Camera Obscura / Outlook Tower, Edinburgh

...across a leaflet for the Camera Obscura World of Illusions, we thought we would go and check it out. I must admit, not knowing much about a camera obscura or what the visitor centre entailed I didn't think it would be anything special - Oh how wrong I was. ==The History of Edinburgh's Camera Obscura== In the early 18th Century the Short family were scientific instrument makers and in 1776 the son, Thomas Short designed and built a Gothic House ...
...old tenement building placing a camera obscura at the top. Other telescopes and exhibits were installed and it was named Short's Observatory. Over the years others have owned and ultimately looked after the camera obscura hence it has retained many of its original features. ==How the Camera Obscura Works== Similar in principal to a periscope the Camera Obscura is situated in a darkened room in a tower at the top of the old tenement building, which ...

lel1969 18.07.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Camera Obscura / Outlook Tower, Edinburgh

...we decided to visit the Camera Obscura Outlook Tower. We thought that at least this way we could get a good view of some of the main landmarks. There are a lot of steps to climb in order to reach the top but the view is well worth the effort. For those of you who don't know a camera obscura is basically an arrangement of mirrors in the form of a periscope which project an image of the outside world onto an inside surface - in this case a large white ...
...man, who was visiting the Camera Obscura and enjoying the view of Edinburgh in the dish, when he saw someone stealing his car. Another story was of the workers who used to sunbathe on the top of one of the buildings providing quite a view for the sightseers, until someone from the firm visited the Camera Obscura and told the workers what he had seen when he returned to work! How true any of his stories were is another matter but he was very entertaining. ...

SusanLesley 18.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Camera Obscura / Outlook Tower, Edinburgh

The Camera Obscura is Edinburgh's oldest tourist attraction and it was recommended by many people before I went to the city. Camera is Latin for "room" and Obscura is Latin for "dark" in case you were wondering. I bought the tickets I was told that the next demonstration of the camera was in a couple of minutes (they are every 15 mins or so) and if we hurry we can make the next showing. Hurry we did but oh the stairs! The camera sits in the dome ...
...drum was painted white. "The Camera Obscura in the Outlook Tower was established in the 1850's by the optician Maria Theresa Short and was originally known as Short's Observatory" the guide told us as she dimmed the lights. "The 'camera' is actually a series of mirrors that reflect what is happening in the streets onto a round screen (the drum) in the projection room" she continued. The images that appeared on the top of the drum before us were ...

Paid.Ark.Man 19.05.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Camera Obscura / Outlook Tower, Edinburgh