Vincent Oliver, over at photo-i.co.uk sat down for an video interview at the Photokina with Henry Wilhelm from Wilhelm Research and got Henry’s take on what’s exciting about pigment inkjet printers from the past couple of years. In particular, he mentions the new HP z2100 and z3100, and its self profiling ability. Then he discusses pigment based ink printers in general and their advantages over dye based inks:
Permanence of pigment based inks.
Water resistance.
Quick color stability, no shifts occur after a few days, allowing for tightly controlled color management.
Pigment inks have now caught up to dye based inks in color gamut, and vibrancy, Wilhelm says. Some other points that he makes:
Color photography in the 1870s had already used pigments. This wasn’t possible with silverhalide printing, though pigments offered a greater longevity. Now, it’s as if things have come full circle.
As for investors and those who buy photographs, if the choice is a color silverhalide print or a color pigment inkjet print, then the color pigmented inkjet print is the winner in terms of longevity.
Color pigment inkjet prints offer permanence, which wasn’t possible with silverhalide. This is a dramatic shift in photography.
Photographers who work in color are making there own prints again. During the the days of black and white only, the print was often done by the photographer and was seen as an essential part of the artistic process. But when color came along and the printing process became much more elaborate and costly, those who worked in color began sending their negatives to a printer, and the direct connection between photographer and print was lost. Now, Photoshop and inkjet printers allow the photographer to do their own prints agian.
Alec Soth’s blog led me over to the notebooks of William Gedney online at Duke and to a nice definition of documentary art that Gedney quotes in one of his notebooks from John Swarkowski:
“A documentary art work must appear to be unmanipulated, literal, clear, complete, and easy; it must not allow its art to show; it must not be obviously elegant or ornamental; it must at least pretend objectivity.” — link (bottom left page)
That’s a clear definition, and good enough. Cuts away some from what could be considered documentary art, but doesn’t get too specific, which would only lead to the trouble of being, you know, too specific, and leaving out what could be considered documentary art. Better to define what something isn’t, rather than what it should be.
Alec Soth dove into blogging a couple of weeks ago has already addressed topics like parenting and being a photographer, how he finds his subjects, and the controversy brewing around a photograph taken by Thomas Hoepker on 9/11. Alec even reprinted an email he got from Hoepker on that subject. Surprisingly, for someone who already has a lot to do, Soth’s blog is written thoughtfully. He takes the time to solicit and respond to comments from his readers. A photographer blogging casually about his interests and reacting in an public forum to comments from those who have interest in his work is a rare treat for other photographers. Got a technical question about what film Soth uses, if he traveled the whole length of the Mississippi for his project Sleeping on the Mississippi, or if he uses digital cameras? Just ask.
There are a few video reviews out there now of the digital Leica M8 from the Photokina. I’ve seen a few and this one answers a few questions users may have. Michael Reichmann’s Photokina video blog takes a look at the M8 and concludes that the camera itself is what everyone hoped for—an solidly built M camera worthy of the M tradition. The body feels as solid as any other Leica M. He then gives a quick tour of the LCD menu and essential controls, which seem classy and uncluttered, and then lets loos and starts snapping pictures. The shutter doesn’t seem too loud.
If you want to download a few sample DNG files taken with the M8 to check out the quality, just go over to Lightmeditation over here. (Direct links to the pictures here and here.) I don’t think Leica wants anyone to show images taken with the M8 for a few more weeks. Till then, it’ll be slim pickings on images. Shipping date is supposed to be mid to late October.
Last Friday, Leica finally introduced it’s digital version of the Leica M rangefinder camera, the Leica M8, newest in the line-up after the Leica M7 and MP. Whether or not this camera will produce an image with the qualities that have made the Leica M famous isn’t really clear yet from what I have found in the few reviews out there and in the forums. The build quality sounds like it’s top-notch. It accepts the same M lenses (you’ll need to apply a factor of 1.33, a 35mm lense will be a 46mm lense on the M8). The Kodak CCD sensor (KODAK KAF-10500) was developed especially for the M8. From Kodak’s press release,
“With a resolution of over 10 million pixels, the KAF-10500 continues Kodak’s legacy of offering high performance imaging devices that leverage Kodak’s Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) technology for low noise, high sensitivity, and wide dynamic range. Utilizing a 6.8µm pixel architecture, the sensor uses an optimized microlens configuration to maximize center to corner uniformity for improved image quality, particularly important for the broad incident light angles associated with M series lenses. The sensor also includes anti-blooming protection to prevent against image corruption during high light level conditions.”
Excerpt from Reid Reviews M8 review at luminous landscape
The M8 discussions over at rangefinderforum.com have been covering all sorts of issues. It’s the looks to be the place to go if you’ve got any questions.
Mcnamara at PopPhoto sez their lens tests are the best cause they use an optical bench. Consistent objectivity. I’ll keep that in mind next time I read a lens review.
» PicLens toggles online images to fullscreen. For Mac (Safari only). Click on a picture from Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, or Ask.com image search, and get a fullscreen image instantly. Can then cycle through images in fullscreen mode.
» Photoshop LAB black and white conversion Martin Fuchs gives a nice explanation of his PS action (download is free). As good as it gets without buying a plugin.
