A box camera is a simple type of
camera
A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
, the most common form being a cardboard or plastic box with a
lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
in one end and
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
at the other. They were sold in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The lenses are often single element designs
meniscus fixed focus lens, or in better quality box cameras a doublet lens with minimal (if any) possible adjustments to the
aperture
In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...
or
shutter speed
In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time that the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light (that is, when the camera's shutter (photography), shutter is open) when taking a photograph.
The am ...
s. Because of the inability to adjust focus, the small lens aperture and the low sensitivity of the sensitive materials available, these cameras work best in brightly lit day-lit scenes when the subject is within the
hyperfocal distance for the lens and of subjects that move little during the exposure. Eventually, box cameras with
photographic flash, shutter and aperture adjustment were introduced, allowing indoor photos.
Purpose
The
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
camera introduced in 1888 was the first box camera to become widely adopted by the public and its design became the archetype for box camera designs introduced by many different manufacturers. The use of flexible
roll film
Roll film or rollfilm is any type of spool-wound photographic film protected from white light exposure by a paper backing. The term originated in contrast to sheet film. Confusingly, roll film was originally often referred to as "cartridge" film ...
meant that the cameras were light and portable and could be used without the encumbrance of tripods and the attendant difficulty of using glass
photographic plate
Photographic plates preceded film as the primary medium for capturing images in photography. These plates, made of metal or glass and coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, were integral to early photographic processes such as heliography, d ...
s which were typical of professional cameras. Before the introduction of the Kodak, photographers were responsible for making their own arrangements for the
development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped
* Photographic development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
* Development hell, when a proje ...
and printing of their pictures. The first Kodak came pre-loaded with film and the customer returned the camera to Kodak for processing and to be reloaded with film for the customer. In 1900, a Yale plate box camera cost US$2 (about $ in dollars). and a Kodak rollfilm box sold for US$1 (about $ in dollars)
Typical box cameras
*The
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
introduced in May 1888 first commercially successful box camera for
roll film
Roll film or rollfilm is any type of spool-wound photographic film protected from white light exposure by a paper backing. The term originated in contrast to sheet film. Confusingly, roll film was originally often referred to as "cartridge" film ...
—the advertising slogan being ''You press the button – we do the rest''.
*The Kodak
Brownie, a long lasting series of classical box cameras using
roll film
Roll film or rollfilm is any type of spool-wound photographic film protected from white light exposure by a paper backing. The term originated in contrast to sheet film. Confusingly, roll film was originally often referred to as "cartridge" film ...
.
*The
Ansco Panda was designed to compete directly with the Brownies. It used 620 film.
*The Kodak
Instamatic
: ''For the film formats associated with the ''Instamatic'' and ''Pocket Instamatic'' camera ranges, see 126 film and 110 film respectively.''
The Instamatic is a series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 film, 126 and 110 film, 110 cameras made b ...
using
126 film, later
110 film.
*The modern
disposable camera using
135 film
file:135film.jpg, 135 film. The film is wide. Each image is 24×36 mm in the most common "small film" format (sometimes called "double-frame" for its relationship to the "single-frame" 35 mm movie format or full frame after the introduc ...
.
*The
Zeiss Ikon Box-Tengor for
roll film
Roll film or rollfilm is any type of spool-wound photographic film protected from white light exposure by a paper backing. The term originated in contrast to sheet film. Confusingly, roll film was originally often referred to as "cartridge" film ...
.
Other box cameras
Although many cameras of the mid nineteenth century were wooden and "boxy" in appearance with a brass fitted lens on the front they should not be confused with the mass-produced box cameras that exploded in popularity after the introduction of the first Kodak.
Le Phoebus 1870
The "Le Phoebus" camera was typical, it was built of mahogany wood with a brass mounted lens in a
rack-and-pinion focuser to adjust the projected image sharply onto a ground glass at the back. Most cameras like this used glass plates. The lens did not come equipped with a shutter; instead, the lenscap was removed and replaced to control the exposure time.
Pocket Kodak 1895–1896
Pocket Kodaks were small () and lightweight (), and took roughly exposures on 102 size rollfilm. This camera had a new feature, a small view box that told how many exposures of film were left. They were first available in 1895 with either black or red leather covering.
Crown Camera 1896
Patent GB189602965 was granted on February 10, 1896 to Thomas Peter Bethell of Crown Works, Boundary Place, Liverpool for a "simple construction of camera to be made of cardboard of metal, or a combination of both". The Crown Camera had a quarter-plate cardboard-body with two waist level finders, cardboard rubber-band powered shutter, four-position rotary stops marked 1 2 3 4, a single meniscus lens, removable ground glass screen, rear sliding sheath and leather carrying strap.
le Papillon 1905–1908
Meaning "the butterfly," le Papillon was a small French
stereo camera which made stereoscopic images on glass plates in single plateholders.
No. 00 Cartridge Premo Camera, 1916–1922
The No. 00 Cartridge Premo was Kodak's smallest box camera ever. It was only tall. It uses a simple rotary shutter with meniscus lens, and does not have a viewfinder. The photographer must use the
leatherette covering to attempt to see the subject of the photograph.
See also
*
List of camera types
*
Diana Mini Camera
References
External links
*
A photo essay made with an Ansco box camera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Box Camera
Cameras by type