What photographers could actually use between 1870 and 1900

By the 1870s, photography had moved beyond the studio portrait into practical, portable equipment. The dry plate — a glass plate coated with light-sensitive gelatin emulsion that could be stored and used days or weeks after manufacture — replaced the wet collodion process that required photographers to coat, expose, and develop plates on the spot. This single shift meant photographers could work outdoors without a darkroom wagon. Film rolls came next: George Eastman's company began selling roll film on paper backing in 1885, then on transparent cellulose nitrate base in 1889, which could hold 100 exposures instead of one. By 1888, the Kodak camera — a straightforward box with a fixed lens and shutter — arrived at a price ordinary people could afford, bundled with development service. These three technologies transformed photography from a specialist craft into something amateurs could attempt.

The camera designs themselves were straightforward. Most were wooden or metal boxes with a single lens, a straightforward shutter mechanism (often just a sliding cover or a spring-loaded flap), and no adjustable focus — you aimed at your subject and hoped the depth of field was forgiving. Bellows cameras, which used an accordion-like mechanism to move the lens closer or farther from the film plane, allowed some focusing and became standard for serious work. Larger format cameras used glass plates up to 8 by 10 inches or bigger; smaller handheld cameras used roll film. Lenses were fixed in focal length — you could not zoom — and apertures were marked by numbers (f/8, f/11) that photographers had to understand through trial and error or instruction manuals.

Key Takeaways

  • Dry plate glass negatives replaced wet collodion in the 1870s, eliminating the need for a darkroom wagon and allowing photographers to work away from their studio.
  • Roll film on paper (1885) and transparent cellulose nitrate (1889) let photographers take multiple exposures without changing plates between each shot.
  • The Kodak camera (1888) was the first mass-market camera designed for amateurs, with a fixed lens and straightforward shutter, priced low enough for ordinary households.
  • Bellows cameras allowed manual focus by moving the lens, while fixed-focus box cameras relied on depth of field to keep subjects sharp.
  • Lenses had no zoom capability and fixed apertures; photographers controlled exposure by changing shutter speed or film sensitivity.

Dry plates and the shift away from wet collodion

The wet collodion process, dominant from the 1850s through the 1870s, required a photographer to coat a glass plate with collodion (a sticky cellulose solution), sensitize it in a silver nitrate bath, expose it while still wet, and develop it when ready — all within minutes, often in a portable darkroom tent. It produced sharp, detailed negatives but tied photographers to their equipment and a chemical setup.

Dry plates, perfected in the late 1870s, used a gelatin emulsion baked onto glass. A photographer could coat plates in a factory, store them in a light-tight box for weeks, and develop them at home or in a studio darkroom days later. The emulsion was also more sensitive to light, meaning shorter exposure times — crucial for moving subjects or outdoor work in dim conditions. By 1880, dry plates had become cheaper and more reliable than wet collodion, and most professional photographers had switched. The trade-off was that gelatin plates were more fragile and required careful handling, but the convenience won out.

Roll film and the end of single-shot photography

George Eastman's roll film, introduced in 1885, came on a paper backing coated with a light-sensitive emulsion. A photographer could load a roll into a camera, take up to 100 exposures, and send the entire roll to Eastman's factory for development — the company would return prints and a fresh roll of film. The paper backing meant the film could be wound on a spool without a darkroom, a major convenience for amateurs.

In 1889, Eastman switched to a transparent cellulose nitrate base (called celluloid film), which was thinner, more durable, and did not require the paper backing. This film could be cut into strips and used in smaller cameras. Nitrate film was flammable and degraded over time, but it became the standard for motion pictures and still photography for the next 80 years. By the 1890s, roll film had made the single glass plate obsolete for amateur work, though professionals and serious hobbyists still preferred plates for their sharpness and archival stability.

The Kodak camera and amateur photography

The first Kodak camera, released in 1888, was a small wooden box about 3.5 by 3.5 by 6.5 inches, with a fixed lens and a straightforward shutter. It used roll film and came loaded with enough film for 100 exposures. The price was $25 — roughly $800 in modern money, expensive but within reach of a middle-class household. The camera had no viewfinder; you aimed by looking at a mark on top. The lens had no focus adjustment; everything from about 8 feet to infinity stayed reasonably sharp. The shutter was a spring-loaded flap that opened and closed in a fraction of a second.

The genius of the Kodak system was the service. You took your 100 pictures, mailed the camera and film to Eastman's factory in Rochester, New York, paid $10 for development and printing, and received your prints and a reloaded camera by mail. The company's slogan was "You press the button, we do the rest." This removed the need to learn darkroom chemistry or buy expensive equipment — a photographer could straightforward buy a camera and start. By 1895, Kodak had released smaller, cheaper models, and the company had become synonymous with amateur photography.

Bellows cameras for focus and flexibility

While box cameras dominated the amateur market, photographers who wanted more control used bellows cameras — folding cameras with an accordion-like mechanism that moved the lens forward and backward. This allowed manual focus: you adjusted the bellows until the image on the ground glass (a translucent screen at the back) looked sharp, then inserted a plate holder or film back and exposed. Bellows cameras came in many sizes, from 4 by 5 inches to 8 by 10 inches or larger, and used either glass plates or, later, roll film.

A bellows camera required more skill than a Kodak box. You had to understand focal length, aperture, shutter speed, and exposure time. You had to compose on a ground glass, which showed the image upside down and backward. You had to load plates or film in a darkroom. But the results were sharper and more controllable, and the camera could be adapted to different lenses and film formats. Professional photographers and serious amateurs preferred bellows cameras throughout the 1890s and into the twentieth century.

Lenses and apertures in the late nineteenth century

Camera lenses in this era were single-element or multi-element designs, but all were fixed in focal length — you could not change the zoom. A typical camera came with a lens marked something like "4-inch" or "6-inch," referring to the focal length. Shorter focal lengths (wider angle) were rare and expensive; most cameras had a "normal" focal length around 50 to 75 millimeters, which roughly matched human vision.

Apertures were marked by f-numbers — f/8, f/11, f/16 — which indicated how much light the lens let through. A lower f-number meant a wider aperture and more light; a higher f-number meant a narrower aperture and less light. Most cameras had a fixed aperture, often f/8 or f/11, which meant the photographer could not adjust it. Some better cameras had an iris diaphragm (a set of overlapping metal blades) that allowed you to change the aperture, but this was an extra cost. Shutter speeds ranged from a fraction of a second to several seconds, depending on the mechanism. A typical fast shutter might be 1/25th of a second; a typical slow one might be 1 second or longer. Photographers controlled exposure by choosing the right combination of aperture, shutter speed, and film sensitivity (which varied between brands and batches).

Film sensitivity and exposure calculation

Film sensitivity — how quickly the emulsion responded to light — varied between manufacturers and even between batches from the same maker. There was no standardized scale like the ISO numbers used today. Instead, photographers relied on the manufacturer's recommendations, which were often vague ("suitable for bright sunlight" or "requires longer exposure indoors"). Trial and error, or consultation with other photographers, taught you how to expose correctly.

Exposure meters did not exist. Photographers estimated exposure by looking at the light, considering the time of day and weather, and consulting tables or rules of thumb printed in instruction manuals. A common rule was "Sunny 16" — on a sunny day, use an aperture of f/16 and a shutter speed equal to the film sensitivity (if the film was rated for 1/25th of a second, use 1/25th). This rule worked reasonably well and is still taught today. Overexposure (too much light) made negatives too dark and prints too light; underexposure (too little light) made negatives too light and prints too dark. Learning to judge exposure correctly was one of the main skills a photographer had to develop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Could photographers in the 1890s take pictures indoors without special equipment?

Yes, but with difficulty. Indoor light was dim, so exposures had to be long — several seconds or more — which meant the camera had to be perfectly still (mounted on a tripod) and the subject had to hold absolutely still. Flash powder, a mixture of magnesium and other chemicals that burned brightly, was available by the 1890s and could light an indoor scene, but it was dangerous, produced smoke, and left a harsh, unnatural look. Most indoor photography was still done in studios with large windows or skylights.

How long did it take to get pictures developed in the late 1800s?

If you used Kodak's mail-in service, development took about two weeks round-trip — a few days for the film to reach Rochester, a few days for processing and printing, and a few days for the package to return. If you developed at home or in a studio darkroom, you could have prints the same day. Professional photographers typically developed their own work to maintain quality control and speed.

Were there any color photography options in the 1890s?

Color photography existed but was experimental and impractical for most photographers. The Lumière brothers' Autochrome process, introduced in 1907, was the first commercially viable color film, so it falls just outside this period. In the 1890s, photographers could hand-color black-and-white prints with oils or watercolors, but true color photography was not yet available to amateurs or most professionals.

Did cameras in the 1890s have a viewfinder?

Most straightforward cameras like the Kodak box did not have a viewfinder — you aimed by looking at a mark or line on top of the camera. Better cameras had a small optical viewfinder (a straightforward lens that showed roughly what the main lens would capture) or a ground glass screen at the back (used with bellows cameras). The ground glass showed the exact image but upside down and backward, which took practice to interpret.

Could photographers change lenses on late-nineteenth-century cameras?

Most amateur cameras had a fixed lens that could not be removed. Professional bellows cameras sometimes had interchangeable lenses, but this required unscrewing the lens from the front of the camera and screwing on a different one — a slow process that had to be done in a darkroom to avoid exposing the film. Interchangeable lenses did not become common until the twentieth century.