Cameras have always held a special fascination for me.  Like the human memory, a camera can preserve a scene in detail, for a very long time.

I cannot look at an old camera without wondering where it's been, who's used it, and what it has recorded during its decades of use.

The first camera I played with as a child was a Kodak 3A Brownie, as seen in the Kodak ad. (left)  It belonged to my paternal grandparents and had been carefully used to record special occasions for many years.

The 3A first appeared in 1909, and used a huge roll of film, which would dwarf the little 35mm rolls that came along several decades later.

At the time, the $10 price was lofty, to say the least. And with only eight pictures on a roll of film, users had to consider carefully what they shot.

Kodak's use of the name "Brownie" came from a popular children's cartoon character of the time, and from Kodak's supplier of early cameras, Frank Brownell of Rochester, NY.

Perhaps the longest running single style of Kodak camera was the simple box type, which began in 1900 and originally sold for $1.  Made mostly of cardboard, they were inexpensive, rugged and dependable.

Through the years, Kodak changed the model names of the basic design, but the camera itself remained very similar, with the trim being the main difference between most models.

The one pictured here is a Kodak Target Brownie Six-16, which was introduced in 1941.

This model and its many cousins, often differed only in the order of words in the name; i.e., "Target Brownie", vs "Brownie Target".

In later years, the name "Brownie" would reappear several more times.

As Bakelite became more popular for building inexpensive cameras, the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash took the 1950's consumer camera market by storm.

Unlike its brothers and cousins, this model offered an accessory flash attachment that used a number 5 flash bulb, and featured a large plastic reflector.

It also sported rounded edges and corners, producing a much more modern look.

In 1950, the basic camera sold for $5.50. The flash model with the accessory flash unit sold for $15.

This camera used 620 film, which yielded 12 2-1/4" square negatives.

Interestingly, as this camera's production run continued, Kodak switched from a glass lens to plastic.

The first known photograph was made in 1816. It was a piece of paper coated with a special chemical, which was exposed to light via a simple hand made camera. For the ensuing 160 years or so, many improvements were made to that first camera design, but the basic principle remained the same: light directed through a lens to a chemically treated sheet which caused an image to be captured.

On this page we're going to concentrate on the evolution of still photography during the last century, as we look at some of the cameras that led us to where we are now.

The Baby Brownie appeared in 1939, and sold originally for $1.50. It was tiny compared to the big 3A Brownie, and it used a much smaller 127 roll of film.

The camera was molded from Bakelite, an early plastic material which was somewhat fragile, and would crack easily if dropped or mishandled.

This later version, (pictured), was also inexpensive, (see $2.75 price on box), and was simplicity in its most pure form.

Like it's many predecessors of the time, the little Baby Brownie required no focus or exposure adjustments. Just "point and shoot".

"YOU PUSH THE BUTTON, WE DO THE REST"

The most important contribution that George Eastman made to photography was his invention of roll film. Before that, photographic images were exposed onto glass or metal plates in a process that was far too complicated for most people to perform. The use of dangerous chemicals, including iodine and mercury vapor, added serious health risks to the procedure. Given the complexity of taking and developing the early images, it remained the domain of professionals until Mr. Eastman became involved.

Roll film changed all that, bringing multi-exposure picture taking to the masses in a form that was not only safe and affordable, but also relatively convenient. Plus, you could load Mr. Eastman's cameras anywhere, without a darkroom!

Since the early consumer cameras had shutters that would fire independent from the film advance, photographers had to remember to "wind the film" after each exposure. Because of this requirement, double exposures and blank frames were a common occurrence. With the appearance of the 35mm camera, advancing of the film also cocked the shutter for the next shot, so double exposures and blank frames were automatically avoided.

The roll film had a layer of paper wound with it. The paper served to protect the film from unwanted light exposure and also provided a series of printed numbers to allow the user to advance the film and see the number in a little red filtered window on the back of the camera. There was a downside, however, because when the film was advanced in the camera or separated from the paper during development, a static discharge, (small spark), could damage exposed images. Static damage also threatened the 35mm casette as the film was advanced, or if it was dropped. In 1962, Kodak was awarded a patent covering a chemical coating that would protect film from static discharge damage.

During the 20th century, Kodak filed just under twenty thousand patents.

In 1895 the Pocket Kodak was launched at a price of just $5. It's small size meant it could be carried in a coat pocket. Many of the photographs taken during World War I were taken by that camera in the hands of servicemen.

SOME CAMERAS FROM MY COLLECTION

The first digital camera was built by Kodak engineer Steven J. Sasson between 1973 and 1975. Because of it's size and the very long exposure time required to register an image, the device was relatively useless from a practical standpoint. But the concept served as a major milestone in the future of photography, and later in cinematography.

Oddly enough, Sasson's invention would eventually spell the demise of the popular use of Kodak film, and to an extent, the demise of Kodak itself.

So it was that this device, the size of a bread box, would alter history in ways no one could have possibly realized at the time.

And equally odd, very few people remember the name Steven J. Sasson.

CAUTION! MAJOR CHANGES

AND A ROUGH ROAD AHEAD!