Beverly F. Ronalds: The Beginnings of Continuous Scientific Recording using Photography: Sir Francis Ronalds’ Contribution
Left: The photo-electrograph – Ronalds’ first photorecording machine at Kiew observatory
Right: Thomas Malone, Photograph of Francis Ronalds, 1850 © Royal Society
Francis Ronalds invented a “movie camera” in 1845 and collaborated with leading practitioners in enhancing the quality and flexibility of photography. His early photographic curves survive, as do examples of his machines. The cameras were used in observatories around the world for over a century.