Here in the camera store, we're going to focus in on the polymers that make photography possible. As our search develops, we'll find quite a few here. First of all, there's film itself. The film nowadays is made from stuff like polyester. But in the old days, it was made from something called cellulose nitrate. The problem with cellulose nitrate is that it is flammable. Hot projector bulbs often made it catch on fire, and in the olden days many theatres burned down in this way. So it was replaced, first by cellulose acetate, and then polyester in more modern times.

These color filters are made of a hard, transparent polymer called polycarbonate. They're used for making nifty effects, and such in your photographs by filtering out certain colors of light.

Carrying all your gear around is a lot easier with this nylon camera bag.

Long ago, before every camera had a built-in flash, there were these things called flash cubes. The clear plastic on the outside is polyethylene. The reflectors are made of polystyrene. And when you're developing photographs, and pouring all kinds of gook around, it's a lot less messy if you use this polyethylene funnel.

    

In the odd event that any of your pictures are worth looking at, you may want to keep them in a photo album like this one. The simulated leather cover is made of PVC (polyvinylchloride).

Many of the housings of the cameras themselves are made of plastics like polystyrene. Clear polystyrene is also used for flash lenses.

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