Dessa Fei P.

delos Santos

SOCTEC2

Midterm Paper

From Kodak to Digital Single-lens Reflex: The impact of camera on society

A photo can tell a thousand stories, much as life is one. You can change the focus, zoom,
take action shots, and rapid fire. A camera resembles life because you have many settings within
the camera that you can use, just as the versatility of life. You could also choose to use the zoom
and focus to criticize and magnify the attributes of their personality. With this, camera had been
a great part of the development of technology in todays society.

It all started during 1814 when Camera Obscura was invented but it could only make
projections, not take photos. Until Joseph Niepce used solver nitrate to take pictures, knowing
that the chemical changes color when exposed to light but then the photo take 8 hours to develop
[1]. From then on, cameras keep on developing an d by the late 1980s, there was a need to
introduce commercially successful digital cameras and we saw cameras like Fuji DS-1P, Fuji
DS-X, Dycam, Kodak DCS-100. Moreover, from pinhole cameras to DSLRs, surely camera has
come a long way in the world of photography.

Camera, as defined by Merriam Websters Dictionary, is a device that consists of

lightproof chamber with an aperture fitted with a lens and shutter through which image of a n
object is projected onto a surface for recording. There are several benefits that we can get from a
camera. First, a photo can afford immortatility. Immortality of humans as we know is impossible
but through the use of cameras we can introduce the ancestors of ones clan to their recent
generation. Secondly, through using camera, one can document his/her journey in life. It is a
good point in life to sometimes reminisce your journey. Through looking down your photos, you
can see how youve changed over the years [2]. Third, photography can be a stress reliever. All
people deal with mental or emotional struggles. May be it be because of workload, studies,
situational depression or anxiety. One way to relieve stress is through photography. Photography
is one such tool that you can utilize without going to art school or being professionally trained.
With todays modern technology, easy-to-use options including a variety of automatic modes on
point-and-shoot cameras, digital SLRs, and even camera phones. Anyone can take photos just
by taking a photo, you are taking a moment to stop and look at your environment through a new
lens. This moment can be the moment that changes your day from a negative to a positive or
at least gives you a momentary distraction and calm [3]. Fourthly, photography can be a source
of income. Almost everything that we see around us is the product of photography. Billboards,
magazine, TV commercials, online ads are some of the products of using photography as a career
[2]. Lastly, camera can provide us security. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is the use of video
cameras to monitor the interior and exterior of a premise. In particular, CCTV has been most
effective in reducing vehicle crime and theft. With the presence of CCTVs provide people the
sense of security and reassurance, particularly in places where criminal rate is high [4].

Moreover, camera has brought drastic changes in the lives of the people. The camera
allows people to highlight what they believe by giving them the power to document the world.
This allows people the power to concentrate on what they see as socially fit and ignore aspects of
life that they do not consider acceptable.

Similarly, the camera enforces social norms, it also documents cases in which those
norms may be broken. When used as a spy device, a camera has far more power than just as a
tool of observation. The camera can also fulfill pornographic desires by photographing sexual
situations.

As the camera developed, it became readily available on the market. This completely
changed the way in which daily life was documented, allowing for photographs of families and
special moments.

Advertising is also completely different because of photography. Although drawings

were possible in the past, photography has radically changed society's conception of
advertisements. For instance, the modeling industry would likely not exist as is without cameras.

Finally, the camera has helped the public in a journalistic sense by giving them a clearer
perception of what the events that they read or hear about are like. However, cameras have also
created concern in this respect because it is easier for explicit pictures of violence or of a sexual
nature to reach wider audiences.
 REFERENCES
[1] Invention Story of Camera. (2017). Retrieved July 24, 2017, from
https://www.engineersgarage.com/invention-stories/camera-history

[2] 9 Amazing Benefits of Photography. (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2017, from
https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/9-amazing-benefits-of-photography/

[3] Hark, D. (2013). How Taking Photos Can Improve Your Mental Health. Retrieved
July 24, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle-hark/photography-
mindfulness_b_2926347.html

[4] What are the Benefits of Using a CCTV Security System? (2017). Retrieved July 25,
2017, from https://broadswordsecurity.com/the-benefits-of-using-a-cctv-system/