Line #51 Main/MagicalCamera


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9	[[quoteright:299:[[Literature/SayCheeseAndDie https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/say_cheese_and_die___original_classic_goosebumps_illustration.png]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:299:[[SkeletonMotif If the skull in the lens]] [[ObviouslyEvil didn't tip you off]], this is an evil example.]]
11
12	A particularly common piece of {{Magitek}}. A handheld device which captures an image is immensely useful, and so it's not surprising that in a fantastical setting, someone will come up with a way to provide such a device, using the magical means at their disposal. Similarly, magic-users in more modern settings can hardly resist using their powers to soup up the technology around them, and cameras are particularly disposed to this kind of tinkering.
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14	Expect the Magical Camera to have traits far different from those mundane pieces we enjoy, and probably to work by a very different means. Or, it may be just like any other with only a slight twist. But at the end of the day, it is at its core a device which exists to preserve the image of a moment in time.
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16	On a related note: it is a superstition of some RealLife cultures that cameras and photography are harmful, with many believing that being photographed may steal their soul and taking great pains to avoid it (This is ostensibly the SoulJar variant of the PhantomZonePicture). This is a handy excuse for shy individuals or people wishing to remain anonymous, usually because of some criminality or witness protection system. Nevertheless, the claim that cameras steal souls is a functional form of the Magical Camera, and one you'll occasionally encounter in straight fantasy as a reasonable fear.
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18	[[AnomalousArt Magic employing a photograph itself]] also counts. Not to be confused with MagicalSecurityCam.
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20	----
21
22	!!Examples:
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24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
27	* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' has a gadget called the Voodoo Camera which doesn't create photos, but instead creates {{Voodoo Doll}}s of anyone it flashes at.
28	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
29	** When Joseph Joestar smashes a camera with Hermit Purple, he can capture an image from anywhere he can envision.
30	** In ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond Is Unbreakable]]'', Yoshihiro Kira is a ghost who's possessed the camera to which his Stand was bound. The Stand in question, Atom Heart Father, allowed Kira to exist inside the photos it captured and affect objects in the real world by manipulating their equivalents in the photograph. It also prevented the real-world counterparts of anything in the area captured by the photograph from moving outside of the camera's field of view and prevents anything not depicted in the photos from ''entering'' it. Jotaro eventually defeats him by taking a photo of Kira himself and then destroying the camera, [[PhantomZonePicture trapping Kira alone in the photo]]. [[spoiler:It only ''sort of'' works; while Kira can no longer remotely affect the real world, it turns out he can lean out of the photo and bring physical objects inside.]]
31	* ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII'': In [[Recap/LupinIIIS2E110 episode 110]], the {{MacGuffin}} of the episode is a camera that has the ability to see into the future based on what was photographed. Fujiko uses it for gambling.
32	* ''Anime/SailorMoon'' has one villain who captures people [[PhantomZonePicture within the pictures she takes of them]].
33	* The main character in ''Anime/SpeedGrapher'' has a power that lets him blow up anything he shoots with his camera, although the magic is in himself rather than the object.
34	* In ''Manga/UltraManiac'', there's a camera that shows who the subject of the picture likes.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
38	* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': In Season 4 episode 43, the MonsterOfTheWeek uses a camera that traps people in the developed photos it produces after a picture is taken.
39	* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf: Joys of Seasons'' episode 28, Wolffy obtains a magic camera from the Little Fairy. When you take a picture of someone with it, it traps them in the camera, and the only way to free them is to drop the developed photo of them into the water.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
43	* Subverted in ''Film/CrocodileDundee''.
44	-->'''Neville Bell:''' Oh, no, you can't take my photograph.\
45	'''Sue Charlton:''' Oh, I'm sorry, you believe it will take your spirit away.\
46	'''Neville Bell:''' [[BaitAndSwitch No]], [[CameraObscurer you got lens-cap on it]].
47	* The Russian horror film ''Film/DeadlyStill'' revolves around an old instant camera that kills any person or animal photographed with it.
48	* ''Film/HauntedMansion2023'': Using his knowledge of astrophysics and dark matter, which is treated like SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic, Ben develops a camera that can take pictures of ghosts.
49	* In a Hong Kong horror film titled ''Film/ThePark'', the protagonist's mother is an expert ghost-buster, armed with a "special" camera that captures spirits in the films. Said protagonist steals her mother's camera to investigate the local AmusementParkOfDoom (allegedly haunted, where her brother went missing in it years prior) and uses the camera to suppress the spirits haunting the place.
50	* The titular camera in ''Film/{{Polaroid}}'' is one. The people who get photos of themselves taken all die soon afterwards.
51	* In ''Film/TimeLapse'', Finn, Callie, and Jasper discover a machine with such a camera embedded in it, within the apartment of their deceased neighbor. The camera and machine are pointed through the window of their living room and is revealed to be able to take pictures of the living room one day in the future.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Literature]]
55	* Early in ''Literature/AnansiBoys'', Spider passes into a photograph to travel to the location it shows. He later mentions he can go to any location he's seen, including by picture.
56	* ''Literature/BrideOfTheRatGod'' has a borderline example: turns out that though the camera is ''not'' harmful to a human's soul (thanks to the body protecting it) for an all-spiritual-matter Rat Demon-God, with the right equipment and ingredients, it's ''perfect'' in regards to sealing it away.
57	* ''Literature/{{Chrestomanci}}'': In ''Conrad's Fate'', a minor plot point involves Conrad accidentally entering a parallel universe through the portal hallway in the Stallery attic, and running into a strange woman who he takes a photograph of. It turns out that the universe where he encountered the woman is one where cameras are banned because they entrap people's souls, and the woman was a witch who was likely trying to kill him.
58	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
59	** Iconographs, as they are called on the Discworld, are little more than boxes containing a very tiny imp with a sketchpad and set of paints. Because the imps have no imagination whatsoever, the images they create are accepted as objective. The flash works by frightening a captive Salamander, a magical lizard that absorbs light and can release it suddenly. In ''Literature/MovingPicturesDiscworld'', movies were created using six imps triggered in succession, suggesting an imp can paint an image in only 1/4 of a second.
60	** [[ConMan Moist Von Lipwig]] uses the "steals your soul" argument, but he really has [[DarkAndTroubledPast other reasons to avoid]] being photographed. His avoidance naturally makes authority figures suspicious.
61	** A notable example was the use of a different creature as a flash source. Its light caused psychological visages of its subjects' thoughts to pop up in the picture.
62	* The ''Literature/{{Eisenhorn}}'' short story "Backcloth for a Crown Additional" has Eisenhorn investigate the death of a nobleman who had had his picture taken at a traveling fair two days before. He discovers that the photographer's camera is tainted by Chaos, killing anyone whose picture it takes.
63	* In the ''Literature/FourPastMidnight'' story ''The Sun Dog'', the protagonist receives a Polaroid camera for his birthday, but every picture it takes, regardless of what it's pointed at, is of a "dog" that gets closer and closer to the camera (and looks less and less like a dog) with each successive shot.
64	* Marginal example: Photographs and paintings alike in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' are animate and semi-sentient, due to some kind of special darkroom process. Considering the penchant some wizards have for tinkering, there are probably magical cameras too, but they aren't played up.
65	* ''Literature/SayCheeseAndDie'' is about a camera that causes tragedy to befall any person shot with it. In the sequel, its pictures curse the protagonists instead. They begin to respectively [[WeightLossHorror lose weight]] and [[InvertedTrope gain weight]], presumably until it kills them. They manage to save themselves at the last moment by having the photos color-inverted at a picture-developing shop.
66	* Shallan Davar, of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' can take a Memory of a scene, recording it with photographic accuracy for later drawing. Drawing a Memory removes it from her head, greatly increasing the probability that this is some kind of magic. ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' reveals that most Lightweavers possess this power.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
70	* Played for laughs in ''Series/ThirtyRock''. The super HD video camera seems to show the characters' ''true selves''. Through the viewfinder, Liz appears significantly less attractive with a unibrow and a prominent facial wart, Pete suddenly looks naked and several decades older, Jack looks 20 years younger, and Kenneth is a ''puppet'' with blue skin.
71	* ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'':
72	** In "[[Recap/AreYouAfraidOfTheDarkSeason3TheTaleOfTheCuriousCamera The Tale of the Curious Camera]]", a camera predicts misfortune in its photos and makes them happen. Worse is that it gains its power by being inhabited by a [[GripingAboutGremlins gremlin]] that can jump from the camera into other electronics, like a camcorder, VCR, and computer...
73	** "[[Recap/AreYouAfraidOfTheDarkSeason7TheTaleOfThePhotoFinish The Tale of the Photo Finish]]" crosses this over with PhantomZonePicture. Two boys at a prep school try to join the Lions' Society, a group of [[UpperClassTwit rich, smug]] {{Jerk Jock}}s. As a hazing prank, one of the boys is forced to steal the current headmaster's portrait and unknowingly frees the [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned spirit]] of Jasper Davis, a victim of the Lions' bullying from decades ago. To punish the Lions, Jasper starts using his old camera to seal them away in photographs, where they're frozen in time permanently.
74	* The villain Flashpoint from the ''Film/BlackScorpion'' TV series has a Magical Camera that lets him take {{Phantom Zone Picture}}s.
75	* The ''Series/FridayThe13thTheSeries'' episode "Scarlet Cinema" features a cursed film camera where the characters from within the created film can come to life in the real world, yet the owner can later also ''become'' that same creature. Owner Darius Pogue had an obsession with Creator/LonChaneyJr's ''Film/TheWolfMan1941'', and thus became the same Wolf Man he had imagined in his "film".
76	* An episode of ''Series/MyBabysittersAVampire'' involves an antique camera brought into school on picture day that makes evil clones of whoever gets their picture taken. The first clone is of the student body representative, who schemes to have everyone doubled so they can begin taking over the world.
77	* In ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'', the magical pens that the heroines used in [[Manga/SailorMoon the original]] are updated to [[SupernaturalPhone magic cellphones]]. One function is the ability to create a disguise based on a photo taken with it.
78	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': The episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S2E10AMostUnusualCamera A Most Unusual Camera]]" features a camera that [[{{Chronoscope}} shows the future]].
79	* An episode of ''Series/UltraSeven'' has an alien named Wild who uses a camera to steal the life force of other beings, trapping their souls inside the film.
80	* In ''Series/Warehouse13'', Artie has a camera that turns the people it takes pictures of into pictures, specifically life-sized cardboard cutouts. A second picture puts them back to normal. Another episode had Man Rey's camera, which could steal youth from one person and give it to another.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Music Videos]]
84	* In the music video for Music/AmyGrant's "Takes a Little Time", an instant camera reveals snapshots of the subjects' future. For example, a man who steals the camera and snaps himself is horrified to see a photo of himself dead.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Video Games]]
88	* ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' features one which Simon can use after completing the game in 2 hours and 30 minutes. The camera by itself doesn't deal any damage, but it has the effect of freezing any enemy in place that gets "shot" by the camera. This effect does not work on bosses,[[note]]though it was discovered that using it on the Doctor during his fight will blind him, causing him to miss his shots[[/note]] won't affect enemies that are in their spawn animation and, due to a bug, killing a Suicider frozen by the camera will also kill Simon as well.
89	* In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', a fairy gives Tiny (and, by extension, all other Kongs) a camera whose main purpose is taking pictures of lost Banana Fairies. A successful shot returns them to the main Banana Fairy, who, in return, increases your film, orange, and Crystal Coconut capacities, and refilling all of those plus your ammo.
90	* The Camera Obscura in ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' can take pictures of spirits, which are not normally visible. It can also sap the spiritual energy of hostile ghosts (probably inspired by the aforementioned belief that cameras stole a person's soul), with the power of each shot depending on the film used. In the first game, a hostile spirit would be exorcized if defeated enough times, but later games dropped this: a hostile spirit can only be warded off, never permanently defeated.
91	* Early in ''VideoGame/FobiaStDinfnaHotel'', Roberto obtains a special camera lens that allows him to "see things in other worlds". Looking through the lens around St. Dinfna's interiors allows Roberto to catch glimpses of its past supernatural activities, locate hidden entrances, and SeeTheInvisible.
92	* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': One of the playable characters, [[IntrepidReporter Charlotte]], uses her [[CallARabbitASmeerp Kamera]] to channel her [[AnIcePerson Cryo]] powers by weaponizing her snapshots.
93	* In ''{{VideoGame/Inscryption}}'', the shadowy figure owns a magic camera that turns anything he photographs into a card. If you lose, you're asked to pick what stats you want before he takes your picture. You can find and use the new Death Card on subsequent attempts. You can try to take the camera and use it, but it doesn't work without film.
94	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
95	** The Picto Box in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' functions more or less like a normal camera, except that it develops instantly and can only keep three pictures at once. In order to upgrade it to the Deluxe Picto Box, which takes colour pictures, you need to capture and use a special kind of firefly that emits prismatic light. In the HD remake, the Picto Box can now hold 12 images at once, and the firefly is no longer needed to upgrade it ({{lampshade\|Hanging}}d if you [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall give Lenzo the firefly anyways]]). Furthermore, you can take a picture of a character or enemy and take it to Carlov, he can make a figurine of it. If this were a normal photograph, he may or may not have to guess what a character looks like from the other angles, but apparently, he gets it right, so...
96	** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', it's one of the capabilities of the [[DataPad Sheikah Slate]], which allows it to not only take pictures, but logs the ones of things like weapons and enemies into a compendium providing useful information about them, and a means to use the Slate's sensor to hone in on them. It also plays a role in many side quests where characters ask to be shown pictures of things; given the generally Medieval tech level, they'll often assume that they're hand-drawn, and comment on how remarkable Link's artistic skills are. The camera function also serves as a major plot point, since [[spoiler:the fact that Zelda was the previous owner means that several of her own photos are still logged in its memory, providing vital clues to sites where Link can regain his lost memories]].
97	* In the first-person horror game ''VideoGame/{{Madison}}'', the teenage protagonist receives a cursed camera capable of connecting the world of living with the dead, where taking pictures allows you to see spirits and sense the supernatural. As it turns out, said camera actually belongs to a SerialKiller three decades ago and still houses its owner's spirit.
98	* ''VideoGame/Onryo2020'': The PlayerCharacter wields a camera that's capable of harming the hostile spirits.
99	* ''VideoGame/PowerBomberman'': Torooi's camera can turn bombs into random items. It selects them from the stage's item pool and [[PoisonMushroom bad items]] can sometimes be spawned as well.
100	* ''VideoGame/{{Snapshot}}'' is a puzzle platformer where you can photo an area of the level to cut and paste objects around.
101	* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'':
102	** ''VideoGame/DoubleSpoilerTouhouBunkachou'' has Hatate's camera, which has some sort of magical Google image search function that allows her to get pictures without actually taking them. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation In-game, the only difference between Aya's and Hatate's cameras are the zoom distance and charge speed]].
103	** In ''VideoGame/DanmakuAmanojakuImpossibleSpellCard'', Seija can equip a toy camera as one of her cheat items. It functions similarly to Aya's camera when equipped as main, and increases Seija's speed when used as sub.
104	** In ''VideoGame/HifuuNightmareDiaryVioletDetector'', Suireko's main ESP ability is her spirit cellphone camera, which works pretty much like Aya's camera, and is required to obtain photographs for her nightmare diary. Unlike Aya, she doesn't have a photo requirement and can just curbstomp the nightmares, but each is only considered "cleared" once she has managed to take at least two photographs before beating the boss. Which is sometimes harder than it sounds, since some patterns require liberal usage of her other ESP abilities, and especially short-range teleportation, but none really necessitate the camera unless you make it a point to incorporate it.
105	* Starting from the second chapter, ''VideoGame/{{Viewfinder}}'' has several fixed-view cameras that allow you to take the same reality-warping photos you've encountered and used in previous levels. Later on in the third chapter, you get access to your own portable version that you can use to solve puzzles.
106	* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', Joshua's [[SupernaturalPhone cell phone camera]] can take pictures of the past, and Neku's is later upgraded to be able to do the same.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Webcomics]]
110	* ''Webcomic/{{Achewood}}'' has the Mexican magical realism camera that shows how people perceive their true inner selves. This ends up forcibly outing Pat.
111	* About that camera capturing soul business: ''Webcomic/{{Minus}}'' did it. Then again, [[AWizardDidIt Minus Did It]].
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Web Originals]]
115	* The {{Creepypasta}} "Minor Corrections" by Creator/{{Slimebeast}} is about a mail-in photo lab that corrects any "mistakes" they notice in the photos they develop before sending them back to the customer. Namely, if the photo depicts somebody who died between the time the photo was taken and the time it was developed, they will alter it to reflect the person's current deceased state, with all the BodyHorror that implies. [[spoiler:They can also predict imminent future deaths. Unfortunately, the protagonist looked at the photo showing [[DrivenToSuicide his dad hanging from a noose]] just a few seconds too late to prevent it from actually happening.]]
116	* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
117	** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-978 SCP-978]] is an instant Polaroid camera that when taking a picture of a person, the photograph is not of that person but of what that person wants to be doing at that time.
118	** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-105 SCP-105-B]] is a camera which when a picture is taken with it by SCP-105 (Iris), the resulting photograph is in fact [[PortalPicture a window to the area photographed that 105 can reach through]]. She later demonstrates the ability to do this with other cameras as well, leaving it unclear whether 105-B itself is actually anomalous in any way.
119	** At one point an admin [[AppliedPhlebotinum applied]] various [=SCPs=] to create an [[MundaneUtility incredibly high-definition camera]].
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Western Animation]]
123	* In ''WesternAnimation/AngelsFriends'', Urie has a camera that can capture people's dreams. [[spoiler:It turns out to be very handy when Raf's friends need to prove her innocence by going through Raf's memories.]]
124	* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': Grim has a camera that can show a person's inner self. Mandy is shocked to see Irwin's picture shows he has a dark side. She actually starts returning his crush, but he snaps her out of it before her own inner self changes, because he loves her the way she is.
125	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/RekkitRabbit'', Jay uses a magic camera from Chakabrak to take some headshots of his mom and stepdad, Henrietta and Lorne before they audition for a music agent. Unfortunately, when Jay takes their picture with the camera on "Rock Star" setting, [[spoiler:it [[ForcedTransformation turns Henrietta and Lorne into a pair of grotesque monsters]] (according to Rekkit, all rock stars in Chakabrak look like monsters, making them literal monsters of rock)]].
126	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / MagicalCamera