camera
nounAU, UK /ˈkæməɹə/ · UK /ˈkaməɹə/
Etymology Learned borrowing from Latin camera (“chamber or bedchamber”), from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”), of Old Iranian origin, from Proto-Iranian *kamarā- (“something curved”), from *kamárati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kmárati, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- (“to bend, curve”). Doublet of chamber. (device): An ellipsis of camera obscura, from New Latin camera obscura (“dark chamber”), because the first cameras used a pinhole and a dark room.
Arts, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Photography A device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.
- The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail. It’s therefore not surprising that most cameras mimic this arrangement.2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:
- Glance up while strolling through parts of downtown Hong Kong and, chances are, you’ll notice the glassy black lens of a surveillance camera trained on the city’s crowded streets. And that sight will become more common in the coming years, as the city’s police pursue an ambitious campaign to install thousands of cameras to elevate their surveillance capabilities.2024 October 5, Jessie Yeung, “Hong Kong plans to install thousands of surveillance cameras. Critics say it’s more proof the city is moving closer to China”, in CNN:
Computer graphics, Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences, Video games The viewpoint in a three-dimensional game or simulation.
- If you're building a third-person game with enclosed or tight spaces, try to figure out up front what camera problems you will likely encounter. Use this identification process to influence the early building process.2003, Tom Meigs, Ultimate game design: building game worlds:
- I'm talking about the way the camera flies up above the skater when you leap into the air. No one had done it before.2006, Patrick O'Luanaigh, Game Design Complete:
A vaulted room.
A judge's private chamber, where cases may be heard in camera.
- Derived terms
111 terms
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- ante-camera, anti-camera, cameral, camerate