Camera Parts & Functions

Camera Types

Camera Body

Camera Lens

How do they work together?

studio traditions

From it’s beginning in the mid 1800s into the 20th century photography was dominated by studio work.

Cameras were large, exposures long, and film existed in plates or sheets – all of this limited the ability of the photographer in terms of subject matter and location.

As cameras became smaller a nd pho tog r aphy more a c ce s s i b l e i n t e rms o f e q u i p m e n t a n d i n i t i a l investment, more people exper imen ted w i th the medium. Portraiture left the studio and the hands of the professional and entered the lives of everyday people. The idea of the snapshot was developed by Kodak in 1900.

1888 – Eastman introduces the Kodak camera1900 – Eastman Kodak releases the Brownie for $1, introducing the idea of the snapshot

1925 – Leica produces the first mass-market 35mm camera

1930 – Flashbulbs are first commercially available1935 – Kodak introduces Kodachrome

1947 – Edwin Land releases the Polaroid Camera

1936 – First 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera

1985 – Minolta releases the first consumer autofocus camera

1963 – Kodak introduces the Instamatic with easy loading film, the most popular

amateur camera

1972 – The Polaroid SX-70 is released and sold for $180 and $6.90 for a pack of 10 photos, selling 700,000 in two years.

1990 – First commercially available digital camera, the Dycam Model 1

1992 – On July 18th the first photograph is uploaded to the World Wide Web

1997 – On June 11th Philippe Kahn shared the first picture via a cell phone of his daughter’s birth

Major Camera Types

1. Rangefinder-35mm film

-Simpler construction-smaller & lightweight, quiet-good quality images-what you see through the viewfinder is not exactly what you get in the final image

2. Single-lens Reflex-35mm film-more complex than the rangefinder.-easily transported & lightweight…a bit heavier than a rangefinder-good quality images-whatever the lens sees, the photographer sees

take up spool

shuttertripod mount

pressure plate

film advance lever

film compartment

viewfindersprockets

camera back

lens

aperture ring

shutter button

shutter speed dial

hot shoe

film rewind

viewfinderprism

aperture

reflex mirror

filmshutter

2 42.8 85.6 1611 22

1 2 4 8 15 100030 60 125 250 500

rewind release button

The shutter speed controls the amount of light reaching the film and creatively whether a moving subject is frozen or blurred.

Aperture Sizes, Lens Openings, & f/StopsThe aperture controls the amount of light passing through the lens to the film.

Knowing when you have a correct reading…

Summary

Remember…The shutter controls the amount of light reaching the film whether a moving subject is frozen or blurred.The aperture controls the amount of light reaching the film and the depth of field.