box camera

American

noun

a simple, boxlike camera, without bellows, sometimes allowing for adjustment of lens opening but usually not of shutter speed.

box camera British

noun

a simple box-shaped camera having an elementary lens, shutter, and viewfinder

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of box camera

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

box camera

He likely used optical devices, including a camera obscura, a precursor to the box camera.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Christina Broom only began to experiment with photography in her forties, using a box camera.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2024

Positioning his bulky box camera at Charing Cross, a conjunction of six thoroughfares just south of today’s Trafalgar Square, he exposed a silver-coated copper plate for several minutes.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2023

Lucas’s arrogance is exemplified by his insistence on transporting a big box camera and its gear, as well as a large cross meant for the new church.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 13, 2023

Maurice Plantagenet, his Kodak box camera sitting in the backseat beside Lefty, smiles at Mabel and drives out Jefferson Avenue.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023