[pentaximus]

K1000

Click here to read

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Last edited by pentaximus; 08-23-2011 at 11:07 AM. Reason: Fix link

[Zygonyx]

Note that the Apple I-phone and Sony SLT 55 are in the top 12 too...

[pentaximus]

I don't know enough about camera history to honestly critique the list. Seems to me the Spotmatic/K1000 were equally "influential."

I do agree with the inclusion of the iPhone. It has been revolutionary on many fronts and photography is among them. The ability to capture a decent image and share it instantly was, and still is, very powerful.

[falconeye]

K1000

Click here to read

Thanks for the link.

Interesting to read that the pentaprism was introduced with the Ihagee Kamerawerk, Steenbergen & Co., Dresden Kine Exakta Varex in 1950.

Actually, this isn't quite correct. It was introduced with the Contax S by VEB Zeiss Ikon, Dresden in 1949 (East Germany). If anybody is wondering how such a break through innovation could come from a communist country ... well, the Contax S started in 1938 and was delayed for obvious reasons. And Ihagee and Zeiss cooperated so both viewfinders are basically one invention.

So, I looked up where the name Pentax is coming from. It is from the 1957 Asahi Pentax SLR (before that, it was Asahiflex), two years after the first Japanese pentaprism camera.

So, I wondered how Japan could copy this innovation from Germany w/o patent issues. Well, Jenő Dulovits from Hungary patented the porro prism in 1943. But if the Contax S originates back from 1938, then all associated patents became free for anybody to use after WWII. This may explain it.

[Zygonyx]

Thank you Falk for your always so interesting inputs.

Today is imho an other evolution-breaking date, with the announcement of the Sonys A77 and A65... opening a credible alternative to the "old prism" you speak about...
I am sure the current Sony innovation, with all it's advantages, will mark up the photography history.

[UdonUdon]

Note that the Apple I-phone and Sony SLT 55 are in the top 12 too...

Well, it's not like the camera industry stopped making extremely influential cameras these days, and those two cameras are very influential with one having a huge sociological influence and the other with a huge technological influence.

[lithos]

One, Apple products, as usual, can go and die in a fire. They weren't the first to put a camera on a phone, and I'm sick of lazy-arse hacks using "Apple" as a synonym for "anything technical." More people own 'Droids.

Two, why does everyone think Sony invented the pellicle mirror? Why does no one see the disadvantages of such a system?

Other than that, good list.

[lithos]

So, I wondered how Japan could copy this innovation from Germany w/o patent issues. Well, Jenő Dulovits from Hungary patented the porro prism in 1943. But if the Contax S originates back from 1938, then all associated patents became free for anybody to use after WWII. This may explain it.

Or, more likely, it was on the same submarine with all the other technical information the Nazis were feeding Imperial Japan during the war.

Asahi made bombsights during the war, probably local designs early on, then German.

[Zygonyx]

One, Apple products, as usual, can go and die in a fire. They weren't the first to put a camera on a phone, and I'm sick of lazy-arse hacks using "Apple" as a synonym for "anything technical." More people own 'Droids.

Two, why does everyone think Sony invented the pellicle mirror? Why does no one see the disadvantages of such a system?

Other than that, good list.

I think we both agree.
The main innovation for Sony is the new EVF of more than 2M dots in the A77/65 SLTs, not the pellix.

[Blue]

Thanks for the link.

Interesting to read that the pentaprism was introduced with the Ihagee Kamerawerk, Steenbergen & Co., Dresden Kine Exakta Varex in 1950.

Actually, this isn't quite correct. It was introduced with the Contax S by VEB Zeiss Ikon, Dresden in 1949 (East Germany). If anybody is wondering how such a break through innovation could come from a communist country ... well, the Contax S started in 1938 and was delayed for obvious reasons. And Ihagee and Zeiss cooperated so both viewfinders are basically one invention.

So, I looked up where the name Pentax is coming from. It is from the 1957 Asahi Pentax SLR (before that, it was Asahiflex), two years after the first Japanese pentaprism camera.

So, I wondered how Japan could copy this innovation from Germany w/o patent issues. Well, Jenő Dulovits from Hungary patented the porro prism in 1943. But if the Contax S originates back from 1938, then all associated patents became free for anybody to use after WWII. This may explain it.

They also perpetuated the myth that the K1000 was basically a Spot F with a k-mount which is erroneous. The Spot F had DOF preview, and timer making it more like a KM. What Asahi Optical did in 1957 with the release of the 'AP' was put the pentaprism, m42 mount and instant return mirror together in a compact package and forced Nikon and Canon to quit the Contax/Leica rangefinder clones.

[civiletti]

DSLT? not so significant, I believe. How about the first motor drive, zoom lens, built in light meter?

[falconeye]

Thinking about it, I think the Polaroid is missing in the list, too.

[falconeye]

I'm sick of lazy-arse hacks using "Apple" as a synonym for "anything technical." More people own 'Droids.

I am actually sick of Apple haters.

I really understand how one can oppose the Apple hype. It is too much, I agree. And Apple is not as nice as it could be.

But .... and it is a big but!

In this world of management execs looking 3 months ahead if at all, where "product development" consists of making yet another variant of the well known, Apple is one of the rare and refreshing exceptions where product development is what it once meant to be, a 3-5 year adventure with high risk to fail. Maybe not so uncommon in the Black Forest but everywhere else.

And it is not about single inventions you may find earlier and elsewhere. It is about the combination of many inventions into something which in its entirety, is a ground breaking thing.

An example is the web after Mosaic. Another example is the iPhone. Sorry to say but we all have to accept this as truth.

After all 'Droids are nothing but iPhone copies which wouldn't exist w/o Apple. We all would still suffer with Nokias, BlackBerries and Windows CE. Btw, there may be more 'Droids sold than iPhones. But more owners? Probably not as a 'Droid is replaced at each new release or it starts to suck.

[aurele]

for me Polaroid was much more revolutionnary than Apple.

Apple didn't invent anything about on-phone cam, they just make it easier to use.

Polaroid made the photo easier, funnier, and "hype" at the time with their unique process.

Polaroid really miss in this list.

[Rondec]

One, Apple products, as usual, can go and die in a fire. They weren't the first to put a camera on a phone, and I'm sick of lazy-arse hacks using "Apple" as a synonym for "anything technical." More people own 'Droids.

Two, why does everyone think Sony invented the pellicle mirror? Why does no one see the disadvantages of such a system?

Other than that, good list.

I personally don't think the iphone belongs on the list either, but Apple took the image quality of cell phone photos to a different level. The older cell phone sensors and lenses were horrible. You could hardly tell what you had taken a photo of afterward. Current I Phone photos are really decent quality, certainly as good as point and shoots were four years ago.