What do I truly hate about DSLRs? Menus. Particularly menus I need to consult for ISO settings and/or white balance. Buttons marked ISO and WB with direct access do me fine. But what do I really want? A comfy, rugged, gem-like compact, four-control, digital Leica 1(A). You can leave off all the ornamental stuff. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
Herbert Keppler, Like a Leica (Popular Photography, August 2007, pp.50-51)
Herbert Keppler
Keppler on the truth about lenses
Some of the truths about lenses for “prism reflexes” by Herbert Keppler in his book, Keppler on the Eye-Level Reflex (1960).
- No two lenses, even if they are the same aperture, the same focal length and the same make, are exactly alike in performance.
- The best camera and lens makers, while producing the best lenses, also let a number of “dogs” get by (in error, we hope).
- While no lens is perfect, some few lenses are capable of astounding performance.
- A company which produces one astounding lens is quite capable of making another which is equally as bad as the first is good.
- Almost no lens made for single-lens reflexes delivers its best performance at full opening. Almost all produce better results at f/5.6 and f/8.
- The quality of lenses can only be discussed in comparison with other lenses since there is no practical-to-use standard of optical perfection.
Keppler on collecting
Among the many things I resent about digital imaging is the slamming of the door on one of my favorite hobbies, camera collecting. Aside from getting a discontinued model cheap to use as a backup, can you tell me why someone would be excited about buying an obsolete digital camera for any purpose other than to use as a doorstop?
Herbert Keppler, On the joys of collecting. (Popular Photography & Imaging, August 2007)
Crafting Pixels 