Canon sold its first Single Lens Reflex camera in 1959, and despite being based on technology and scientific knowledge that is almost thousands of years old, an SLR camera remains the modern photographer’s tool of choice, and has revolutionised the world of photography. Here are some interesting historical facts about SLR cameras you may not have known.

• As early as the 5^th Century BCE, a Chinese philosopher made reference to a kind of pinhole camera, describing it as a small closed box with a tiny hole in it. Aristotle also understood the optical phenomenon of a pinhole camera. These were considered to be the first mentions of the ‘camera obscura’, a small device used for drawings which projects an image of its surroundings onto a screen via a small hole and a mirror. This was to become the precursor to the modern SLR camera.
• The first photographic SLR most likely appeared in American in 1884 with the Monocular Duplex, however, the technology to make SLRs highly effective and more advanced did not come about until the 1960s and 70s, when the camera’s popularity really took off.
• The initial main advantage of an SLR camera was that the photographer could see exactly what was going to be captured through the viewfinder, as opposed to other cameras which framed photos differently than what could be seen in the viewfinder.
• All basic technologies behind the SLR camera and the 35mm SLR camera have remained exactly the same for centuries. After initial scientific developments and technologies were put into place, all advances in photographic technology since the 17^th century, whether they’ve been mechanical, chemical or electronic, have only been to improve the convenience and quality of images.
• It was only in 2006 that digital SLR cameras began to be released with LCD live-view options, and the first SLR with video was released in 2008.

Camera manufacturers today are proud of their heritage, and many have sections of their websites which pay homage to the SLR camera’s humble beginnings, as well as the amazing photography which can be carried out with the modern digital cameras available today.

---

This article is brought to you by Canon Australia – History of SLR Cameras. For more great Canon products, including EOS cameras, visit their website.