A man holding a telescope looks at two structures on an elevated platform; dotted lines indicate his line of perception. Illustration from Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus Sive Telescopium (1685) by Johann Zahn (March 29, 1641 - June 27, 1707). The work contains descriptions, diagrams, illustrations and sketches of both the camera obscura and magic lantern, along with various other lanterns, slides, projection types, peepshow boxes, microscopes, telescopes, reflectors, and lenses. The first camera that was small and portable enough to be practical for photography was envisioned by Zahn, a German monk, in 1685, but it would be almost 150 years before technology caught up.