The first "cameras" were simple boxes that focused light through a pinhole, creating an image. By the 15th century, quality glass lenses could be used to focus these images, and by the 19th century chemicals such as silver nitrate allowed a permanent image to be preserved, establishing the modern science of photography
In many respects, cameras were developed, rather than having been invented by just one person. In 1685, Johann Zahn described, but could not build, a magic lantern device that would capture images.