8 Facts About Cameras That’ll Surprise You

It seems as though cameras have always been around, doesn’t it? Yet, the first camera that could recreate an image with light was developed less than 200 years ago.

The ability to capture an image in time is a relatively new one, though the camera itself has dramatically evolved throughout the years. While the first cameras were huge and bulky, today, you can find multiple tiny cameras in almost every smartphone.

Are you a photographer and want to learn more about the instrument you use? Or, are you interested in discovering cool facts about cameras that most others don’t know?

Either way, keep reading to learn eight camera facts that’ll probably surprise you.

1. There Are 12 Cameras on the Moon 

While it’s common knowledge that humans have visited the moon, you may not know that there are actively twelve Hasselblad cameras sitting on the moon at this very moment.

When astronauts went to the moon, they had to be very particular with their weight. Of course, they needed to document their trip, so they brought a ton of Hasselblad cameras with them.

Yet, when they wanted to take moonrock and other samples back to Earth with them, they had to leave the cameras there, though they did take the film.

This film has captured some of the most iconic instances on the moon and set the standard for documenting trips to space.

2. The First Camera Phone Debuted in 1999 

Before 1999, there was no such thing as having a camera in a phone. The first camera phone that was sold widely to consumers was the Kyocera Visual Phone VP-210, which, at the time, was called a “mobile videophone.”

It had a 110,00-pixel selfie–or front-facing–camera, could store about 20 images, and could even send pictures through e-mail. For 1999, that was impressive camera technology and led to many more phones developing cameras.

3. There Is a $4.3 Million Photograph 

The most expensive reported photograph was sold in 2011 in New York City for $4,338,500, which today is about $6.84 million. This photograph was “Rhein II,” a picture captured by Andreas Gursky which depicts the Rhine River.

Gursky famously created it by digitally removing the pedestrians in the photo and mounting it on acrylic glass before having it framed.

4. Spy Cameras Can Be Just About Anything

When you consider the different types of cameras, you may not have thought about spy cameras.

Yet, spy cameras have been around for a very long time, and they have evolved into something that the average consumer can use just about anywhere in just about anything.

There are spy cameras that look like radios, computer mouses, internet routers, lamps, watches, and pretty anything that your imagination can think of.

Where they were once a more exclusive type of camera, if you feel like you need to conduct a detective mission, you would easily find a spy camera to suit your needs.

5. The First Photo of a Person Was an Accident 

The first photo of a person occurred in 1839 by accident. Louis Daguerre attempted to capture an image of Boulevard du Temple in Paris. However, it was generally impossible to get any people in an image because of the long exposure times.

However, by good luck, Daguerre was able to capture two people, a man getting his shoes shined and the person shining his shoes, who happened to stay in the picture long enough.

They were the first people to get photographed and the first people to accidentally get photographed.

6. The Term “Kodak” Has No Meaning

When you’re buying a camera, you can’t avoid seeing Kodak. They are one of the top brands of cameras and are possibly the most iconic.

Yet, you may be surprised to learn that the term “Kodak” doesn’t actually mean anything. While most other camera companies use a name derived from something photography-related, George Eastman chose Kodak because it was easy to say, and it’s short and punchy.

7. The Photo With The Most Likes Is an Egg 

If you’re a part of social media, you know how difficult it can be to go viral and get a ton of likes and comments.

Usually, you’ll see extremely famous celebrities getting the most engagement, but what if it was actually an egg?

It’s true. A photograph of an egg is the most liked picture on Instagram.

It has over 55 million likes and was photographed by Serghei Platanov in 2015. Chris Godfrey, an advertising creative, posted it as a specific advertising challenge to reach the most likes on Instagram.

Which, of course, they achieved and continue to do so today.

8. One Man Owns 4,425 Cameras

Dilish Parekh, a jewel and government worker from Mumbai, holds the Guinness world record for the world’s largest camera collection at 4,425 cameras.

He has stated he inherited many of the cameras from his father and hopes to open a museum one day to display them all. Some of his rare collection includes a Leicas, Rolleiflex TLRs, and a Canon

Did You Know These Facts About Cameras? 

Are you surprised to learn these facts about cameras? Because cameras have a long history and have evolved so much, there is still so much to learn about them.

Even today, as technology progresses, new cameras are being created for incredible uses around the world.

If you found this article interesting and what to learn a little something else today, browse through our collection of fascinating articles!