Camera obscura.
Woodcut, Father Athanasius Kirchner (1601-1680)
Illustration from “Ars magna lucis et umbrae”
Rome, 1646.
Kircher's massive treatise, 'Ars Magnus Lucis et Umbrae', contains observations on the nature of light, lenses, mirrors, sundials, astrology and (Ptolemaic) astronomy and related topics. It also includes some of the earliest descriptions of the camera obscura and the magic lantern.
Camera obscura means 'darkened room'. A small hole in a wall allows a limited amount of strong, reflected light rays to be projected onto the opposite wall. The image will be seen upside down, moving and in color. Renaissance landscape artists used portable camera obscuras in order to create highly detailed, naturalistic drawings.
A very small pinhole creates a sharp image, but the light also becomes weaker, and the image appears darker. Early models were large, comprising either of a whole darkened room or a tent (for astronomers). By the 18th century, more easily portable models became available, which are seen as the precursors to photo- and film camera.
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