The MINOX Personality
Fine-Art photography has been justifiably dominated by
"large-format" cameras, first by necessity, then by preference. Given
the time and conditions to set-up a 4x5 or 8x10 camera, and the
ability of the photographer to exploit it, the images
can have a quality not possible with smaller formats. Each camera and
format from an 8x11mm Minox to an 8x10 inch Deardorff produces a set
of opportunities and constraints which combine to form a
"personality". The advantages of each should be exploited and
expectations adjusted to the system's assets. One is not better than
the other, they are just different.
" If you like the camera, and the camera likes
you..." But, how do you know if the camera likes you?
Spontaneity. Images
triggered by an unexpected stimuli require:
- Availability. Small size. "Should I take a camera?" With the
Minox, this is not an issue.
- Simple controls. With EC, only adjustment is for film speed.
- Quick action. Pull, squeeze, push. Focusing rarely needed.
- Unlike the discipline imposed by the tripod and added
complexity of other formats.
"Quiet" operation.
- This is NOT an SLR! No mirror slap, very small moving mass in
shutter, very quiet, easy to hold steadily, unobtrusive.
View
- Extended "sharpness" range (depth of field).
Possessing qualities found in no other camera, the Minox
has a normal field of view, which
when coupled with extreme depth of
field, permits unique images that can only otherwise be
made using the various adjustments on a view camera. The f/3.5
aperture provides equivalent depth of field to f/64 with an 8"x10"
camera and normal lens.
Design
- Bright viewfinder with frame outline
- Parallax compensation
- Precision manufacturing guarantees best possible negative
- f/3.5 aperture allows higher shutter speeds for any
given light level, depth of field, and film speed.
Quality
- Lens quality found in even the earliest Minox cameras compares
favorably with today's best.
- Film plane accuracy. Mechanical film gate holds film in
precise registration.
- Enlargeability. My favorite photographic books, rarely have
images larger than 6x8 inches, well within the "fine print"
capability of the Minox.
If I cannot make good expressive photographs with the Minox,
a larger format will not help.
The SHARPNESS Trap
Much time is spent discussing lens and film resolving power and
sharpness. It is a trap which I have not entirely avoided. Time spent
with Alfred Stieglitz and his landmark publication "Camera
Work" will verify that there is more to photography than just
sharp images. The Minox, with current film, could technically
produce most of the images therein.
Great photographs may be obviously soft, or obviously sharp, or
both, and we accept them as such without need for further scrutiny.
An image should have impact for its expressive value and not even
raise a question of sharpness in the mind of the viewer.
Nobody has said it better than Ansel Adams in his admonition that
"... there is nothing more disturbing than a sharp
image of a fuzzy concept.".
I raise the issue of sharpness simply because of the continuing
discussion about the Minox's ability to produce sharp negatives. My
personal experience has convinced me that, within realistic
expectations of enlargement, the quality of the film and skill of the
photographer limit the image quality FAR MORE than the Minox camera
and its 8x11mm negative size.