Science Museum visit, 2005

Early experimental camera by Talbot (640 x 427)

The addition of lenses to cameras obscura was pioneered by an Englishman called William Fox Talbot in the 1830s. Talbot had been investigating photography while on his honeymoon. (You'd think he'd have had better things to do...)

Mid-19th Century cameras (427 x 640)

A nice selection of mid-19th Century cameras.

Victorian studio camera (640 x 427)

Cameras like this produced negatives on treated glass plates.

Victorian stereoscope camera (640 x 427)

I didn't realize that the Victorians invented Viewmaster...

Early SLR camera (640 x 427)

These started appearing towards the end of the 19th Century.

Colour diagram (640 x 427)

Colour photography was developed before colour film (with three separate layers of photosensitive silver halide) was invented. Early colour cameras used a lens to separate the red, green and blue components of light; the three components were then reflected onto individual glass plates.