ETYM Latin vault, arch, Late Lat., chamber. Related to Chamber.
A light-proof box with a lens at one end and light-sensitive film at the other; SYN. photographic camera.
Apparatus used in photography, consisting of a lens system set in a light-proof box inside of which a sensitized film or plate can be placed. The lens collects rays of light reflected from the subject and brings them together as a sharp image on the film; it has marked numbers known as apertures, or f-stops, that reduce or increase the amount of light. Apertures also control depth of field. A shutter controls the amount of time light has to affect the film. There are small-, medium-, and large-format cameras; the format refers to the size of recorded image and the dimensions of the print obtained.
A simple camera has a fixed shutter speed and aperture, chosen so that on a sunny day the correct amount of light is admitted. More complex cameras allow the shutter speed and aperture to be adjusted; most have a built-in exposure meter to help choose the correct combination of shutter speed and aperture for the ambient conditions and subject matter. The most versatile camera is the single lens reflex (SLR) which allows the lens to be removed and special lenses attached. A pin-hole camera has a small (pin-sized) hole instead of a lens. It must be left on a firm support during exposures, which are up to ten seconds with slow film, two seconds with fast film and five minutes for paper negatives in daylight. The pin-hole camera gives sharp images from close-up to infinity. + prikaži više

Or motion picture camera; Camera that takes a rapid sequence of still photographs—24 frames (pictures) each second. When the pictures are projected one after the other at the same speed onto a screen, they appear to show movement, because our eyes hold onto the image of one picture before the next one appears.
The movie camera differs from an ordinary still camera in having a motor that winds on the film continuously, but the film is held still by a claw mechanism while each frame is exposed. When the film is moved between frames, a semicircular disk slides between the lens and the film and prevents exposure.A camera used for taking moving pictures; it operates by taking several individual pictures per second (24 frames per second in most commercial movies); the rapid succession of images, when projected, creates the illusion of movement. + prikaži više