History: camera obscura

manku kacma? manku kumfa?

The words mean literally "dark room", but although a darkroom is a dark room, it is not a camera obscura.

--
kacma: x1 is a camera/photographic equipment recording illumination type x2 images to media x3

A camera obscura is a camera which, by direct optical means, displays its image rather than recording it. One translation is kacma fi noda (though some people might suppose you'd left your film at home).

• That should be kacma fi zi'o; anything (such as a tree) which has nothing to record images on kacma fi noda. --phma
  • The discussion of kacma fi noda became somewhat extended.
• The lujvo for kacma fi zi'o is zilcibykacma

We don't need to make up Lojban words to exactly match English words. A camera obscura where you walk in and the image is projected on a wall could be a kumfa kacma "room camera" or a kacma je kumfa "camera and room". The kind used by artists to help in sketching could be a "drawing aid", and so on. There are many ways to say any given thing; choose one that says what you want.

mi'e jezrax