The Kodak camera became the first camera sold with film already loaded in 1888.
George Eastman introduced the camera through the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company. It was sold with a roll of flexible film containing enough exposures for about 100 pictures. After taking the photographs, the customer sent the entire camera back to the company, which developed and printed the pictures and returned the camera reloaded.
Its advertising slogan, “You press the button, we do the rest,” emphasized convenience rather than photographic technique. The camera helped move photography beyond professional studios and technically skilled enthusiasts.
The Kodak camera was not the first camera in history, and it did not provide instant photographs. Its breakthrough was the service model: customers could take pictures and leave film processing to a specialist company. The later Brownie camera made photography even cheaper and more accessible, but it was a separate Kodak product introduced in 1900.