09 January 2011
Perfection
12/01/11 18:51
A number of years ago, during the introduction of the Leica MP in Lyon, France, the Leica management gave everyone a present, the book ‘Le petit Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. A most interesting remark by the pilot and writer is this one about perfection; perfection is not attained when there is nothing more to add to something, but when there is nothing left that can be removed. The MP fitted nicely in this definition. I personally would have left out the exposure metering, but then we have the M3 again. And who on earth can guess the exposure or use an exposure meter with speed and certainty. The M9 T is another example of Leica trying to search for perfection by shedding as many options as possible. I can think of several functions in the M9 that could go: JPEG is one such option that nobody should use, but I have to admit that current processing delivers excellent results. It is however against the mind of the purist that some program does what the photographer should do. Being a fan of Western movies, I admire the sentence that a man has to do what a man has to do. (kill the villain and save the damsel of course).
Current technology and current reviews of apparatus follow the opposite path. A product is only acceptable when as much features as possible are available. The usual lists of advantages and disadvantages show in the disadvantages column a list of features the product does not have.
Many reviewers of the iPad will tell you that current technology introduces products of which you did not knew that you needed one. THis is human follows technology. The better idea would be that technology follows human desires.
The Leica M designers asked what features do photographers need and not what features can we incorporate given current technology. The Fuji X100 is a fascinating project because it balances between what is possible and what is needed. This is in fact the battle between the marketing department and the engineering department. Engineers are by nature reluctant to use the most recent innovations, because they are not proven in practice. Marketing people are more inclined to look at the competition.
What is really lacking at this moment in time and the CES does amply demonstrate it is the vision. Apple and Google certainly have visions how to control the world, but that is not what I am talking about.
Any car can transport you from A to B. And any camera can take pictures. A Porsche does it differently from a BMW. LIfestyle and driving experience are elements in this equation of efficient transport and desirable experience. Photography is not only about results (the pictures) but also about the way the pictures are being made. The fascination for vintage cars and motorcycles and cameras (dwindling to say the least) derives from this fact: these products had character because the designer team had a specific vision of what a car or camera or motorcycle had to do.
In that glorious past there was a big difference between a Nikon F2 and a Canon F1 in style and personality and view. Today the Nikon and Canon top cameras are an exercise in looking for differences.
Hopefully someone will remember the definition of perfection.
Current technology and current reviews of apparatus follow the opposite path. A product is only acceptable when as much features as possible are available. The usual lists of advantages and disadvantages show in the disadvantages column a list of features the product does not have.
Many reviewers of the iPad will tell you that current technology introduces products of which you did not knew that you needed one. THis is human follows technology. The better idea would be that technology follows human desires.
The Leica M designers asked what features do photographers need and not what features can we incorporate given current technology. The Fuji X100 is a fascinating project because it balances between what is possible and what is needed. This is in fact the battle between the marketing department and the engineering department. Engineers are by nature reluctant to use the most recent innovations, because they are not proven in practice. Marketing people are more inclined to look at the competition.
What is really lacking at this moment in time and the CES does amply demonstrate it is the vision. Apple and Google certainly have visions how to control the world, but that is not what I am talking about.
Any car can transport you from A to B. And any camera can take pictures. A Porsche does it differently from a BMW. LIfestyle and driving experience are elements in this equation of efficient transport and desirable experience. Photography is not only about results (the pictures) but also about the way the pictures are being made. The fascination for vintage cars and motorcycles and cameras (dwindling to say the least) derives from this fact: these products had character because the designer team had a specific vision of what a car or camera or motorcycle had to do.
In that glorious past there was a big difference between a Nikon F2 and a Canon F1 in style and personality and view. Today the Nikon and Canon top cameras are an exercise in looking for differences.
Hopefully someone will remember the definition of perfection.
CES 2011
09/01/11 19:48
The worldwide sales volume in 2010 for the consumer electronics branch is 873 billion dollars (664 billion Euro) an dis supposed to increase by 10% in 2011. This is primarily a television market, where Hollywood is dominant, but where all products are made in China. Hopefully Hollywood content can bring more cash than Chinese products, otherwise the USA will be without money soon. There is a widespread assumption that every new product is an improvement and that every change makes life better. THis is an underlying conspiracy that unites hardware manufacturers, software developers, journalists and dedicated followers of the gadget cult. Photography is now completely incorporated in the consumer electronics market. Individual photographers may continue to work in the classical tradition of photography as a separate industry and culture, some would even claim a distinct art-form.An iPad is a gadget and so is, in the eyes of the market researcher a camera. The gadget cult is a silent combo between the media and the electronics industry. The CES had hardly any interesting products that would have any impact in the photographic culture. In a market where excitation of the digital hormones is the norm, photography is a sideshow. Smarter, more versatile cameras do not make a better photographer. Jaron Lanier wrote a book last year, You are not a gadget, (a must-read for every concerned individual), in which he states that more technological development will diminish the human values.
Photography was once the prime medium for documenting human values and the human condition. The cameras were as simple as possible, the photographers were equipped with a keen eye and empathy. Remember the times when photographers objected to the introduction of exposure automation in a professional camera because it would not help the photographer making better imagery. What is wrong with an exposure meter or even guessing the exposure?
There is nothing inherently wrong with technological progress as long as we can identify the true advantages. CES is being visited by 120,000 persons and 5000 journalists and bloggers who will fill 5000 channels with repeating what everybody already has been told and knows. The really bad assumption is the idea that quantified information is true information. If many people tell you the same thing. it must be true! And the more often a piece of information is being repeated in the blogosphere the more it will be trusted.
This is the so-called wisdom of the crowd. Do you remember the products that got the innovative prices of the CES in previous years. They are forgotten or did not even made it to the market.
It is time to stop evolving into a gadget and reflect on what a true photograph should be. The current hype about the Fuji X100 is such an example. There are some interesting ideas in this camera (if they really are going to work which is questionable), but the basic question would be: does it help me make better pictures. I remember the time when the Contax G1 was introduced. For a short time every respectable photo-journalist had one on his shoulder to show that they were modern, but a few months later no one even did talk about the camera. Hyping the X100 is one thing, but a sober reflection on its future is a better option. Lanier might be right: do we want to be gadgets or humans?
Photography was once the prime medium for documenting human values and the human condition. The cameras were as simple as possible, the photographers were equipped with a keen eye and empathy. Remember the times when photographers objected to the introduction of exposure automation in a professional camera because it would not help the photographer making better imagery. What is wrong with an exposure meter or even guessing the exposure?
There is nothing inherently wrong with technological progress as long as we can identify the true advantages. CES is being visited by 120,000 persons and 5000 journalists and bloggers who will fill 5000 channels with repeating what everybody already has been told and knows. The really bad assumption is the idea that quantified information is true information. If many people tell you the same thing. it must be true! And the more often a piece of information is being repeated in the blogosphere the more it will be trusted.
This is the so-called wisdom of the crowd. Do you remember the products that got the innovative prices of the CES in previous years. They are forgotten or did not even made it to the market.
It is time to stop evolving into a gadget and reflect on what a true photograph should be. The current hype about the Fuji X100 is such an example. There are some interesting ideas in this camera (if they really are going to work which is questionable), but the basic question would be: does it help me make better pictures. I remember the time when the Contax G1 was introduced. For a short time every respectable photo-journalist had one on his shoulder to show that they were modern, but a few months later no one even did talk about the camera. Hyping the X100 is one thing, but a sober reflection on its future is a better option. Lanier might be right: do we want to be gadgets or humans?