Bellows camera
A bellows camera is a classic design of photographic cameras with a bellows -like housing.
History and Development
The first bellows camera was made by Baron Séguier in 1839 , in the year of the official "invention" of photography; he describes the camera as "a device, a camera obscura with a bellows-like housing that can be folded up and has a handle so that it can be easily carried".
The construction principle of the bellows camera was then continuously improved. For example, a device was added with which the focusing screen could be quickly replaced by a light-sensitive plate .
Furthermore, a rack was introduced in order to be able to move the most important camera parts - lens and film standards precisely against each other to change the extension .
This camera design is still used today in large format photography; Many large format cameras such as the metal view camera developed by Carl August Koch based on the optical bench are based on the principle of the bellows camera.
Web links
- In the footsteps of Mathew Brady
- Still Life With Plaster Casts , picture by Baron Armand-Pierre Séguier, 1839–1842.