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What is a camera obscura?

Operation and descriptionHow to set up a camera obscuraOther installed camera obscurasHistory of the Camera Obscura

Operation and description

The Camera Obscura produces an image on a horizontal curved white screen, shaped like a table, located in the center of a completely darkened room painted black.

The projected image is in color, very bright, and reflects what is happening outside the tower at that very moment (real, moving images).

Due to the long focal length of the main lenses, the result is a magnificent optical effect that makes objects located at a great distance appear quite close.

The screen moves up and down to focus on different distances. The images in the Camera Obscura can rotate forward and backward to view different parts of the landscape. It is possible to look above the horizon at a certain distance or below it to examine details.

The main lenses of this optical instrument feature a flat astronomical objective, which can be manufactured in sizes ranging from 4 inches (10.16 cm) to 12 inches (30.48 cm) in diameter, with focal lengths specially designed for each individual building.

How to set up a camera obscura

The Camera Obscura at Torre Tavira was inaugurated on December 22, 1994, and it is the first to have been installed in Spain. Torre Tavira holds the patent “for Spain of the Utility Model for the CAMERA OBSCURA No. U9701729, granted by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

The idea was conceived by Belén González Dorao, the entrepreneur and creator of this project in Cádiz. Her brother, Ignacio, saw the one in Edinburgh during a trip and found this optical effect very interesting. Later, she realized that the light in this area and the privileged location of Torre Tavira could work perfectly in this setting and produce spectacular results in Cádiz, as has indeed happened.

If you wish to install a Camera Obscura in your town, you can contact us by phone at +34 956 21 29 10 or by sending an email to camaraoscura@torretavira.com. We will be delighted to advise and assist you with everything you need for the installation of a Camera Obscura.

The order includes the complete optical instrument. We can also advise you on any building modifications required to perfectly accommodate the Camera Obscura, as well as on the marketing and management plan for its subsequent development as a tourist business.

Other installed camera obscuras

Since the installation of the Camera Obscura at Torre Tavira in 1994, we have installed other camera obscuras in Spain, across Europe, and have even crossed the Atlantic. The first one we installed after Cádiz was in Lisbon in April 1998, and the most recent one was in Valderrobres (Teruel) in March 2025. We are currently working on several projects to install camera obscuras in other Spanish cities.

Camera obscuras installed by us to date:



History of the Camera Obscura

Optical illusions have always fascinated humankind. Lenses, light, shadows… in short, stimuli that help us perceive reality in a different way.

Camera obscuras, dating back to the 10th century, mark the beginning of the technical innovations that would later lead to photography and, subsequently, to the cinematic arts.

Learn more about its history by clicking here.


Photos from the book CAMERA OBSCURA. Museum Zur Vorgeschichte des films. Tobias Kaufhold.