The meaning of the word camera

A camera is an optical instrument that captures images. Most cameras can capture 2D images, while some more advanced models can capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of a sealed box (the camera body), with a small hole (the aperture) that allows light to pass through and capture an image on a light-sensitive surface (usually a digital sensor or photographic film). Cameras have various mechanisms to control how light falls onto the light-sensitive surface, including lenses that focus the light and a shutter that determines the amount of time the photosensitive surface is exposed to the light.

The still-image camera is a key instrument in the art of photography. Captured images may be reproduced later through processes such as digital imaging or photographic printing. Similar artistic fields in the moving-image camera domain include film, videography, and cinematography.

The word camera comes from camera obscura, which is Latin for «dark chamber» and refers to the original device used to project a 2D image onto a flat surface. The modern photographic camera evolved from the camera obscura. The first permanent photograph was made in 1825 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.^[1]

History[edit]

Mechanics[edit]

Most cameras capture light from the visible spectrum, while specialized cameras capture other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as infrared.^[2]: vii

All cameras use the same basic design: light enters an enclosed box through a converging or convex lens and an image is recorded on a light-sensitive medium.^[3] A shutter mechanism controls the length of time that light enters the camera.^{[4]: 1182–1183}

Most cameras also have a viewfinder, which shows the scene to be recorded, along with means to adjust various combinations of focus, aperture and shutter speed.^[5]: 4

Exposure control[edit]

Aperture[edit]

Light enters the camera through an aperture, an opening adjusted by overlapping plates called the aperture ring.^[6][7][8] Typically located in the lens,^[9] this opening can be widened or narrowed to alter the amount of light that strikes the film or sensor.^[6] The size of the aperture can be set manually, by rotating the lens or adjusting a dial or automatically based on readings from an internal light meter.^[6]

As the aperture is adjusted, the opening expands and contracts in increments called f-stops.^[a][6] The smaller the f-stop, the more light is allowed to enter the lens, increasing the exposure. Typically, f-stops range from f/1.4 to f/32^[b] in standard increments: 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, and 32.^[10] The light entering the camera is halved with each increasing increment.^[9]

The wider opening at lower f-stops narrows the range of focus so the background is blurry while the foreground is in focus. This depth of field increases as the aperture closes. A narrow aperture results in a high depth of field, meaning that objects at many different distances from the camera will appear to be in focus.^[11] What is acceptably in focus is determined by the circle of confusion, the photographic technique, the equipment in use and the degree of magnification expected of the final image.^[12]

Shutter[edit]

The shutter, along with the aperture, is one of two ways to control the amount of light entering the camera. The shutter determines the duration that the light-sensitive surface is exposed to light. The shutter opens, light enters the camera and exposes the film or sensor to light, and then the shutter closes.^[9][13]

There are two types of mechanical shutters: the leaf-type shutter and the focal-plane shutter. The leaf-type uses a circular iris diaphragm maintained under spring tension inside or just behind the lens that rapidly opens and closes when the shutter is released.^[10]

More commonly, a focal-plane shutter is used.^[9] This shutter operates close to the film plane and employs metal plates or cloth curtains with an opening that passes across the light-sensitive surface. The curtains or plates have an opening that is pulled across the film plane during exposure. The focal-plane shutter is typically used in single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, since covering the film (rather than blocking the light passing through the lens) allows the photographer to view the image through the lens at all times, except during the exposure itself. Covering the film also facilitates removing the lens from a loaded camera, as many SLRs have interchangeable lenses.^[6][10]

A digital camera may use a mechanical or electronic shutter, the latter of which is common in smartphone cameras. Electronic shutters either record data from the entire sensor simultaneously (a global shutter) or record the data line by line across the sensor (a rolling shutter).^[6] In movie cameras, a rotary shutter opens and closes in sync with the advancement of each frame of film.^[6][14]

The duration for which the shutter is open is called the shutter speed or exposure time. Typical exposure times can range from one second to 1/1,000 of a second, though longer and shorter durations are not uncommon. In the early stages of photography, exposures were often several minutes long. These long exposure times often resulted in blurry images, as a single object is recorded in multiple places across a single image for the duration of the exposure. To prevent this, shorter exposure times can be used. Very short exposure times can capture fast-moving action and eliminate motion blur.^{[15][10][6][9]} However, shorter exposure times require more light to produce a properly exposed image, so shortening the exposure time is not always possible.

Like aperture settings, exposure times increment in powers of two. The two settings determine the exposure value (EV), a measure of how much light is recorded during the exposure. There is a direct relationship between the exposure times and aperture settings so that if the exposure time is lengthened one step, but the aperture opening is also narrowed one step, then the amount of light that contacts the film or sensor is the same.^[9]

Metering[edit]

In most modern cameras, the amount of light entering the camera is measured using a built-in light meter or exposure meter.^[c] Taken through the lens (called TTL metering), these readings are taken using a panel of light-sensitive semiconductors.^[7] They are used to calculate optimal exposure settings. These settings are typically determined automatically as the reading is used by the camera’s microprocessor. The reading from the light meter is incorporated with aperture settings, exposure times, and film or sensor sensitivity to calculate the optimal exposure. ^[d]

Light meters typically average the light in a scene to 18% middle gray. More advanced cameras are more nuanced in their metering—weighing the center of the frame more heavily (center-weighted metering), considering the differences in light across the image (matrix metering), or allowing the photographer to take a light reading at a specific point within the image (spot metering).^{[11][15][16][6]}

Lens[edit]

The lens of a camera captures light from the subject and focuses it on the sensor. The design and manufacturing of the lens are critical to photo quality. A technological revolution in camera design during the 19th century modernized optical glass manufacturing and lens design. This contributed to the modern manufacturing processes of a wide range of optical instruments such as reading glasses and microscopes. Pioneering companies include Zeiss and Leitz.

Camera lenses are made in a wide range of focal lengths, such as extreme wide angle, standard, and medium telephoto. Lenses either have a fixed focal length (prime lens) or a variable focal length (zoom lens). Each lens is best suited to certain types of photography. Extreme wide angles might be preferred for architecture due to their ability to capture a wide view of buildings. Standard lenses commonly have a wide aperture, and because of this, they are often used for street and documentary photography. The telephoto lens is useful in sports and wildlife but is more susceptible to camera shake, which might cause motion blur.^[17]

Focus[edit]

Due to the optical properties of a photographic lens, only objects within a limited range of distance from the camera will be reproduced clearly. The process of adjusting this range is known as changing the camera’s focus. There are various ways to accurately focus a camera. The simplest cameras have fixed focus and use a small aperture and wide-angle lens to ensure that everything within a certain range of distance from the lens, usually around 3 meters (10 ft.) to infinity, is in reasonable focus. Fixed focus cameras are usually inexpensive, such as single-use cameras. The camera can also have a limited focusing range or scale-focus that is indicated on the camera body. The user will guess or calculate the distance to the subject and adjust the focus accordingly. On some cameras, this is indicated by symbols (head-and-shoulders; two people standing upright; one tree; mountains).

Rangefinder cameras allow the distance to objects to be measured employing a coupled parallax unit on top of the camera, allowing the focus to be set with accuracy. Single-lens reflex cameras allow the photographer to determine the focus and composition visually using the objective lens and a moving mirror to project the image onto a ground glass or plastic micro-prism screen. Twin-lens reflex cameras uses an objective lens and a focusing lens unit (usually identical to the objective lens) in a parallel body for composition and focus. View cameras use a ground glass screen which is removed and replaced by either a photographic plate or a reusable holder containing sheet film before exposure. Modern cameras often offer autofocus systems to focus the camera automatically by a variety of methods.^[18]

Experimental cameras such as the planar Fourier capture array (PFCA) do not require focusing to take pictures. In conventional digital photography, lenses or mirrors map all of the light originating from a single point of an in-focus object to a single point at the sensor plane. Each pixel thus relates an independent piece of information about the far-away scene. In contrast, a PFCA does not have a lens or mirror, but each pixel has an idiosyncratic pair of diffraction gratings above it, allowing each pixel to likewise relate an independent piece of information (specifically, one component of the 2D Fourier transform) about the far-away scene. Together, complete scene information is captured, and images can be reconstructed by computation.

Some cameras support post-focusing. Post-focusing refers to taking photos that are later focused on a computer. The camera uses many tiny lenses on the sensor to capture light from every camera angle of a scene, which is known as plenoptic technology. A current plenoptic camera design has 40,000 lenses working together to grab the optimal picture.^[19]

Image capture on film[edit]

Traditional cameras capture light onto photographic plates, or photographic film. Video and digital cameras use an electronic image sensor, usually a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS sensor to capture images which can be transferred or stored in a memory card or other storage inside the camera for later playback or processing.

A wide range of film and plate formats have been used by cameras. In early history plate sizes were often specific for the make and model of cameras although there quickly developed some standardization for the more popular cameras. The introduction of roll film drove the standardization process still further so that by the 1950s only a few standard roll films were in use. These included 120 films providing 8, 12 or 16 exposures, 220 films providing 16 or 24 exposures, 127 films providing 8 or 12 exposures (principally in Brownie cameras) and 135 (35mm film) providing 12, 20 or 36 exposures – or up to 72 exposures in the half-frame format or bulk cassettes for the Leica Camera range.

For cine cameras, film 35mm wide and perforated with sprocket holes was established as the standard format in the 1890s. It was used for nearly all film-based professional motion picture production. For amateur use, several smaller and therefore less expensive formats were introduced. 17.5mm film, created by splitting 35mm film, was one early amateur format, but 9.5mm film, introduced in Europe in 1922, and 16 mm film, introduced in the US in 1923, soon became the standards for «home movies» in their respective hemispheres. In 1932, the even more economical 8mm format was created by doubling the number of perforations in 16mm film, then splitting it, usually after exposure and processing. The Super 8 format, still 8mm wide but with smaller perforations to make room for substantially larger film frames, was introduced in 1965.

Film speed (ISO)[edit]

Traditionally used to tell the camera the film speed of the selected film on film cameras, film speed numbers are employed on modern digital cameras as an indication of the system’s gain from light to numerical output and to control the automatic exposure system. Film speed is usually measured via the ISO 5800 system. The higher the film speed number, the greater the film sensitivity to light, whereas with a lower number, the film is less sensitive to light.^[20]

White balance[edit]

In digital cameras, there is electronic compensation for the color temperature associated with a given set of lighting conditions, ensuring that white light is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore that the colors in the frame will appear natural. On mechanical, film-based cameras, this function is served by the operator’s choice of film stock or with color correction filters. In addition to using white balance to register the natural coloration of the image, photographers may employ white balance for aesthetic end—for example, white balancing to a blue object to obtain a warm color temperature.^[21]

Camera accessories[edit]

Flash[edit]

A flash provides a short burst of bright light during exposure and is a commonly used artificial light source in photography. Most modern flash systems use a battery-powered high-voltage discharge through a gas-filled tube to generate bright light for a very short time (1/1,000 of a second or less).^[e][16]

Many flash units measure the light reflected from the flash to help determine the appropriate duration of the flash. When the flash is attached directly to the camera—typically in a slot at the top of the camera (the flash shoe or hot shoe) or through a cable—activating the shutter on the camera triggers the flash, and the camera’s internal light meter can help determine the duration of the flash.^[16][11]

Additional flash equipment can include a light diffuser, mount and stand, reflector, soft box, trigger and cord.

Other accessories[edit]

Accessories for cameras are mainly used for care, protection, special effects, and functions.

• Lens hood: used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source to prevent glare and lens flare (see also matte box).
• Lens cap: covers and protects the camera lens when not in use.
• Lens adapter: allows the use of lenses other than those for which the camera was designed.
• Filter: allows artificial colors or changes light density.
• Lens extension tube: allows close focus in macro photography.
• Care and protection: including camera case and cover, maintenance tools, and screen protector.
• Camera monitor: provides an off-camera view of the composition with a brighter and more colorful screen, and typically exposes more advanced tools such as framing guides, focus peaking, zebra stripes, waveform monitors (oftentimes as an «RGB parade»), vectorscopes and false color to highlight areas of the image critical to the photographer.
• Tripod: primarily used for keeping the camera steady while recording video, doing a long exposure, and time-lapse photography.
• Microscope adapter: used to connect a camera to a microscope to photograph what the microscope is examining.
• Cable release: used to remotely control the shutter using a remote shutter button that can be connected to the camera via a cable. It can be used to lock the shutter open for the desired period, and it is also commonly used to prevent the camera shake from pressing the built-in camera shutter button.
• Dew shield: prevents moisture build-up on the lens.
• UV filter: can protect the front element of a lens from scratches, cracks, smudges, dirt, dust, and moisture while keeping a minimum impact on image quality.
• Battery and sometimes a charger.

Large format cameras use special equipment that includes a magnifier loupe, view finder, angle finder, and focusing rail/truck. Some professional SLRs can be provided with interchangeable finders for eye-level or waist-level focusing, focusing screens, eyecup, data backs, motor-drives for film transportation or external battery packs.

Primary types[edit]

Single-lens reflex (SLR) camera[edit]

In photography, the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is provided with a mirror to redirect light from the lens to the viewfinder prior to releasing the shutter for composing and focusing an image. When the shutter is released, the mirror swings up and away, allowing the exposure of the photographic medium, and instantly returns after the exposure is finished. No SLR camera before 1954 had this feature, although the mirror on some early SLR cameras was entirely operated by the force exerted on the shutter release and only returned when the finger pressure was released.^[22][23] The Asahiflex II, released by Japanese company Asahi (Pentax) in 1954, was the world’s first SLR camera with an instant return mirror.^[24]

In the single-lens reflex camera, the photographer sees the scene through the camera lens. This avoids the problem of parallax which occurs when the viewfinder or viewing lens is separated from the taking lens. Single-lens reflex cameras have been made in several formats including sheet film 5×7″ and 4×5″, roll film 220/120 taking 8,10, 12, or 16 photographs on a 120 roll, and twice that number of a 220 film. These correspond to 6×9, 6×7, 6×6, and 6×4.5 respectively (all dimensions in cm). Notable manufacturers of large format and roll film SLR cameras include Bronica, Graflex, Hasselblad, Seagull, Mamiya and Pentax. However, the most common format of SLR cameras has been 35 mm and subsequently the migration to digital SLR cameras, using almost identical sized bodies and sometimes using the same lens systems.

Almost all SLR cameras use a front-surfaced mirror in the optical path to direct the light from the lens via a viewing screen and pentaprism to the eyepiece. At the time of exposure, the mirror is flipped up out of the light path before the shutter opens. Some early cameras experimented with other methods of providing through-the-lens viewing, including the use of a semi-transparent pellicle as in the Canon Pellix^[25] and others with a small periscope such as in the Corfield Periflex series.^[26]

Large-format camera[edit]

The large-format camera, taking sheet film, is a direct successor of the early plate cameras and remained in use for high-quality photography and technical, architectural, and industrial photography. There are three common types: the view camera, with its monorail and field camera variants, and the press camera. They have extensible bellows with the lens and shutter mounted on a lens plate at the front. Backs taking roll film and later digital backs are available in addition to the standard dark slide back. These cameras have a wide range of movements allowing very close control of focus and perspective. Composition and focusing are done on view cameras by viewing a ground-glass screen which is replaced by the film to make the exposure; they are suitable for static subjects only and are slow to use.

Plate camera[edit]

The earliest cameras produced in significant numbers were plate cameras, using sensitized glass plates. Light entered a lens mounted on a lens board which was separated from the plate by extendible bellows. There were simple box cameras for glass plates but also single-lens reflex cameras with interchangeable lenses and even for color photography (Autochrome Lumière). Many of these cameras had controls to raise, lower, and tilt the lens forwards or backward to control perspective.

Focusing of these plate cameras was by the use of a ground glass screen at the point of focus. Because lens design only allowed rather small aperture lenses, the image on the ground glass screen was faint and most photographers had a dark cloth to cover their heads to allow focusing and composition to be carried out more quickly. When focus and composition were satisfactory, the ground glass screen was removed, and a sensitized plate was put in its place protected by a dark slide. To make the exposure, the dark decline was carefully slid out and the shutter opened, and then closed and the dark fall replaced.

Glass plates were later replaced by sheet film in a dark slide for sheet film; adapter sleeves were made to allow sheet film to be used in plate holders. In addition to the ground glass, a simple optical viewfinder was often fitted.

Medium-format camera[edit]

Medium-format cameras have a film size between the large-format cameras and smaller 35 mm cameras.^[27] Typically these systems use 120 or 220 roll film.^[28] The most common image sizes are 6×4.5 cm, 6×6 cm and 6×7 cm; the older 6×9 cm is rarely used. The designs of this kind of camera show greater variation than their larger brethren, ranging from monorail systems through the classic Hasselblad model with separate backs, to smaller rangefinder cameras. There are even compact amateur cameras available in this format.

Twin-lens reflex camera[edit]

Twin-lens reflex cameras used a pair of nearly identical lenses: one to form the image and one as a viewfinder.^[29] The lenses were arranged with the viewing lens immediately above the taking lens. The viewing lens projects an image onto a viewing screen which can be seen from above. Some manufacturers such as Mamiya also provided a reflex head to attach to the viewing screen to allow the camera to be held to the eye when in use. The advantage of a TLR was that it could be easily focused using the viewing screen and that under most circumstances the view seen on the viewing screen was identical to that recorded on film. At close distances, however, parallax errors were encountered, and some cameras also included an indicator to show what part of the composition would be excluded.

Some TLRs had interchangeable lenses, but as these had to be paired lenses, they were relatively heavy and did not provide the range of focal lengths that the SLR could support. Most TLRs used 120 or 220 films; some used the smaller 127 films.

Compact cameras[edit]

Instant camera[edit]

After exposure, every photograph is taken through pinch rollers inside the instant camera. Thereby the developer paste contained in the paper ‘sandwich’ is distributed on the image. After a minute, the cover sheet just needs to be removed and one gets a single original positive image with a fixed format. With some systems, it was also possible to create an instant image negative, from which then could be made copies in the photo lab. The ultimate development was the SX-70 system of Polaroid, in which a row of ten shots – engine driven – could be made without having to remove any cover sheets from the picture. There were instant cameras for a variety of formats, as well as adapters for instant film use in medium- and large-format cameras.

Subminiature camera[edit]

Subminiature cameras were first produced in the twentieth century and use film significantly smaller than 35mm. The expensive 8×11mm Minox, the only type of camera produced by the company from 1937 to 1976, became very widely known and was often used for espionage (the Minox company later also produced larger cameras). Later inexpensive subminiatures were made for general use, some using rewound 16 mm cine film. Image quality with these small film sizes was limited.

Folding camera[edit]

The introduction of films enabled the existing designs for plate cameras to be made much smaller and for the baseplate to be hinged so that it could be folded up, compressing the bellows. These designs were very compact and small models were dubbed vest pocket cameras. Folding roll film cameras were preceded by folding plate cameras, more compact than other designs.

Box camera[edit]

Box cameras were introduced as budget-level cameras and had few if any controls. The original box Brownie models had a small reflex viewfinder mounted on the top of the camera and had no aperture or focusing controls and just a simple shutter. Later models such as the Brownie 127 had larger direct view optical viewfinders together with a curved film path to reduce the impact of deficiencies in the lens.

Rangefinder camera[edit]

As camera lens technology developed and wide aperture lenses became more common, rangefinder cameras were introduced to make focusing more precise. Early rangefinders had two separate viewfinder windows, one of which is linked to the focusing mechanisms and moved right or left as the focusing ring is turned. The two separate images are brought together on a ground glass viewing screen. When vertical lines in the object being photographed meet exactly in the combined image, the object is in focus. A normal composition viewfinder is also provided. Later the viewfinder and rangefinder were combined. Many rangefinder cameras had interchangeable lenses, each lens requiring its range- and viewfinder linkages.

Rangefinder cameras were produced in half- and full-frame 35 mm and roll film (medium format).

Motion picture cameras[edit]

A movie camera or a video camera operates similarly to a still camera, except it records a series of static images in rapid succession, commonly at a rate of 24 frames per second. When the images are combined and displayed in order, the illusion of motion is achieved.^[30]: 4

Cameras that capture many images in sequence are known as movie cameras or as cine cameras in Europe; those designed for single images are still cameras. However, these categories overlap as still cameras are often used to capture moving images in special effects work and many modern cameras can quickly switch between still and motion recording modes.

A ciné camera or movie camera takes a rapid sequence of photographs on an image sensor or strips of film. In contrast to a still camera, which captures a single snapshot at a time, the ciné camera takes a series of images, each called a frame, through the use of an intermittent mechanism.

The frames are later played back in a ciné projector at a specific speed, called the frame rate (number of frames per second). While viewing, a person’s eyes and brain merge the separate pictures to create the illusion of motion. The first ciné camera was built around 1888 and by 1890 several types were being manufactured. The standard film size for ciné cameras was quickly established as 35mm film and this remained in use until the transition to digital cinematography. Other professional standard formats include 70 mm film and 16 mm film whilst amateur filmmakers used 9.5 mm film, 8 mm film, or Standard 8 and Super 8 before the move into digital format.

The size and complexity of ciné cameras vary greatly depending on the uses required of the camera. Some professional equipment is very large and too heavy to be handheld whilst some amateur cameras were designed to be very small and light for single-handed operation.

Professional video camera[edit]

A professional video camera (often called a television camera even though the use has spread beyond television) is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images (as opposed to a movie camera, that earlier recorded the images on film). Originally developed for use in television studios, they are now also used for music videos, direct-to-video movies, corporate and educational videos, marriage videos, etc.

These cameras earlier used vacuum tubes and later electronic image sensors.

Camcorders[edit]

A camcorder is an electronic device combining a video camera and a video recorder. Although marketing materials may use the colloquial term «camcorder», the name on the package and manual is often «video camera recorder». Most devices capable of recording video are camera phones and digital cameras primarily intended for still pictures; the term «camcorder» is used to describe a portable, self-contained device, with video capture and recording its primary function.

Digital camera[edit]

A digital camera (or digicam) is a camera that encodes digital images and videos and stores them for later reproduction.^[31] They typically use semiconductor image sensors.^[32] Most cameras sold today are digital,^[33] and they are incorporated into many devices ranging from mobile phones (called camera phones) to vehicles.

Digital and film cameras share an optical system, typically using a lens of variable aperture to focus light onto an image pickup device.^[34] The aperture and shutter admit the correct amount of light to the imager, just as with film but the image pickup device is electronic rather than chemical. However, unlike film cameras, digital cameras can display images on a screen immediately after being captured or recorded, and store and delete images from memory. Most digital cameras can also record moving videos with sound. Some digital cameras can crop and stitch pictures & perform other elementary image editing.

Consumers adopted digital cameras in the 1990s. Professional video cameras transitioned to digital around the 2000s–2010s. Finally, movie cameras transitioned to digital in the 2010s.

The first camera using digital electronics to capture and store images was developed by Kodak engineer Steven Sasson in 1975. He used a charge-coupled device (CCD) provided by Fairchild Semiconductor, which provided only 0.01 megapixels to capture images. Sasson combined the CCD device with movie camera parts to create a digital camera that saved black and white images onto a cassette tape.^[35]: 442The images were then read from the cassette and viewed on a TV monitor.^[36]: 225 Later, cassette tapes were replaced by flash memory.

In 1986, Japanese company Nikon introduced an analog-recording electronic single-lens reflex camera, the Nikon SVC.^[37]

The first full-frame digital SLR cameras were developed in Japan from around 2000 to 2002: the MZ-D by Pentax,^[38] the N Digital by Contax’s Japanese R6D team,^[39] and the EOS-1Ds by Canon.^[40] Gradually in the 2000s, the full-frame DSLR became the dominant camera type for professional photography.^{[citation needed]}

On most digital cameras a display, often a liquid crystal display (LCD), permits the user to view the scene to be recorded and settings such as ISO speed, exposure, and shutter speed.^{[5]: 6–7 [41]: 12}

Camera phone[edit]

In 2000, Sharp introduced the world’s first digital camera phone, the J-SH04 J-Phone, in Japan.^[42] By the mid-2000s, higher-end cell phones had an integrated digital camera, and by the beginning of the 2010s, almost all smartphones had an integrated digital camera.

See also[edit]

• Camera matrix
• History of the camera
• Camera phone
• List of camera types
• List of digital camera brands

Footnotes[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

• How cameras works at How stuff works.

Last Updated:
7 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Learned borrowing from Latin camera (“chamber or bedchamber”), from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”), of Old Iranian origin. Doublet of chamber.

(device): A clipping of camera obscura, from New Latin camera obscura (“dark chamber”), because the first cameras used a pinhole and a dark room.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæməɹə/, /ˈkæmɹə/
• Hyphenation: ca‧me‧ra,

cam‧era

Noun[edit]

camera (plural cameras or (rare) cameræ or (rare) camerae)

1. A device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.

   • 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:

     The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail. It’s therefore not surprising that most cameras mimic this arrangement.

2. (computer graphics, video games) The viewpoint in a three-dimensional game or simulation.

   • 2003, Tom Meigs, Ultimate game design: building game worlds:

     If you’re building a third-person game with enclosed or tight spaces, try to figure out up front what camera problems you will likely encounter. Use this identification process to influence the early building process.

   • 2006, Patrick O’Luanaigh, Game Design Complete

     I’m talking about the way the camera flies up above the skater when you leap into the air. No one had done it before.

3. A vaulted room.
4. A judge’s private chamber, where cases may be heard in camera.

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

• bicameral
• camerated

Descendants[edit]

Translations[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• camera on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• camera in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “camera”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• camera at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams[edit]

• Macrae

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Learned borrowing from New Latin camera obscura (“dark chamber”), from Latin camera (“chamber, bedchamber”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaː.mə.raː/
• Hyphenation: ca‧me‧ra

Noun[edit]

camera f (plural camera’s, diminutive cameraatje n)

1. camera

Derived terms[edit]

• cameralens
• cameraman
• cameraploeg
• cameraval
• cameravrouw
• digitale camera
• fotocamera
• spiegelreflexcamera
• videocamera

[edit]

• camcorder
• kamer
• webcam

Descendants[edit]

• Afrikaans: kamera
• → Indonesian: kamera

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

camera

1. third-person singular simple future of camer

Interlingua[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈka.me.ra/

Noun[edit]

camera (plural cameras)

1. room, chamber

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin camera, from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára). Doublet of zambra.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈka.me.ra/
• Rhymes: -amera
• Hyphenation: cà‧me‧ra

Noun[edit]

camera f (plural camere, diminutive camerétta or camerìna or camerìno m or (literary) camerèlla, augmentative cameróna or cameróne m, pejorative cameràccia, derogatory camerùccia)

1. room; chamber (all senses)
2. bedroom
3. assembly, parliament
4. camera (for taking moving pictures)

   Synonym: telecamera

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

• camerlengo

Descendants[edit]

• → Arabic: قمرة‎ (qamara, qamra)
• → Ottoman Turkish: قامره‎, قماره‎
  • Turkish: kamara
  • → Armenian: խամառա (xamaṙa)
• → Serbo-Croatian: kamara / камара

Anagrams[edit]

• arcame, macera

Ladin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin camera.

Noun[edit]

camera f (plural cameres)

1. chamber, room

Latin[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”).

Alternative forms[edit]

• camara (classical)
• cambra (medieval)

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.me.ra/, [ˈkämɛrä]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.me.ra/, [ˈkäːmerä]

Noun[edit]

camera f (genitive camerae); first declension

1. A chamber in its various senses, including:
   1. A room, especially a vaulted room, a vault.
   2. A deliberative body.

Declension[edit]

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	camera	camerae
Genitive	camerae	camerārum
Dative	camerae	camerīs
Accusative	cameram	camerās
Ablative	camerā	camerīs
Vocative	camera	camerae

Derived terms[edit]

• camella
• camera obscura (New Latin)
  • → Dutch: camera
    • Afrikaans: kamera
    • → Indonesian: kamera
  • → English: camera (see there for further descendants)
  • → German: Kamera
    • → Czech: kamera
    • → Estonian: kaamera
    • →? Finnish: kamera
  • → Swedish: kamera
• concamerō

Descendants[edit]

Many forms are from the variant camara.

Borrowings

Unsorted borrowings

References[edit]

• “camera”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “camera”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• camera in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• camera in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• “chamber”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.me.raː/, [ˈkämɛräː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.me.ra/, [ˈkäːmerä]

Verb[edit]

camerā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of camerō

Romanian[edit]

Noun[edit]

camera f

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of cameră

Spanish[edit]

Noun[edit]

camera f (plural cameras)

1. female equivalent of camero

Adjective[edit]

camera f

1. feminine singular of camero

Welsh[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English camera, from Latin camera, from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára), of Old Iranian origin.

Noun[edit]

camera m (plural camerâu)

1. camera

Mutation[edit]

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
camera	gamera	nghamera	chamera
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading[edit]

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “camera”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

• Defenition of the word camera

  • A device for taking still photographs.
  • A device for recording moving pictures on to film or video.
  • a light-proof box with a lens at one end and light-sensitive film at the other
  • lens system focuses image on a photosensitive mosaic that is scanned by an electron beam
  • equipment for taking photographs (usually consisting of a lightproof box with a lens at one end and light-sensitive film at the other)
  • television equipment consisting of a lens system that focuses an image on a photosensitive mosaic that is scanned by an electron beam

Synonyms for the word camera

• • photographic camera
  • television camera

Meronymys for the word camera

• • aperture
  • camera lens
  • cartridge
  • delayed action
  • diaphragm
  • finder
  • magazine
  • mosaic
  • optical lens
  • shutter
  • sprocket
  • stop
  • television pickup tube
  • television-camera tube
  • view finder
  • viewfinder

Hyponyms for the word camera

• • box camera
  • box Kodak
  • camcorder
  • candid camera
  • cine-camera
  • digital camera
  • flash camera
  • motion-picture camera
  • movie camera
  • point-and-shoot camera
  • Polaroid camera
  • Polaroid Land camera
  • portrait camera
  • reflex camera

Hypernyms for the word camera

• • photographic equipment
  • television equipment
  • video equipment

See other words

• • What is camauro
  • The definition of camarilla
  • The interpretation of the word calyx
  • What is meant by calves
  • The lexical meaning calvaria
  • The dictionary meaning of the word calumniation
  • The grammatical meaning of the word calque
  • Meaning of the word calorimeter
  • Literal and figurative meaning of the word caloric
  • The origin of the word camera phone
  • Synonym for the word camera-shy
  • Antonyms for the word camp bed
  • Homonyms for the word campanology
  • Hyponyms for the word camper van
  • Holonyms for the word campervan
  • Hypernyms for the word camphor laurel
  • Proverbs and sayings for the word camphor tree
  • Translation of the word in other languages camphorwood

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ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD CAMERA

From Latin: vault, from Greek kamara.

PRONUNCIATION OF CAMERA

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF CAMERA

Camera is a noun.

WHAT DOES CAMERA MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of camera in the English dictionary

The definition of camera in the dictionary is the equipment used to convert the optical image of a scene into the corresponding electrical signals. Other definition of camera is -erae. a judge’s private room.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH CAMERA

TRANSLATION OF CAMERA

Find out the translation of camera to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «CAMERA»

The term «camera» is very widely used and occupies the 1.545 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of camera

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «CAMERA» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «CAMERA»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word camera.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «CAMERA»

Discover the use of camera in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to camera and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «CAMERA»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term camera is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Camera [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/camera>. Apr 2023 ».

cam·er·a

 (kăm′ər-ə, kăm′rə)

n.

1. A usually portable device containing a photosensitive surface that records images through a lens.

2. A camera obscura.

3. pl. cam·er·ae (-ə-rē) A judge’s private chamber.

Idioms:

in camera

Outside of the public view: The committee met in camera to discuss the report.

off camera

Outside the field of view of a movie camera.

on camera

Within the field of view of a movie camera.

---

[Late Latin, room; see chamber.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

camera

(ˈkæmərə; ˈkæmrə)

npl -erae (-əˌriː)

1. (Photography) an optical device consisting of a lens system set in a light-proof construction inside which a light-sensitive film or plate can be positioned. See also cine camera, digital camera

2. (Electronics) television the equipment used to convert the optical image of a scene into the corresponding electrical signals

4. (Law) a judge’s private room

5. (Law) law relating to a hearing from which members of the public are excluded

6. in private

7. (Film) off camera not within an area being filmed

8. (Film) on camera (esp of an actor) being filmed

[C18: from Latin: vault, from Greek kamara]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cam•er•a

(ˈkæm ər ə, ˈkæm rə)

n., pl. -er•as.

1. a hand-held photographic device with an aperture controlled by a shutter that opens to admit light: focused by a lens, the light forms an image on a light-sensitive film or plate loaded through the back or top.

2. (in a television transmitting apparatus) the device in which the picture to be televised is formed before it is changed into electric impulses.

Idioms:

1. in camera,

a. in the privacy of a judge’s chambers.

b. privately.

2. off camera, out of the range of a television or motion-picture camera.

3. on camera, being filmed or televised by a live camera.

[1700–10; < Latin: vaulted room, vault < Greek kamára vault; compare chamber]

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

camera

— First meant «vault, chamber.»

See also related terms for vault.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Translations

What do we mean by camera?

A usually portable device containing a photosensitive surface that records images through a lens. noun

A camera obscura. noun

A judge’s private chamber. noun

(in camera) Outside of the public view. idiom

(off camera) Outside the field of view of a movie camera. idiom

(on camera) Within the field of view of a movie camera. idiom

In ancient architecture, an arched roof, ceiling, or covering; a vault. noun

Nautical, a small vessel used on the coasts of the Bosporus and the Black Sea. Also camara. noun

The variety of camera obscura used by photographers. noun

In anatomy: The so-called fifth ventricle of the brain, between the laminæ of the septum lucidum. noun

Some other chambered or vaulted part or organ, as the pericardium (camera cordis, chamber of the heart), the cranial cavity (camera cranii), etc. noun

(Latin, clear chamber), an invention of the chemist Wollaston, designed to facilitate the delineation of distant objects. It consists of a solid prismatic piece of glass mounted upon a brass frame. The prism has its angles so arranged that the rays from the object appear reflected as shown below, and is covered at the top by a metallic eyepiece, the hole in which lies half over the edge of the prism, so as to afford a person looking through it a view of the picture reflected through the glass, and a direct view of his pencil or tracing-point. In the figure the object to be traced, f, is opposite the perpendicular surface of the prism, d c, and the rays proceeding from f pass through this surface and fall on the inclined plane c, b, which makes an angle with d c of 67½°; from this they are totally reflected to the plane b a, which makes an angle of 135° with b c, and are again reflected to the eye at e above the horizontal plane, which makes an angle of 67½° with the plane a b. The rays of light from the object proceeding upward from h toward the eye of the observer, he sees the image at m, and by placing the paper below in this place the image may be traced with a pencil. The brass frame of the prism has usually two lenses, one concave and the other convex, the former to be used in front between f and d c for nearsighted persons, and the latter at e for those who are farsighted. The size of the picture may also be increased or diminished by lengthening or shortening brass tubes connected with the frame. This instrument has undergone various modifications. It is extremely convenient on account of its portability. noun

(Latin, dark chamber), an apparatus in which the images of external objects, received through a convex lens, are exhibited distinctly and in their natural colors on a white surface placed at the focus of the lens. The simplest form of this instrument consists of a darkened chamber, into which no light is permitted to enter except by a small hole in the window-shutter. An image of the objects opposite the hole will then appear on the wall, or on a white screen so placed as to receive the light coming from the opening. A convex lens may be fixed in the hole of the shutter. Portable cameras are constructed of various forms, but the design of them all is to throw the images of external objects, as persons, houses, trees, landscapes, etc., upon a plane or curved surface, for the purpose of drawing, the making of photographic pictures, or mere amusement. The surface on which the image is thrown may be covered with a sheet of paper, on which the figure may be traced by hand with a pencil; but the picture is most distinctly seen when the image is formed on the back of a silvered mirror. The figure represents a portable camera obscura. The camera obscura is often made in the form of a circular building capable of holding a number of people, who stand about a plain white table which is placed in the center of the structure, and on which the luminous image is projected by a lens on the roof. By turning the lens around, a panorama of the neighboring scenery is exhibited on the table. Cameras for use in sketching are made in the shape of a cone, with a lens and a reflecting mirror at the apex and a drawing-table inside. One side of the box is cut out, and at this opening the artist sits, partly enveloped by a dark curtain which serves to shut out extraneous light. See optigraph. noun

A chamber, as of a house, a mine, a gun, etc.; any inclosure with a roof. noun

A box-shaped device for viewing tubes containing colored solutions by transmitted light, the eyes being shielded from other light. noun

In zoology, same as air-chamber, 4. noun

A chamber, or instrument having a chamber. Specifically: The camera obscura when used in photography. See camera, and camera obscura. noun

See under Bellows. noun

In a judge’s chamber, that is, privately. noun

A photographic camera in which the lens and sensitized plate revolve so as to expose adjacent parts of the plate successively to the light, which reaches it through a narrow vertical slit; — used in photographing broad landscapes. noun

A device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.

The viewpoint in a three-dimensional game or simulation.

A vaulted room.

The judge’s private chamber, where cases may be heard in camera.

A little box that bestows a power unknown on its weilder, which gives them the apparent ability to control the facial expression and bodily pose of whomever they point the small box toward. Urban Dictionary

1. A device that can capture a frozen image of time itself.
2. An object capable of destroying lives.
3. A device that shows what you really look like. Urban Dictionary

An object to create pornography Urban Dictionary

An electronic device that allows teenage girls to take numerous images of themselves at strange angles so as to post over 9000 un-viewable images all over myspace and be the ~*SuPeR_gIrL*~. Urban Dictionary

A device used to steal the souls of Aboriginal people, referred to as a picture box by many hill-billies. Urban Dictionary

1. an apparatus used to take photographs by the admittance of light rays through an aperture. Often using a lens to focus the rays onto a film of light-responsive chemicals.
2. Dutch slang for cool. Urban Dictionary

Any thing usable to capture an image for future viewing. Urban Dictionary

Something you take to parties to record events, so you can find out what happened the next day. Urban Dictionary

A Camera is the sweetest and most beautiful person you will ever meet. She knows what’s appropriate and when to stop. She lightens up your day like no other. A Camera is a little shortie that you have to look down at, but it just makes her so much more adorable. She has the ability to make you laugh. Her smile is one of a kind. She does the cutest and most random things. When you see her, you just can’t help but smile. She brings so much happiness to you, that it’s overwhelming. But, she gets annoyed easily and isn’t the most confident girl in the world. Compliments can turn her shitty day the whole way around. She has an adorable laugh like no other. She also has eyes that if you look into for too long, that you’ll lose track of time. She gets a lot of shit from people that barely know her. She’s good at making people think that they don’t get to her. But for every mean comment she gets, she falls a little deeper in a hole. But unlike any other girl, she’s strong enough to climb her way out within the same day. She’s overall the most sweetest and caring person you’ll ever meet. If you’re lucky enough to know a Camera, then hold onto her. She definitely a keeper. Urban Dictionary

To be taking pictures with a camera and or to be photograping. Urban Dictionary

камера, фотокамера, фотоаппарат, кинокамера, киноаппарат

существительное ↓

Словосочетания

automatic camera — автоматический фотоаппарат  
to load a camera — зарядить фотоаппарат, зарядить камеру  
camera transit — фототеодолит  
photo-conductive camera tube — передающая трубка с фотопроводимостью  
nonstorage camera tube — безынерционный кинескоп  
multiple aerial-camera assembly — агрегат аэрофотокамер  
telescopic camera — телескопическая камера  
to be interviewed on-camera — давать интервью для телевидения  
superspeed camera — кино сверхскоростная кинокамера  
video camera with a built-in video recorder — видеокамера с встроенным видеомагнитофоном  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Возможные однокоренные слова

Формы слова

noun
ед. ч.(singular): camera
мн. ч.(plural): cameras