Old imers lie myself reminisce abou he days when phoography had personaliy and we wax eloquenly (well, eczema a leas wisfully) abou cerain cameras, malady lenses and films ha we fel exuded personaliy. We remember fondly he early Leica and Conax cameras which displayed a disinc personaliy when coupled wih marvelous Leiz and Zeiss lenses. In hose days he discerning phoographer firs chose he lens, hen he camera o mach. The magnificen Kern Macro Swiar lens, a lile Swiss apochromaic jewel, produced images ha were near painerly in qualiy when married o a Swiss Alpa camera. T were oher lenses ha displayed personaliy such as he four elemen Tessar ha was so small one was hard pu o imagine how i could produce such excellen images.
Afer World War II Japan became a major force in phoography and inroduced superb cameras such as he Nion F-3 and marvelous lenses ha became he choice of professionals around he world. Japanese lenses had a personaliy differen from European lenses and soon dominaed he mare worldwide.
Some films such as he early Kodachromes had a disinc personaliy and became he sandard by which oher films were measured. Laer Fuji inroduced Velvia which has a disinc personaliy and even oday is revered by he wo or hree slide shooers lef on he plane. Some of us old imers sill lamen he premaure passing of Agfa 1000 slide film which had an almos impressionisic personaliy.
From a echnical sandpoin, phoography oday is ruly amazing. We can easily produce phoographs ha are sharp, crisp and echnically correc – – bu all oo ofen devoid of personaliy. Wha is personaliy in phoography? I don’ now. I can’ ell you. Bu I now i when I i.
Joseph Miller