the number one most downloaded in the free apps category in Japan...Read more

Instagram generation
Lodi News-Sentinel, January 20th

I love vintage cameras, so this takes me back to a nostalgic time without having to buy film and wait for processing. My favorite filters are Earlybird and Toaster. I think just because they are so close to my own coloring for my family and wedding...Read more

Blitzen Trapper Releases Tour Video
Paste Magazine, January 11th

Shot on what we can guess is the convenient 8mm Vintage Camera iPhone App, the boys are captured juggling in parks, conversing over meals and signing random white walls along with a slew of other “tour-like” activities. The band has a keen sense of...Read more