

The smaller the f-stop, the more light is allowed to enter the lens, increasing the exposure. Īs the aperture is adjusted, the opening expands and contracts in increments called f-stops. The size of the aperture can be set manually, by rotating the lens or adjusting a dial, or automatically based on readings from an internal light meter. Typically located in the lens, this opening can be widened or narrowed to alter the amount of light that strikes the film or sensor. Light enters a camera through the aperture, an opening adjusted by overlapping plates called the aperture ring. The first permanent photograph was made in 1825 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. The modern photographic camera evolved from the camera obscura. The word camera comes from camera obscura, the Latin name of the original device for projecting a 2D image onto a flat surface (literally translated to "dark chamber"). Similar artistic fields in the moving-image camera domain are film, videography, and cinematography. Captured images may be reproduced later as part of the process of photography, digital imaging, or photographic printing. The still image camera is the main instrument in the art of photography. A shutter mechanism determines the amount of time the photosensitive surface is exposed to light. Lenses focus the light entering the camera.

Cameras have various mechanisms to control how the light falls onto the light-sensitive surface. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a small hole (the aperture) that allows light through to capture an image on a light-sensitive surface (usually a digital sensor or photographic film). Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some able to capture 3D images. A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image.
