Daguerre invented the camera in 1839. Where will the lens go in 2019?

From the invention of the camera by Daguerre in 1839 to today in 2019, the development of the camera has gone through 180 years. The early cameras were giant dark boxes and could not be called cameras at the time.

The idea of ​​photography began to emerge in the early 19th century. The earliest recorded image dates back to 1825, when Frenchman Niepce used photosensitive technology to copy a 17th-century Dutch print of a child leading a horse. In 2002, this photo was acquired by the National Library of France at a Sotheby's auction in Paris for 330,000 euros.

Early photographic equipment

The first photosensitive image of mankind - "Child Leading a Horse" Image from Sina Blog (Mssun)

In 1862, Niepce took a photo from the second-floor window of his house, which was exposed for 8 hours on a tin plate covered with asphalt. Many documents regard this photo as the earliest photograph taken by humans.

From the early 19th century to today, human camera technology has been very advanced, and photos have long since changed from black and white to color. From twin-lens reflex cameras to single-lens reflex cameras, from single-lens reflex cameras to micro-lens reflex cameras, from fixed lenses to interchangeable lenses... the progress of cameras has long affected our lives. Now almost every family has a camera, of various types, and with a wide variety of lenses.

I remember when I was little, every time it was my birthday, my parents would take me to a photo studio to take some photos, then develop them and put them in an album, saying that when I grow up, I can see what I looked like when I was little. At that time, cameras were all film-based, and Kodak was the most common. My family also bought a camera at that time, which the adults called a point-and-shoot camera. But when I was little, I wasn't very interested in cameras. I always liked to be in front of the camera, not take pictures of others. When I was a little older, probably in my teens, I suddenly found an old camera at home. It was still in good condition, but there was no film in it.

Nowadays, SLR cameras are popular, and almost every family takes their own camera when traveling. The performance of most cameras is still fully sufficient for daily use, but due to the rapid development of mobile phone camera technology, this has also hindered the sales of most entry-level SLR cameras. However, the emergence of micro-single cameras has solved this problem. Many families choose micro-single cameras as their first camera to meet the needs of holiday travel and are light and easy to operate.

Many camera brands have micro-single products, each with its own strength. Micro-single has already taken a leading position in the camera market. Major manufacturers have started a price war, while SLR cameras have almost disappeared. 4K is not yet popular, and 8K is still a bit beyond the reach of ordinary players. Many micro-singles have also begun to catch up with SLRs. The technology is basically mature. With the support of AI, micro-single cameras can do more things, and it will be just around the corner for micro-singles to replace SLRs. In the full-frame era, the road for APS-C will become narrower and narrower.

It is a bold prediction that the field of mirrorless camera lenses should see relatively good development in 2019; in the future of cameras, simplicity, intelligence and portability may become the mainstream.