<P> In the mid-1820s , Nicéphore Niépce first managed to fix an image that was captured with a camera , but at least eight hours or even several days of exposure in the camera were required and the earliest results were very crude . Niépce 's associate Louis Daguerre went on to develop the daguerreotype process , the first publicly announced and commercially viable photographic process . The daguerreotype required only minutes of exposure in the camera , and produced clear , finely detailed results . The details were introduced as a gift to the world in 1839 , a date generally accepted as the birth year of practical photography . The metal - based daguerreotype process soon had some competition from the paper - based calotype negative and salt print processes invented by William Henry Fox Talbot . Subsequent innovations made photography easier and more versatile . New materials reduced the required camera exposure time from minutes to seconds , and eventually to a small fraction of a second ; new photographic media were more economical , sensitive or convenient , including roll films for casual use by amateurs . In the mid-20th century , developments made it possible for amateurs to take pictures in natural color as well as in black - and - white . </P>
<P> In the mid-1820s , Nicéphore Niépce first managed to fix an image that was captured with a camera , but at least eight hours or even several days of exposure in the camera were required and the earliest results were very crude . Niépce 's associate Louis Daguerre went on to develop the daguerreotype process , the first publicly announced and commercially viable photographic process . The daguerreotype required only minutes of exposure in the camera , and produced clear , finely detailed results . The details were introduced as a gift to the world in 1839 , a date generally accepted as the birth year of practical photography . The metal - based daguerreotype process soon had some competition from the paper - based calotype negative and salt print processes invented by William Henry Fox Talbot . Subsequent innovations made photography easier and more versatile . New materials reduced the required camera exposure time from minutes to seconds , and eventually to a small fraction of a second ; new photographic media were more economical , sensitive or convenient , including roll films for casual use by amateurs . In the mid-20th century , developments made it possible for amateurs to take pictures in natural color as well as in black - and - white . </P>
when was the black and white camera invented
when was the black and white camera invented
1839
1839