Classic Cameras Book

This superb book, featuring 75 classic cameras from the National Media Museum, is a real collectors' piece. The in-depth descriptions, potted histories, stunning and sophisticated photographs and related contemporary material give a fascinating insight into each camera's development and, with a chapter for each era and a spread for each camera, it is a veritable feast for the eyes. Included are: -The camera obscura. -The announcement of the invention of photography in 1839. -The introduction of w

et plate cameras in the early 1850s, and the subsequent growth of commercial photography. -Gelatin dry plates, introduced in the late 1870s, which made 'instantaneous' exposures possible. -The transformation of hand-made wooden boxes into mass-produced presicion-engineering products, in the early 20th century. -The introduction of 35mm SLR cameras in 1936. -Post-war innovations and, in the 1990s, the first consumer digital camera, heralding the rapid decline of traditional silver-based photography.