A History of the Photographic Lens
Published on 22. November 1989
Book
Hardback
334 pages
978-0-12-408640-1 (ISBN)
Description
The lens is generally the most expensive and least understood part of any camera. In this book, Rudolf Kingslake traces the historical development of the various types of lenses from Daguerre's invention of photography in 1839 through lenses commonly used today.
From an early lens still being manufactured for use in low-cost cameras to designs made possible through such innovations as lens coating, rare-earth glasses, and computer aided lens design and testing, the author details each major advance in design and fabrication. The book explains how and why each new lens type was developed, and why most of them have since been abandoned. This authoritative history of lens technology also includes brief biographies of several outstanding lens designers and manufacturers of the past.
From an early lens still being manufactured for use in low-cost cameras to designs made possible through such innovations as lens coating, rare-earth glasses, and computer aided lens design and testing, the author details each major advance in design and fabrication. The book explains how and why each new lens type was developed, and why most of them have since been abandoned. This authoritative history of lens technology also includes brief biographies of several outstanding lens designers and manufacturers of the past.
Reviews / Votes
"This book is well illustrated, clearly written and a most useful source of knowledge about lenses. It will interest historians of photography, camera collectors and amateur photographers. For any first-time would-be buyer of a good camera, it will prove an invaluable aid." --NEW SCIENTIST"[Kingslake has written] an instructive and entertaining account of the development of lenses from the earliest simple double convex lens to the meniscus, to doublets and triplets, achromats and apochromats and even aspherics, and including the most elaborate telephoto and zoom lenses used today." --John N. Howard, OPTICS NEWS
"Kingslake has done an outstanding job of writing a readable book....
Rudy Kingslake is today's first name in optics. His new book belongs in every camera collector's library." --SHUTTERBUG MAGAZINE
"Rudolph Kingslake is eminently qualified to write this book...It is...a rich source of references to books, papers, and most importantly patents, where much of lens design knowledge is archived." --JOURNAL OF MODERN OPTICS
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
San Diego
United States
Publishing group
Elsevier Science Publishing Co Inc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Optical engineers and scientists with an interest in history, camera collectors, and photographers.
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
686 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-12-408640-1 (9780124086401)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Rudolf Kingslake
A History of the Photographic Lens
E-Book
10/1989
Academic Press
€54.95
Available for download
Person
Rudolf Kingslake (1903-2003) was a founding faculty member of the Institute of Optics at The University of Rochester (1929) and remained teaching until 1983. Concurrently, in 1937 he became head of the lens design department at Eastman Kodak until his retirement in 1969. Dr. Kingslake published numerous papers, books, and was awarded many patents. He was a Fellow of SPIE and OSA, and an OSA President (1947-48). He was awarded the Progress Medal from SMPTE (1978), the Frederic Ives Medal (1973), and the Gold Medal of SPIE (1980).
Content
Introduction. Meniscus Landscape Lenses. Portrait Lenses. Early Double Objectives. Optical Glass. The First Anastigmats. The Triplet Lens and its Modifications. Meniscus Anastigmats. Telephoto Lenses. Reversed Telephoto Lenses. Varifocal and Zoom Lenses. Catadioptric (Mirror) Systems. Lens Attachments. Brief Biographies. Appendix. A Glossary of Optical Terms.