What I feel to be the most significant analogue technical photographic development

                          The 35mm Film Camera

The invention of the 35mm camera and its attendant film stock was so revolutionary its compact size made it compatible 35mm film. A German camera company Leitz began to start making prototypes of a 35mm camera. The company began marketing the first 35mm portable camera in 1925, calling it the Leica.

                      

The designs incorporated the ability for a small area of the light-sensitive film to be exposed in capturing the image frame by frame, the negative from which a larger positive image could be produced in a darkroom. This is among the most important developments in photographic history, as cameras could be taken anywhere easily. It also made it more affordable, therefore allowing anyone to take up photography.

35mm cameras had a lot to offer more so than the cumbersome large format counter parts of the day. There portability meant they could go anywhere. Leitz remained the only producer of 35mm cameras for 10 years after the launch of the Leica. This meant that their equipment was still comparatively expensive.

 In 1936, the first American-made 35mm was produced by the Argus this company, enabled consumers to afford the new technology. It was after this development that Kodak, the biggest name in camera film and equipment, began producing their own 35mm cameras, having previously concentrated on medium-sized film formats. The lower cost of producing 35mm cameras combined with Kodak's reputation and national distribution accelerated the spread of the 35mm camera across the globe.

                                  

Over the years notable producers of 35mm cameras became very popular. These were mainly Japanese companies Nikon, Olympus, Canon and Pentax. All these companies along with its European and American counterparts have designed and manufactured some of the highest quality cameras over the passing decades.

                               

Production of 35mm film cameras started phasing out due to the advent of the digital camera era. The development of the digital age made even easier for people to explore and produce photography. Yet despite this advancement the 35mm film camera lives on.