A camera obscura, meaning ‘dark chamber’, is based on the optical phenomenon in which rays of light passing through a small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a flat surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) image projection of the outside world.
Camera obscuras containing a lens in the opening have been used since the 16th century and became popular as drawing aids. They were further developed into the photographic camera in the first half of the 19th century when camera obscura boxes were used to expose light-sensitive materials to the projected image. A camera obscura without a lens but with a tiny hole is sometimes referred to as a pinhole camera.
History
The earliest known written account of a camera obscura was provided by a Chinese philosopher named Mo-tzu (or Mozi) in 400 BC. He noted that light from an illuminated object that passed through a pinhole into a dark room created an inverted image of the original object.
Alhazen, also known as Ibn al-Haytham, was a medieval Arab scientist and mathematician who pioneered the study of light and vision. His work influenced the development of perspective in painting and other artistic techniques during the Renaissance. He is also said to have invented/tested the camera obscura, a precursor of the modern photographic camera.
Imaging Principle(s)
A pin-hole camera refers to the natural phenomenon in which rays of light passing through a small hole into a dark space form an image when they strike a surface located in the same space, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) projection view of the outside.
Camera obscura also refers to a darkened room, box or tent in which an exterior object/scene is projected as an image through a small hole and onto an opaque screen (viewed from inside the box), or translucent screen (viewed from outside the box). A camera obscura produces a ‘live ‘ image of spatial reality; also named as a volatile image that exists or is perceived only for a short period. This type of image may also be a reflection of an object by a mirror, a projection of a camera obscura, or a scene displayed on a cathode-ray tube or LCD/LED display.
A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture—a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light rays from a spatial scene passes through the aperture and projects an inverted perspective image on the opposite side of the box, which is known as the camera obscura effect. The size of the images depends on the distance between the object and the pinhole.
Relates also to Pictura (recorded or fixed image): A recorded or fixed image projected or painted onto a surface, for example, by a pin-hole camera, camera obscura or photographic camera (projected type) etc, whereby the live image outline is traced and coloured in (by hand), and a drawing or painted representation is produced by a combination of natural, and artificial or graphical perspective methods. Corresponds to a real image projected onto a surface (ref. volatile image).
Photographic Image
English photographer and inventor Thomas Wedgewood is believed to have been the first person to have thought of creating permanent pictures by capturing camera images on a material coated with a light-sensitive chemical. He originally wanted to capture the images of a camera obscura, but found they were too faint to have an effect upon the silver nitrate solution that was recommended to him as a light-sensitive substance.
Wedgwood managed to copy painted glass plates and captured shadows on white leather and paper moistened with a silver nitrate solution. He employed the silver nitrate solution as a light-sensitive material, allowing him to create photograms, which were early forms of photography.
Perspective Research Centre 
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