<P> The photographic single - lens reflex camera ( SLR ) was invented in 1861 by Thomas Sutton , a photography author and camera inventor who ran a photography related company together with Louis Désiré Blanquart - Evrard on Jersey . Only a few of his SLR 's were made . The first production SLR with a brand name was Calvin Rae Smith 's Monocular Duplex ( USA , 1884 ) . Other early SLR cameras were constructed for example by Louis van Neck ( Belgium , 1889 ) , Thomas Rudolphus Dallmeyer ( England , 1894 ) and Max Steckelmann ( Germany , 1896 ) , and Graflex of the United States and Konishi in Japan produced SLR cameras as early as 1898 and 1907 respectively . These first SLRs were large format cameras . While SLR cameras were not very popular at the time , they proved useful for some work . These cameras were used at waist level ; the ground glass screen was viewed directly , using a large hood to keep out extraneous light . In most cases , the mirror had to be raised manually as a separate operation before the shutter could be operated . </P>
<P> The photographic single - lens reflex camera ( SLR ) was invented in 1861 by Thomas Sutton , a photography author and camera inventor who ran a photography related company together with Louis Désiré Blanquart - Evrard on Jersey . Only a few of his SLR 's were made . The first production SLR with a brand name was Calvin Rae Smith 's Monocular Duplex ( USA , 1884 ) . Other early SLR cameras were constructed for example by Louis van Neck ( Belgium , 1889 ) , Thomas Rudolphus Dallmeyer ( England , 1894 ) and Max Steckelmann ( Germany , 1896 ) , and Graflex of the United States and Konishi in Japan produced SLR cameras as early as 1898 and 1907 respectively . These first SLRs were large format cameras . While SLR cameras were not very popular at the time , they proved useful for some work . These cameras were used at waist level ; the ground glass screen was viewed directly , using a large hood to keep out extraneous light . In most cases , the mirror had to be raised manually as a separate operation before the shutter could be operated . </P>
when was the single lens reflex camera invented
when was the single lens reflex camera invented
1861
1861