Typical folding camera in unfolded postureTypical folding camera in folded postureA 1907 woodcut of a horizontal format folding cameraEnsign Midget model 22 miniature folding camera in relation to a modern type 135 film roll. Note: this model required unperforated film of the same width.
A folding camera is a camera type. Folding cameras fold into a compact and rugged package for storage. The lens and shutter are attached to a lens-board which is connected to the body of the camera by a light-tight folding bellows. When the camera is fully unfolded it provides the correct focus distance from the film. The key advantage of folding cameras is their excellent physical-size to film-size ratio when the camera is folded for storage.
Portable folding cameras dominated camera design from the 1890s to 1930s and were significant into the late 1940s. Specialized cameras such as the Polaroid SX-70Instant film camera, and the Speed Graphic press cameras used folding designs into the 1970s.
The typical amateur camera of the early 20th Century made various "postcard" sized negatives around 4" × 5". By the 1930s 6cm × 9cm cameras for either the 120 or 620 film size, were highly popular.
The use of folding cameras declined in the late 1930s with advances in lens technology allowing superior enlargement, high quality images on smaller negatives, and shorter distances between the lens and the film. 35mm film made small-sized cameras practical without using bellows. Lens technology allowed 120/620 cameras to use shorter focal distances, and the twin lens reflex cameras became popular. However, some 35mm cameras continued to be built as folding cameras, e.g., the original Kodak Retina and the Ensign Midget model 22 camera (image at lower right). Medium format folders were produced in USSR until the 1960s.
A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin lens reflex and rangefinder cameras, the viewed image could be significantly different from the final image. When the shutter button is pressed on most SLRs, the mirror flips out of the light path, allowing light to pass through to the light receptor and the image to be captured.
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 photography and videography, cameras have played a significant role in the progression of visual arts, media, entertainment, surveillance, and scientific research. The invention of the camera dates back to the 19th century and has since evolved with advancements in technology, leading to a vast array of types and models in the 21st century.
A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens", while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level.
A press camera is a medium or large format view camera that was predominantly used by press photographers in the early to mid-20th century. It was largely replaced for press photography by 35mm film cameras in the 1960s, and subsequently, by digital cameras. The quintessential press camera was the Speed Graphic. Press cameras are still used as portable and rugged view cameras.
Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than the 24 mm × 36 mm used in 35 mm photography, but smaller than 4 in × 5 in.
The Land Camera is a model of self-developing film camera manufactured by Polaroid between 1948 and 1983. It is named after the inventor, American scientist Edwin Land, who developed a process for self-developing photography between 1943 and 1947. After Edwin Land's retirement from Polaroid in 1982, the name 'Land' was dropped from the camera name. The first commercially available model was the Model 95, which produced sepia-colored prints in about 1 minute. It was first sold to the public on November 26, 1948.
An instant camera is a camera which uses self-developing film to create a chemically developed print shortly after taking the picture. Polaroid Corporation pioneered consumer-friendly instant cameras and film, and were followed by various other manufacturers.
Large format photography refers to any imaging format of 9 cm × 12 cm or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the 6 cm × 6 cm or 6 cm × 9 cm size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras, and much larger than the 24 mm × 36 mm frame of 35 mm format.
Mamiya Digital Imaging Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company that manufactures high-end cameras and other related photographic and optical equipment. With headquarters in Tokyo, it has two manufacturing plants and a workforce of over 200 people. The company was founded in May 1940 by camera designer Seiichi Mamiya and financial backer Tsunejiro Sugawara.
Instant film is a type of photographic film that was introduced by Polaroid Corporation to produce a visible image within minutes or seconds of the photograph's exposure. The film contains the chemicals needed for developing and fixing the photograph, and the camera exposes and initiates the developing process after a photo has been taken.
Bronica also Zenza Bronica was a Japanese manufacturer of classic medium-format roll film cameras and photographic equipment based in Tokyo, Japan. Their single-lens reflex (SLR) system-cameras competed with Pentax, Hasselblad, Mamiya and others in the medium-format camera market.
The SX-70 is a folding single lens reflex Land camera which was produced by the Polaroid Corporation from 1972 to 1981. The SX-70 helped popularize instant photography.
The history of the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) begins with the use of a reflex mirror in a camera obscura described in 1676, but it took a long time for the design to succeed for photographic cameras. The first patent was granted in 1861, and the first cameras were produced in 1884, but while elegantly simple in concept, they were very complex in practice. One by one these complexities were overcome as optical and mechanical technology advanced, and in the 1960s the SLR camera became the preferred design for many high-end camera formats.
The Polaroid 20×24 camera is a very large instant camera made by Polaroid, with film plates that measure a nominal 20 by 24 inches, giving the camera its name, although at least one camera takes pictures that are 23 by 36 inches.
The Fuji GX680 is a series of single lens reflex system cameras for medium format film produced by Fujifilm with interchangeable camera lenses and interchangeable film holders for the unusual film format 6×8 cm on 120 and 220 roll film. The distinguishing feature of the Fuji GX680 is the articulating front standard, which runs on a rail connecting lens and camera body by a bellows; the interchangeable lens is permanently mounted to a lens board.
The Pentax 645 is a medium format single-lens reflex system camera manufactured by Pentax. It was introduced in 1984, along with a complementary line of lenses. It captures images nominally 6 cm × 4.5 cm on 120, 220, and 70 mm film, though the actual size of the images is 56 mm × 41.5 mm.
Plaubel is a German camera maker, founded in November, 1902, by Hugo Schrader, who learned the technology of cameras and lenses as an apprentice at Voigtländer in Braunschweig in the late 1800s before being employed by a Frankfurt camera and lens manufacturer and distributor, Dr. R. Krügener, whose daughter he married. Hugo Schrader and his wife elected to open their own business, Plaubel & Co., as distributors and makers of cameras and lenses, naming it after his brother-in-law because he thought Plaubel was easier to remember than Schrader.
MiNT Camera is a company specializing in instant cameras and its accessories. Founded in 2009, it provides products and services related to instant photography. MiNT Camera has partnered with Impossible Project, now Polaroid, a manufacturer of instant photographic materials. MiNT is a well-established player in the instant photo market.
The Mamiya RB67 is a professional medium format single-lens reflex system camera manufactured by Mamiya. There are three successive models: the RB67 Professional, RB67 Pro-S and RB67 Pro-SD. It is primarily designed for studio use, but can also be used in the field.
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