original_query: What is the camera obscura and what was its role in the history of the camera?
query: What is the camera obscura and what was its role in the history of the camera?
answer: The camera obscura, Latin for "dark room", is a natural optical phenomenon where an image is projected through a small hole, forming an inverted image on the opposite surface.  It was the forerunner to the photographic camera, used as a drawing aid for centuries before photographic processes allowed images to be preserved.