Carl Koch, Inventor of the Sinar System, Passed Away
By Shutterbug Staff February 6, 2006 — We are sad to announce that Carl Koch, inventor of the modular Sinar camera system, died in late December at the age of 89. This Swiss photographer and inventor introduced the revolutionary Sinar camera in 1948. Koch’s primary motivation was to offer professional photographers the latest technical refinements. He was steadfastly successful with the logical implementation of his life’s motto: “What can be done better, shall be done better”.

Additional milestones were the automation of the camera with the introduction of a universal shutter for all lenses, selective exposure metering at the film plane and the simplification of camera settings.

The education of the new generation of professional photographers was also a major concern to Koch. He authored a series of textbooks and guidelines for professional photography, of which Photo Know How’—a self-teaching course for professional photographers that was translated into many languages including Chinese and Russian—became a worldwide standard text. To this day, Koch’s principles still guide the philosophy of Sinar, the company that he founded. The world of professional photography mourns the passing of one of its great pioneers.