Explore the World's 12 Oldest Digital Cameras

BY: SANJAY VERMA

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In 1948, the US witnessed the debut of the first instant camera, the Polaroid Model 95, by inventor Edwin H. Land. This camera allowed quick photo capture and development, pioneering self-developing film with a folding design, viewfinder, and adjustable focus.

12. Polaroid Model 95

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Launched in 1948, the Swedish Hasselblad 1600F was the world's first medium-format SLR camera, offering versatility to professional photographers with its modular design and interchangeable lenses.

11. Hasselblad 1600F

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In 1925, Oscar Barnack's Leica I revolutionized photography with its compact 35mm film format, shaping street photography and photojournalism.

10. Leica I

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In 1900, Eastman Kodak's Kodak Brownie made photography accessible to the masses with its affordable and simple design. Using roll film, it popularized snapshots and democratized photography.

9. Kodak Brownie

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In 1898, Eastman Kodak introduced the Folding Pocket Kodak, a compact and portable camera that revolutionized snapshot photography with its collapsible bellows design.

8. Folding Pocket Kodak

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In 1892, the Kombi Camera, created by William V. Esmond and manufactured by Alfred C. Kemper, was a groundbreaking invention. It was the world's first miniature roll film camera, combining photo capture and viewing in a single device, and introduced the concept of a metal-bodied roll film camera with interchangeable backs for different films.

7. Kombi Instant Camera

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In 1859, Thomas Sutton's Panoramic Camera, from the United Kingdom, used curved photographic plates to capture wide-angle images, offering photographers a novel perspective.

6. Sutton Panoramic Camera

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In the 1850s, the Whole Plate Camera, originating in England and invented by W. Middlemiss, gained popularity for its larger format and enhanced optical design. It used 6.5 x 8.5 inch glass plates, delivering higher-quality photos.

5. Whole Plate Camera

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Scottish inventor William Henry Fox Talbot's 1841 Calotype Camera introduced negative-positive printing, enabling multiple prints from light-sensitive paper negatives.

4. Calotype Camera

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In 1839, French inventor Alphonse Giroux introduced one of the earliest commercially available Daguerreotype cameras, featuring a sliding box for focusing and exposure adjustment.

3. Giroux Daguerreotype Camera

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In 1839, Louis Daguerre unveiled the Daguerreotype Camera, a pivotal moment in photographic history. This camera employed a silver-plated copper plate to capture images with exceptional clarity and detail.

2. Daguerreotype Camera

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The Camera Obscura, originating in ancient Greece around the 5th century BC, projected inverted images onto surfaces through a small aperture, serving as the precursor to modern cameras.

1. Camera Obscura

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