camera

/ˈkæmərə/

/ˈkæmrə/

Other forms: cameras; camerae

A camera records images in the form of photographs, film or video. If you want evidence that you've spotted Bigfoot in the woods behind your house, you'll need a camera.

The noun camera typically refers to a film or digital device that captures still pictures when you press a button. A film camera stores images on a strip of film that must be developed with special chemicals, while a digital camera keeps them on a memory card, and with the help of a computer you can see the pictures almost instantly. The original meaning of camera, "vaulted building," came from Latin via the Greek root kamera, "vaulted chamber."

Definitions of camera

1. noun

   equipment for taking photographs (usually consisting of a lightproof box with a lens at one end and light-sensitive film at the other)
   synonyms: photographic camera

   types:

   box Kodak, box camera

   a simple camera shaped like a rectangular box

   candid camera

   a miniature camera with a fast lens

   digital camera

   a camera that encodes an image digitally and store it for later reproduction

   flash camera

   a camera with a photoflash attachment

   cine-camera, motion-picture camera, movie camera

   a camera that takes a sequence of photographs that can give the illusion of motion when viewed in rapid succession

   point-and-shoot camera

   a lightweight photographic camera with an autofocus

   Polaroid Land camera, Polaroid camera

   a camera that develops and produces a positive print within seconds

   portrait camera

   a camera with a portrait lens

   reflex camera

   camera that allows the photographer to view and focus the exact scene being photographed

   sound camera

   a movie camera that records sounds in synchrony with the visual images

   webcam

   a digital camera designed to take digital photographs and transmit them over the internet

   type of:

   photographic equipment

   equipment used by a photographer
2. noun

   television equipment consisting of a lens system that focuses an image on a photosensitive mosaic that is scanned by an electron beam
   synonyms: television camera, tv camera

   types:

   camcorder

   a portable television camera and videocassette recorder

   type of:

   television equipment, video equipment

   electronic equipment that broadcasts or receives electromagnetic waves representing images and sound