Category Archives: History of Photography

Serial Numbers, Circa 1870

I had a fun surprise today. We were cleaning a couple of old Petzval lenses, getting them ready to show off at Imaging USA next week. One of our Darlot lens from circa 1870 or so gave us quite a surprise.  

The Most Important Developments in Photography

In my last article I listed the three most important developments in photography. Then someone pointed out that I’d made an error. I mean, I may have misspoken.  Wait, I mean I was less correct than I might have been. I listed the invention of the camera first (that part is pretty hard to argue [...]

Lens Genealogy – Part 2

For those who missed all the excitement, in Part 1 of this series I discussed that almost all modern SLR lenses derive from one of 6 types of lenses that were basically in use by the 1920s. Part 1 covered the first three lenses: the Symmetrical, Double Gauss, and Petzval lenses. Those three lenses give [...]

Lens Genealogy Part 1

In which I begin to answer the question “Why Do You Put the Lens Diagrams on Your Website?” Where do new lens designs come from? I knew that today’s lenses are all designed using computer programs, but  I was surprised to find new lenses aren’t designed from scratch. Designers start with an existing lens design [...]

1839 and the Frenzy that Followed

In our last article, we covered the invention of photography up until 1839 when Argo announced Daguerre’s invention and spoke of his accomplishment to the French Academy of Sciences. By the middle of January, news of Daguerre’s invention had spread around the world. The actual techniques used remained secret, however, as the French government had [...]

The Showman, the Sheriff, and the First Cameras

Enter the Showman In my last article, we discussed the first image makers, up until the late 1820s when Niepce had actually been able to make images using a camera obscura and silver plates coated with Bitumen of Judea. On his way to England, Niepce had been introduced to a most interesting man, Louis Daguerre, [...]

The Chemists, the Potter, and the Aristocrat: Imaging Before the Photograph

Since I started my articles on the early development of photographic lenses, I’ve been wanting to write an article on the development of the first cameras. The early days are so much more fun to write about, back when photographic advances were about people rather than corporations. Many of the major players despised each other, [...]

The Development of Wide-Angle Lenses

Who Invented the Telephoto Lens?

Cooking with Glass