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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 understood for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the late 18th century that Thomas Wedgwood discovered he could make simple prints using silver nitrate exposed to the sun. Over the next 100 years, a series of technical advances brought cameras into everyday life. ...
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.
How did I start collecting cameras? Actually, I had an interest in photography as a kid and owned a darkroom… [more]
Collecting Paillard-Bolex cameras was something I started doing by accident. It was a combination of several… [more]
We both come from families that had collections and we both had collections as children. Jack lost his when h… [more]
Rob Niederman’s homage to (and collection of) late 19th century wood cameras. This site contains extensive galler… [read review or visit site]
If you're into box cameras, this site offers incredible detail on dozens of early models from 1880 to the 1920s. Al… [read review or visit site]
This showcase of vintage cameras and photography is plainly designed, but the camera collection and related referen… [read review or visit site]
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]
Jack and Beverly Wilgus have put together a great trove of information and images of camera obscura-related photos … [read review or visit site]
With in-depth information on a variety of cameras and lenses from manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Lei… [read review or visit site]
An impressive collection of antique and vintage cameras, this site features high-resolution images of over 120 came… [read review or visit site]
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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Source: Google News
Discovery uses vintage cameras and lights to illustrate minute-by-minute who was standing where and why. At 11 pm, Discovery shows "Did the Mob Kill JFK?...Read more
One of the 6 available styles actually IS a gold credit card, with the others being a vintage camera, an old-style audio cassette tape, and three different...Read more
The same vintage cameras and lights will be used to illustrate minute-by-minute who was standing where and why. ?“Meet the Natives USA” (10 pm on Travel...Read more
Today, Casio has added to their superzoom camera collection by taking the wraps off the new Exilim EX-FH2 model that focuses on improving the low-light...Read more
So far, Chen has nearly 30 antique cameras in his collection, each with its own historical values from different eras. Chen, 53, talked about his...Read more
The box of antique cameras alone was large enough to take some time to carry out of the building, she added. “I almost came to work yesterday because I had...Read more
The former New England developer and businessman, who now lives in Land O'Lakes, is making plans for a museum large enough to house 35000 movie artifacts,...Read more
Megan Matthers, a 21-year-old photography major, collects antique cameras and films that she finds online and at local thrift stores. Photo by Brian Bolton...Read more
