Photographic Lenses: Photographer's Guide to Characteristics, Quality, Use and Design [Paperback]

Ernst Wildi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

The camera lens determines, to a great extent, the quality of the image produced in any camera and must be a major consideration when selecting a camera and lens for serious work. This guide offers a complete, dedicated treatment of all types of lenses for all types of cameras, including digital. Explored in detail are the terminology of lenses, how different lens types function, the advantages and disadvantages of different types of lenses, and how the angle of view, aperture, shutter, and focusing abilities of a lens affect the photos taken with it. Photographers will also learn the basics of lens design, aspheric lens elements, retrofocus lenses, shift control lenses, image stabilizers, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A useful resource for understanding lens construction and what a lens is really capable of doing if it is built properly."  —ronmart.blogspot.com

About the Author

Ernst Wildi is the author of Achieving the Ultimate Image and Composition Techniques from a Master Photographer. He lives in Wachtung, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Amherst Media, Inc. (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584280581
• ISBN-13: 978-1584280583
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but overproduced., February 1, 2005

By 

Shock Writer (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Photographic Lenses: Photographer's Guide to Characteristics, Quality, Use and Design (Paperback)

This book gives a reasonably complete explanation of photographic lenses for the casual to moderate user. It has some decent explanations of various lens characteristics. I drop it to a 4 rating because it could have been better had the author used pictures purposely aimed at showing lens differences. Unfortunately someone in the advertising department must have gotten a hold of the production decisions and filled the book with cutesy stock-photo advertising type shots that dumb the personality of the book down to a coffee table type book rather than create the educational type experience it could have been. A shame such great information is presented like a PhotoShop retouched advertising brochure.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarifies confusing terms, among other things., August 17, 2002

By 

Marilyn Dalrymple "MaLing" (Lancaster, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Photographic Lenses: Photographer's Guide to Characteristics, Quality, Use and Design (Paperback)

If you have ever owned a Hasselblad you most likely have a copy of Ernst Wildi's The Hasselblad Manual - virtual bible for Hasselbald owners. Once again Wildi exhibits his mastery of photographic equipment in this book, Photographic Lenses: A photographer's guide to characteristics, quality, use and design. Have you ever confused depth of field with depth of focus? Wildi will set you straight. Clear diagrams, succinct, precise and clear writing and wonderful images abound in this 125-page volume. There is nothing left out of this book. Wildi discusses lens characteristics, understanding advertising claims, lenses for film and digital photography, lens specifications, focal lengths and zoom lenses. And those are just the first few subjects talked about in chapter one. Don't let the number of topics lead you to think that the subjects aren't covered thoroughly, though. They are. The information is clear enough for beginners to understand, informational enough for pros to learn something new. You can't go wrong with this volume.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I agree with seriously disappointed, September 11, 2010

By 

Yed Prior (NC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Photographic Lenses: Photographer's Guide to Characteristics, Quality, Use and Design (Paperback)

I agree with the review, Seriously Disappointed, so I won't restate what has already been said in that review, but I would like to give an example of why this book lacks good content. In chapter 4, Image Quality, the author discusses depth of field and in that discussion he tries to explain what Hyperfocal Distance is and it goes like this, "Any lens is set to the hyerfocal distance when the infinity mark on the focusing ring is opposite the aperture that is set on the lens." So far so good. " If you want to know the hyperfocal distance, look at the distance opposite the index mark. The minimum depth of field distance is found opposite the corresponding aperture marking to the left of the index." What?????? Now I must admit that my photographic knowledge is strictly as an enthusiast but I have seen better explanation of hyperfocal distance from Google searches........

I would guess the author uses a medium format camera since most of the pictures and diagrams are for this type of camera, which is usually purchased by the professional photographer. Why he thinks a professional photographer would need this type of entry level photography information is beyond me.

If you've been around 35 mm cameras for a few years, and you've learned to use them in the manual mode, as I have, you will find very little new information in this book. If you're new to the 35 mm SLR or manually setting your camera lens, you will find enough information in this book to thoroughly confuse you.

Save your money for a class on photography at your local community college. It'll be better spent!