Since its early days, the camera has been both tool for and subject of scientific research. Developments in photochemistry, construction, and lenses made it an extremely successful mass medium, while also serving research as a key medium for observation, documentation, education, and communication. A major technical library holds vast collections in its archive, among them the complete, so far only little examined, holdings of a dedicated institute that operated as an independent service and research unit for nearly a century. A rich selection is presented, ranging from astronomical and micro imagery to laboratory situations and carefully illuminated experimental installations, with an introductory essay investigating the interplay between the medium and the world of research.