A panoramic camera
Sutton patented a panoramic lens in 1859 while based at St Brelade, Jersey. It used a water-filled glass optical structure and curved wet-plate negatives to cover a wide field. A camera made around 1861 and held by Museums Victoria was manufactured by Thomas Ross in London; its catalogue distinguishes Sutton’s design from the maker’s work.
References: [1]
The three-colour demonstration
In 1861 Maxwell commissioned Sutton to photograph a tartan ribbon through coloured filters. Separate monochrome images were projected through matching filters and superimposed. The demonstration reconstructed colour by adding coloured light rather than recording a complete colour image directly on an ordinary monochrome plate.
Photography in the field
Sutton’s panoramic design was also used for field recording. Museums Victoria identifies its camera with Richard Daintree’s Victorian land-survey work in 1864 and holds associated curved glass negatives. This application addressed the width of a photographed scene, a different problem from the reconstruction of colour.
References: [1]