12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Five star book, 3 star reproduction quality, June 11, 1999
This review is from: A History of the Photographic Lens (Hardcover)
This classic book on the large format photography lens is a must for serious enthusiasts. I have used my local library's copy so much that I decided to buy the book. Boy, was I let down when it came from Amazon.com. It turns out that this is a poor quality reproduction, the original plates having been lost by Academic Press. The text and line drawings are OK, but the halftones stink, and I am disappointed that I paid $51 dollars for this book. It should be described on the Amazon web page as a reproduction-grade book and should be priced at $24.95.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great resource for someone entering medium- or large-format, April 16, 2001
This review is from: A History of the Photographic Lens (Hardcover)
If you've moved from 35mm photography to medium format, you are no
longer confronted with lenses called "Minolta 28-70mm/2.8
G," but rather Tessars, Planars, and Super-Angulons. In medium
format, you're still limited to using lenses provided by the
manufacturer of your camera, but if you move to large format, where
almost any lens can be used on any camera, things become really
convoluted. In short, lens manufacturers give names to their designs
in much the same way that car manufacturers give names to their
products.
Kingslake provides a history that will help the
photographer unravel the advantages of different lens designs as well
as serve as an excellent resource to the classic lens collector.
Diagrams are provided for most significant lens designs up to the
1980's. There are chapters on optical glass and lens attachments. Be
warned that about a third of the 300+ pages are biographical sketches,
with portraits, of important figures in the development of the
photographic lens. This may be of value to some, but less to others.
There is also a very useful, separate, index of lens names, and a
glossary of many of the technical terms used. (Although the index
seemed to leave out some names, such as Protar, which ARE discussed in
the book!).
I didn't find the quality of this printing
objectionable, as did another reviewer. In fact, most of the figures
are line drawings, and aren't really subject to bad
reproduction.
Now for the inevitable complaints.
Kingslake assumes
that the reader has some knowledge of lens design, or at least of
common aberrations. I may get his Fundamentals of Lens Design soon,
but would hate to have to read it as a prerequisite to reading
History. A short chapter on aberrations and lens design would be of
great advantage. The glossary explains some of the terms, but could
use figures to great benefit. The author could use a note indicating
that the subject is to the left and image to the right in the diagrams
(perhaps a convention for opticians, but less likely to be known to
many readers of this book). Likewise, the chapter on optical glass
would be more useful if introduced before discussing the lens designs.
Perhaps cross-hatching on the diagrams or some scheme could be used to
indicate glass densities. Lastly, some lenses designed since the book
was published may now be considered classics, and a reprint with more
lenses would be nice (where is the Tele-Xenar? How about the
Tri-Elmar?)
Even with the minor complaints, I found this book very
informative and useful. It will remain next to my computer for
contributing to lens discussion on newsgroups and for looking up those
classic lenses that appear on auction sites.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kingslake's "History": an essential guide to lens history, October 29, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: A History of the Photographic Lens (Hardcover)
Rudolf Kingslake's "History of the Photographic Lens" is not only one of the most informed histories of lens design, but also serves to remind photographers, amateur and professional alike, of the value of older lens designs, largely abandoned in this "modern" computer age. Not only will everyone whose interest in photography far outreaches their credit line or bank account enjoy this retired lens expert's chronicle, the book will also serve to recommend some of the very same optics, still available today, for those wiling to experiment with the vast range of used photographic lenses on the market. The value of my own images relies, in part, on the knowledge that certain designs, such as the Dagor or the Protar can still be used to advantage in larger formats where the need to enlarge is minimal or nonexistent. While some reviewers would like to se the more information on later developments in photographic lenses fom the second half of the century on, I am glad that this text is still in print and hope it shall remain so. rk.
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