
David S Young
David Young is a Canadian photographer and the author of “A Brief History of Photography”, available from better bookstores and online retailers worldwide.
Latest articles by David S Young

Confessions of an eclipse photographer: shooting my first ring of fire eclipse and discovering that photographing from a Caribbean cruise ship is much harder than it looks!
By David S Young Published
Solar eclipse In the second of a three-part series, David S Young how things have changed over 47 years of chasing totality with his camera

Before Japanese cameras took over, this brilliant German design ruled the world
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras This 1930s camera company survived World War II bombings – but couldn't survive peace

I've been photographing total solar eclipses for over 40 years – and this is what it was like chasing totality with a film camera back before the internet
By David S Young Published
Solar eclipse In the first of a three-part series, David S Young recalls what it was like to photograph a total solar eclipse with film cameras and without the aid of the internet

This titanium masterpiece was the most advanced film camera of the 1990s – but is now a beautiful ticking time bomb
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras This Porsche-designed camera changed how we think about autofocus forever – and is still a masterpiece if you can find one that works

Everyone thinks Leica made the first digital rangefinder – but this forgotten camera brand beat Leica and forced photographers to fake-wind film before every shot
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras This rare, modular, 2004 digital camera enabled you to completely hide its screen to make you feel you were still using film

It cost US$995 but, if the battery of this 1990 digital compact camera died, ALL your photos vanished forever!
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras The first commercial digital camera required a docking station and a computer just to boot up

Kodak’s Fling failed while Fujifilm’s QuickSnap conquered the world – but the first disposable camera actually dates back 160 years!
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras The Fujifilm QuickSnap is now 40 years old, and the disposable camera boom isn’t stopping – but the history of the disposable camera is much older

This revolutionary 1980s camera changed photography forever – but helped bankrupt its creator
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras The secret history of autofocus: How Leica invented it, but Minolta paid the $96 million price for it

The world's best-known underwater explorer created a camera that went on to rule the waves
By David S Young Published
Classic camera Collectors are now hunting for this notoriously flawed half-frame film camera

Why left-handed photographers fell in love with this otherwise awful 1980s bridge camera
By David S Young Published
Classic camera Collectors are now hunting for this notoriously flawed half-frame film camera

Kodak sold 50 million of these cheap plastic cameras, so why did they suddenly vanish?
By David S Young Published
Classic camera Before smartphones, the Kodak Instamatic was the ultimate point-and-shoot gadget that everyone owned

Nikon built this camera to replace a legend – but professionals refused to buy it, despite its rugged beauty
By David S Young Published
Classic camera Photographers refused to buy Nikon’s most advanced camera for over a decade, sticking with its predecessor

Wide load! The history of panoramic cameras – from the iconic XPan to the old and new Widelux
By David S Young Published
Classic camera Panoramic cameras have existed since the 1800s. Here's how we got from obscure German models to Jeff Bridges' favorite camera

More expensive than a Nikon F: The rise and fall of the "Bullseye" camera
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras The secret history of the Zeiss Contaflex and the 35mm TLR that changed everything

The forgotten failure that forced Canon to reinvent the SLR camera and change photography forever
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras There's a little-known link between a 1980s Canon 35mm SLR and the birth of the World Wide Web

The f/0.95 mystery: Why 'world record' super-fast camera lens speeds are often just about the bragging rights
By David S Young Published
classic lenses The fascinating history of super speed lenses and why the world's 'fastest' lens was actually a German joke!

The world's most iconic tiny film camera was almost never built
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras The secret history of the Rollei 35: A masterpiece born in a basement

The lost history of Britain’s most innovative SLRs - and the camera that's rarer than a Stradivarius
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras High quality, high cost – the sorry tale of why Britain’s best cameras couldn't survive the 1960s

This 7-pound beast was once the press photographer's favorite camera, before it landed a surprising role in Star Wars
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras From Iwo Jima to Jedi: The surprising history of the Graflex Speed Graphic camera

How a trench warfare invention became Germany’s most iconic camera for a whole generation of professional photographers
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras Why the Rolleiflex medium format film camera is still considered one of the finest camera lines ever made

The rise and fall of Yashica cameras: Why the Yashica FX-3 remains the ultimate budget alternative to the Pentax K1000 SLR
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras The Zeiss connection: Why collectors still hunt for Yashica’s C/Y mount camera bodies

5 legendary monster wide-angle lenses – from water-filled glass to U$160,000 fisheyes
By David S Young Published
Five fascinating ultra-wide lenses that changed the way we see the world

The curious tale of how Fujifilm Instax cameras survived a brutal patent war to become an instant success selling over 100 million cameras!
By David S Young Published
Classic cameras Inside the 80-year rivalry that made the world's favorite instant camera brand possible
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