PARTS OF CAMERA AND THEIR FUNCTIONS When using many of the automatic cameras today, many of the features

listed below are obsolete. This list is provided for those students who are enthusiasts of the manual camera. Lens - It draws the light into the camera and focuses it on the film plane. Shutter - It open and closes to control the length of time light strikes the film. There are two types of shutters: a leaf shutter, located between or just behind the lens elements, and a focal plane shutter, located in front of the film plane. Shutter Release - The button that releases or "trips" the shutter mechanism. Film Advance Lever or Knob - It transports the film from one frame to the next on the roll of film. Aperture - It dilates and contracts to control the diameter of the hole that the light passes though, to let in more or less light. It is controlled by the f-stop ring. Viewfinder - The "window" through which you look to frame your picture. Film Rewind KnobThis knob rewinds the film back into the film cassette. Camera Body - The casing of the camera which holds the encloses the camera pats. Flash Shoe - This is the point at which the flash or flash cube is mounted or attached. Self-Timer - This mechanism trips the shutter after a short delay - usually 7 to 10 seconds - allowing everyone to be in the photograph.

EARLY FORMS OF CAMERA The history of the camera can be traced much further back than the introduction of photography. Photographic cameras evolved from thecamera obscura, and continued to change through many generations of photographic technology, including daguerreotypes, calotypes, dry plates, film, and digital cameras.

The camera obscura

An artist using an 18th century camera obscura to trace an image Photographic cameras were a development of the camera obscura, a device dating back to the ancient Chinese[1] and ancient Greeks,[2][3] which uses apinhole or lens to project an image of the scene outside upside-down onto a viewing surface.Scientistmonk Roger Bacon also studied the matter. Bacon's notes and drawings, published as Perspectiva in 1267, are partly clouded with theological material describing how the Devil can insinuate himself through the pinhole by magic, [4] and it is not clear whether or not he produced such a device. On 24 January 1544 mathematician and instrument maker Reiners Gemma Frisius of Leuven University used one to watch a solar eclipse, publishing a diagram of his method in De Radio Astronimica et Geometrico in the following year.[5] In 1558 Giovanni Batista della Porta was the first to recommend the method as an aid to drawing. [6] Before the invention of photographic processes there was no way to preserve the images produced by these cameras apart from manually tracing them. The earliest cameras were room-sized, with space for one or more people inside; these gradually evolved into more and more compact models such as that by Nipce's time portable handheld cameras suitable for photography were readily available. The first camera that was small and portable enough to be practical for photography was built by Johann Zahn in 1685, though it would be almost 150 years before such an application was possible. Early fixed images The first partially successful photograph of a camera image was made in approximately 1816 by Nicphore Nipce[7][8] using a very small camera of his own making and a piece of paper coated with silver chloride, which darkened where it was exposed to light. No means of removing the remaining unaffected silver chloride was known to Nipce, so the photograph was not permanent, eventually becoming entirely darkened by the overall exposure to light necessary for viewing it. Later, in 1826, he used a sliding wooden box camera made by Charles and Vincent Chevalier in Paris, France. He made his first permanent camera photograph in 1826 by coating a pewter plate

with bitumen and exposing the plate in this camera.[9] The bitumen hardened where light struck. The unhardened areas were then dissolved away. This photograph still survives.

Daguerreotypes and calotypes

Daguerreotype camera built by La MaisonSusse Frres in 1839, with a lens by Charles Chevalier

Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicphore Nipce (who was Daguerre's partner, but died before their invention was completed) invented the first practical photographic method, which was named the daguerreotype, in 1836. Daguerre coated a copper plate with silver, then treated it with iodine vapor to make it sensitive to light. The image was developed by mercury vapor and fixed with a strong solution of ordinary salt (sodium chloride). Henry Fox Talbotperfected a different process, the calotype, in 1840. Both used cameras that were little different from Zahn's model, with a sensitized plate or sheet of paper placed in front of the viewing screen to record the image. Focusing was generally via sliding boxes.[10] Dry plates

Collodion dry plates had been available since 1855, thanks to the work of Dsir van Monckhoven, but it was not until the invention of the gelatin dry plate in 1871 by Richard Leach Maddox that they rivaled wet plates in speed and quality. Also, for the first time, cameras could be made small enough to be hand-held, or even concealed. There was a proliferation of various designs, from single- and twin-lens reflexes to large and bulky field cameras, handheld cameras, and even "detective cameras" disguised as pocket watches, hats, or other objects.The shortened exposure times that made candid photography possible also necessitated another innovation, the mechanical shutter. The very first shutters were separate accessories, though built-in shutters were common by around the start of the 20th century.[10]

Kodak and the birth of film

Kodak No. 2 Brownie box camera, circa 1910 The use of photographic film was pioneered by George Eastman, who started manufacturing paper film in 1885 before switching to celluloid in 1889. His first camera, which he called the "Kodak," was first offered for sale in 1888. It was a very simple box camera with a fixed-focus lens and single shutter speed, which along with its relatively low price appealed to the average consumer. The Kodak came pre-loaded with enough film for 100 exposures and needed to be sent back to the factory for processing and reloading when the roll was finished. By the end of the 19th century Eastman had expanded his lineup to several models including both box and folding cameras.In 1900, Eastman took mass-market photography one step further with the Brownie, a simple and very inexpensive box camera that introduced the concept of the snapshot. The Brownie was extremely popular and various models remained on sale until the 1960s.Film also allowed the movie camera to develop from an expensive toy to a practical commercial tool.Despite the advances in lowcost photography made possible by Eastman, plate cameras still offered higher-quality prints and remained popular well into the 20th century. To compete with rollfilm cameras, which offered a larger number of exposures per loading, many inexpensive plate cameras from this era were equipped with magazines to hold several plates at once. Special backs for plate cameras allowing them to use film packs or rollfilm were also available, as were backs that enabled rollfilm cameras to use plates.Except for a few special types such as Schmidt cameras, most professional astrographs continued to use plates until the end of the 20th century when electronic photography replaced them.

35 mm

Leica I, 1925

Argus C3, 1939 See also: History of 135 film Oskar Barnack, who was in charge of research and development at Leitz, decided to investigate using 35 mm cine film for still cameras while attempting to build a compact camera capable of making high-quality enlargements. He built his prototype 35 mm camera (UrLeica) around 1913, though further development was delayed for several years by World War I. Leitz test-marketed the design between 1923 and 1924, receiving enough positive feedback that the camera was put into production as the Leica I (for Leitz camera) in 1925. The Leica's immediate popularity spawned a number of competitors, most notably the Contax (introduced in 1932), and cemented the position of 35 mm as the format of choice for high-end compact cameras.Kodak got into the market with the Retina I in 1934, which introduced the 135 cartridge used in all modern 35 mm cameras. Although the Retina was comparatively inexpensive, 35 mm cameras were still out of reach for most people and rollfilm remained the format of choice for mass-market cameras. This changed in 1936 with the introduction of the inexpensive Argus A and to an even greater extent in 1939 with the arrival of the immensely popularArgus C3. Although the cheapest cameras still used rollfilm, 35 mm film had come to dominate the market by the time the C3 was discontinued in 1966.The fledgling Japanese camera industry began to take off in 1936 with the Canon 35 mm rangefinder, an improved version of the 1933 Kwanon prototype. Japanese cameras would begin to become popular in the West after Korean War veterans and soldiers stationed in Japan brought them back to the United States and elsewhere.

TLRs and SLRs

See also: History of the single-lens reflex camera

A historic camera: the Contax S of 1949 the first pentaprism SLR

Asahiflex IIb, 1954

Nikon F of 1959 the first system camera

The first practical reflex camera was the Franke & Heidecke Rolleiflex medium format TLR of 1928. Though both single- and twin-lens reflex cameras had been available for decades, they were too bulky to achieve much popularity. The Rolleiflex, however, was sufficiently compact to achieve widespread popularity and the medium-format TLR design became popular for both high- and low-end cameras.A similar revolution in SLR design began in 1933 with the introduction of the Ihagee Exakta, a compact SLR which used 127 rollfilm. This was followed three years later by the first Western SLR to use 35mm film, the Kine Exakta (World's first true 35mm SLR was Soviet "Sport" camera, marketed several months before Kine Exakta, though "Sport" used its own film cartridge). The 35mm SLR design gained immediate popularity and there was an explosion of new models and innovative features after World War II. There were also a few 35mm TLRs, the best-known of which was the Contaflex of 1935, but for the most part these met with little success.The first major post-war SLR innovation was the eye-level viewfinder, which first appeared on the HungarianDuflex in 1947 and was refined in 1948 with the Contax S, the first camera to use a pentaprism. Prior to this, all SLRs were equipped with waist-level focusing screens. The Duflex was also the first SLR with an instant-return mirror, which prevented the viewfinder from being blacked out after each exposure. This same time period also saw the introduction of the Hasselblad 1600F, which set the standard for medium format SLRs for decades.In 1952 the Asahi Optical Company (which later became well known for its Pentax cameras) introduced the first Japanese SLR using 35mm film, theAsahiflex. Several other Japanese camera makers also entered the SLR market in the 1950s, including Canon, Yashica, and Nikon. Nikon's entry, theNikon F, had a full line of interchangeable components and accessories and is generally regarded as the first system camera. It was the F, along with the earlier S series of rangefinder cameras, that helped establish Nikon's reputation as a maker of professional-quality equipment.

MAJOR KIND OF A CAMERA : Viewfinder There are hundreds of different models of cameras, but all of them can be classified under four main types according to the viewing system they use. Of the four, the smallest and the simplest to operate are the viewfinder and small single-lens reflex cameras. They are basically eye-level cameras; you put them up to your eye and use them as a direct extension of your vision into the scene in front of you, making quick, candid pictures relatively easy to take. The viewfinder in a viewfinder camera is a small peephole, usually equipped with a simple lens system that gives you an image approximating what the picture will be. In cameras with fully adjustable focusing, like the one shown, the viewfinder frames the subject more precisely and is linked to the lens by a device called a coupled rangefinder so that the user can tell when his picture is in focus. Advantages of the viewfinder: In its cruder forms it is inexpensive and has no moving parts to break down. In the more sophisticated rangefinder models it provides excellent focusing, particularly at low light levels where some other viewing systems do not function as well. Disadvantages: A simple viewfinder suffers from an inherent defect called parallax error (left) that prevents it from seeing exactly what the lens sees. Unless parallax error is automatically compensated for (as it is in high-quality cameras like the one shown here), it makes the viewfinder camera almost useless for carefully composed closeup work, such as portraits or pictures of flowers. Also, images that are seen through this type of viewfinder may be inconveniently small.

In viewfinder cameras light from the subject goes through the viewfinder to the eye and through another ions to the film (cutaway, centre). The difference between these two viewpoints is called parallax error. Thus, even though the viewfinder covers the whole bird (broken lines in diagram at left), the lens does not (solid lines) and the bird's head will be cut off in the picture. Better viewfinder cameras automatically correct for parallax to match the views (above).

2: Single-lens Reflex Obviously, the best way to see what the camera sees is to look right through the camera lens itself. This way you can frame the subject precisely and tell how much every part of the scene, from foreground objects to distant backgrounds, will be sharp or out of focus something that cannot be done with the viewfinder, whose lens produces a sharp image of everything it sees. The single-lens reflex camera can do this. With a mirror and prism (diagram, right) it enables the photographer to use the camera lens for composing and focusing pictures. Advantages of the single-lens reflex: It eliminates parallax. It is easily and quickly focused, which makes it good 'or candid photography. Since the viewing system uses the camera lens itself, it obviously works equally well with all lenses-whatever the lens sees, the photographer sees, unlike the viewfinder camera, which cannot vary :he focusing scene to suit the picture taking lens. Disadvantages: The single-lens reflex is heavier and less compact than the viewfinder. It is also more complex and hence more liable to break down. Because it has a moving mirror, it is noisy; it makes a loud click when a picture is taken, compared to the almost inaudible click of a good viewfinder camera. If you are stalking wild animals or selfonscious people, this is a drawback. And because of the path the light travels to get to the user's eye-through lenses, off a mirror, then through a viewing screen and a prism-finding the critical point of focus under poor lighting conditions is often difficult. In this respect the viewfinder with rangefinder focusing is distinctly superior.

The key to the single-lens reflex camera is a mirror (a). Light coming in through the camera tens is reflected upward by this mirror to a viewing screen, then through a five-sided prism that turns the inverted image right-side up and right-side round and delivers it to the eye. When a picture is taken, the mirror snaps up momentarily to position (b), permitting light to strike the film at the back of the camera. Through-the-lens viewing produces an image virtually identical with that produced on the film (bird pictures at right).

3: Twin-lens Reflex Many photographers prefer that the image they see be projected onto a flat surface rather than seen from eye level. In this way the photographer can turn a three-dimensional scene into a two-dimensional picture, something that he can study and compose carefully. The twin-lens reflex camera does this. Like the single-lens reflex camera, it also uses a mirror that reflects an image of the scene upward onto a viewing screen. But its mirror is fixed, which means that there must be one lens for the camera and a second one for viewing. These are coupled mechanically, so that when one is in focus, the other is also. Advantages of the twin-lens reflex: The fixed mirror means simple, rugged construction and quiet operation, and the viewing screen permits convenient accurate composition. Because the photographer looks into this camera from the top, he can lower it to waist level or even place it on the ground an awkward angle for an eye-level viewfinder, for photographing babies or pets. Disadvantages: The principal problem is parallax error, although the best twin-lens reflexes have automatic parallax correction. Another drawback is that the image projected on the viewing screen is reversed left to right, which takes some getting used to. The larger size of the twinlens reflex, while permitting larger film, does make the camera somewhat more cumbersome for candid work. On many twin-lens reflexes, lenses are not interchangeable.

The twin-lens reflex, like the viewfinder camera, has separate viewing and picture-taking systems. Here they are stacked one over the other. The lower lens conducts light to the film. The upper one, coupled to the lower for focusing, conducts light to a mirror (a) set at a 45 angle, whence it is reflected upward to a viewing screen (b). Like all mirror reflections, the image appears reversed left to right, as shown by the top photo. The top photo also shows a grid of hairlines etched on the viewing screen to help compose the picture more accurately.

4: View Cameras Can one get the benefits of throughthelens viewing and a large, picturelike image on a glass viewing screen -all in one camera? Indeed one can. In fact that is the oldest and most direct kind of viewing system that exists. The modern cameras that use this system, called view cameras, are generally built like an accordion, with a lens at the front and a viewing screen at the back. Focusing is achieved by moving the tens end forward or back until a sharp image is seen on the viewing screen. Advantages of the view camera:

The image on the viewing screen is projected directly there by the picture-taking lens, so what the photographer sees is exactly what will be on his negative; there can be no parallax error. Furthermore, the viewing screen is very large, permitting detailed examination by magnifying glass to check sharpness of focus in all parts of the picture. The film size is also large, giving sharp detail in large pictures. The camera itself is adjustable, permitting the photographer to tilt and twist it to correct focus problems or distortion. Disadvantages: The most serious is the bulkiness of the camera; you must use a tripod. Second most serious is that the image projected on the viewing screen is not very bright, and the photographer, to see it better, must put a cloth over his head and the back of the camera. Finally, the image appears reversed and upside down on the viewing screen. Photographers get used to this, but it is disconcerting at first.

In the view camera, the light comes directly from the subject, through the lens, and falls on a viewing screen (a) at the back of the camera; since the image that the photographer sees comes directly from the lens, it is reversed and upside down, as the upper of the two bird photos shows. Otherwise it is identical to what will appear on the film (lower photo). As an aid in composing pictures, the viewing screen of this camera is etched with a square grid of hairlines.

FUNCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC LENS The function of the lens in the camera is to direct the light source to the camera sensor and also to focus your image. The main difference of the different lens brands will be the coating that they use. Different lens coating will give varying results from sharpness to color reproduction. The three brands of lens you mentioned are all "heritage" or "legendary" camera/lens manufacturer and their products are still sought after by photographers and collectors alike. TYPES OF LENS A convex lens is a converging lens which works much like a concave mirror. This kind of lens is thicker in the middle and thinner towards the edges, like the lens in a magnifying glass. The image is changed by the position of the object in relation to the focal length and the radius of curvature. If the object is beyond 2F, the image is real, inverted and reduced, at 2F real, inverted and the same height, between F and 2F real, inverted, and magnified, at F there is no image, and in front of F, the image is virtual, erect, and magnified. A concave lens is a diverging lens which works similar to the convex mirror. This lens is thicker towards the edges and thin in the middle and are used in helping correction of nearsightedness. All images produced by concave lenses are virtual, erect, and reduced. There is an error in lenses, most notably in concave lenses called chromatic aberration, referring to the fact that the focal length of a lens can vary with the wavelength of light that is passed through it. This can be corrected by cementing two lenses together (one convex, one concave) into a single lens. TYPES OF CAMERA LENSES "Close-up" or macro A macro lens used in macro or "close-up" photography (not to be confused with the compositional term close up) is any lens that produces an image on the focal plane (i.e., film or a digital sensor) that is the same size or larger than the subject being imaged. This configuration is generally used to image close-up very small subjects. A macro lens may be of any focal length, the actual focus length being determined by its practical use, considering magnification, the required ratio, access to the subject, and illumination

considerations. They can be special lens corrected optically for close up work or they can be any lens modified (with adapters or spacers) to bring the focal plane "forward" for very close photography. The depth-of-field is very narrow, limiting their usefulness. Lenses are usually stopped down to give a greater depth-of-field.[16][17] [edit]Zoom Main article: Zoom lens Some lenses, called zoom lenses, have a focal length that varies as internal elements are moved, typically by rotating the barrel or pressing a button which activates an electric motor. Commonly, the lens may zoom from moderate wide-angle, through normal, to moderate telephoto; or from normal to extreme telephoto. The zoom range is limited by manufacturing constraints; the ideal of a lens of large maximum aperture which will zoom from extreme wideangle to extreme telephoto is not attainable. Zoom lenses are widely used for small-format cameras of all types: still and cine cameras with fixed or interchangeable lenses. Bulk and price limit their use for larger film sizes. Motorized zoom lenses may also have the focus, iris, and other functions motorized.

FOCAL LENGTH AND VIEW OF ANGLE Lens is described by its focal length, which is the distance in millimeters (mm) between the lens and the image it forms on the sensor or film, when it is sharply focused at infinity (the farthest possible visual distance). Focal length determines the angle of view or how much a lens sees which controls what portion of a scene will be captured. Focal length of a lens controls how wide or narrow its perspective is. A lens with a wide perspective will provide an expansive view while one with an intermediate perspective will offers you a normal view of a subject. A narrow, telephoto view might bring details of a subject in very close. Focal lengths are measured in millimeters. Some lenses have a field of view that is fixed at a particular focal length, such as 18mm, 50mm, 105mm, or 200mm. These are called prime lenses or, sometimes, fixed focal length lenses. Other lenses have the ability to shift lens elements around to produce a continuous range of focal lengths. These are called zoom lenses. A typical zoom lens might be able to change magnifications from an 18mm wide view to a 200mm telephoto perspective, thus incorporating the fields of view of the 18mm, 50mm, 105mm, and 200mm prime lenses listed previously, plus all the focal lengths between them. Some lenses have a field of view that is fixed at a particular focal length, such as 18mm, 50mm, 105mm, or 200mm. The most common focal lengths can be grouped into general categories, with, of course, some overlap between adjacent groups. The following list shows the approximate focal lengths of lenses used, with a little overlap in focal lengths between some categories.

ULTRA-WIDE ANGLE LENSES: 10-15MM These lenses capture the broadest view of a scene than a standard lens does by making subjects appear smaller than they would with a normal lens. It offer tremendous depth of field, thus permitting one to get very close to a subject and produce exaggerated size relationships, unusual perspectives due to distortion, and an intimate viewing experience which can be intentionally used to generate visual interest.

WIDE ANGLE LENSES: 16-28MM These lenses are used for most landscape, architecture, and interior photography, or any subjects where you have a wide field of view. A wide angle lens is handy for large scenes and in locations where it is not possible for one to move back far enough to photograph the entire scene. NORMAL LENSES: 28-40MM This focal length range is defined separately because, before zoom lenses became predominant, most cameras were purchased with a normal lens. Normal focal lengths are good for 3/4 and full-length portraits, or shots of small groups.

SHORT TELEPHOTO LENSES: 40-60MM Lenses in this focal length range have been traditionally called portrait lenses, because they provide a flattering perspective for head and shoulders portrait images. Focal lengths shorter than this range can exaggerate the size of features like noses that are closer to the camera, at the expense of features like ears, which are farther away and appear to be too small. Focal lengths of about 100mm or longer tend to compress facial features together in a flattening effect.

MEDIUM TELEPHOTO LENSES: 60-135MM. Lenses in this range are popular for close-up and macro photography, because they let you maintain a little distance between your subject and the camera. That distance makes lighting the subject easier and can be less threatening to small living subjects, such as insects. Medium telephoto lenses are also useful for sports at close range, and portraits.

LONG TELEPHOTO LENSES: 135-300MM These focal lengths are useful for pulling in any subject thats too far from the camera to fill the frame. Youll find them helpful for shooting concerts, sports events, and skittish wildlife. Telephoto lenses require solid technique to minimize the effects of camera shake and to manage the reduced range of sharpness these lenses offer.

SUPER TELEPHOTO LENSES: 300MM AND ABOVE Really long focal lengths are most useful to wildlife photographers, who must photograph creatures from hundreds of feet away, or smaller critters from dozens of feet away. Outdoor sports photographers who want to put themselves into the middle of the huddle, at the edges of the scrum, or capture an exciting play from the other side of the stadium or field also benefit from really long focal lengths. Its true that 300mm just barely qualifies for this category because the really long focal lengths range from 400 to 600mm.