A camera is an optical instrument that records an image of an object. No matter the type of camera, it uses the same basic principle of focusing light rays to form real images. Light rays enter a camera through an opening, are focused by the opening or lens, and form an image that is recorded on film or by a sensor.
Did you know that the word camera is Latin for “room?” The earliest cameras were in fact the size of an entire room, and were known as camera obscura, or “dark room.” One of the earliest uses of a camera obscura is credited to Leonardo da Vinci.
Photography
Photography has come a long way since the 1800s, although the basic apparatus is still the same—a box with a hole to let in light.