Vade Mecum CD - Lenses

[Ernest Purdum]

There is a CD available, on eBay and elsewhere, which, to continue the Latin, is truly a magnum opus. Its some 700 pages contain an enormous amount of information on lens makers and their products. It should be noted that it is titled as a "Lens Collector's" resource and is not very useful for someone intending to purchase a new or recently manufactured lens. For this purpose, the large format lenses CD sold by View Camera magazine is much better. It could, however, be very useful for someone trying to discover whether or not an older lens might serve his needs.

This is an English product, and is strongest on lenses common on the UK market. Some makers have been much better at providing information than others and, quite naturally, this is reflected in the coverage in this work. There is a great deal of information about Schneider products, but little about Wollensak.

The format is PDF, requiring Adobe Reader to display. It comes with Version 3.1, but this is outdated and I chose to download Version 6. Downloading was a major pain, which apparently is a frequent occurrence, but worth the trouble. (It's also worth the price - free.) The amount of information provided is boggling. It is divided into three sections, the first being only the Adobe reader. Volume 2 includes a fourteen page Index of Names (pp. 381 to 395), sixty nine pages of lens diagreams (396 to 465) and 45 pages of illustrations (466 to 511). Volume 3 is easier to use, since it can be accessed by initial letter, while volume 2 requires going from A to Z by use of the page down button.

In a work of this size, there will inevitably be some mis-spellings, errors and even more omissions. I doubt, though, that these would cause much actual problem.

The cost, about $20.00. is modest and a portion of this goes to the hospice movement - a very good cause.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

The Vade Mecum is a great resource. It is intended to be not-for-profit and I have some reservations about how it is being currently marketed, even if a $6 contribution is being made to the hospice movement (which as far as I know is non-existant in the insurance-driven medical economy of the US). I wonder if it could be moved onto the web? It would make an IDEAL web resource.

[Ernest Purdum]

I don't know in what country the $6.00 is being donated, but I do know of hospices here in the United States.

[Tim Hicks]

The reason the Vade Mecum is not on the web is simply that Dr. Neill Wright who maintains it is not on the web. I have tried to persuade him of the benefits but he argues that he spends too much of his time in front of a screen already. Occasionally I and others pass on useful information from the web for inclusion in the Vade Mecum.

The Vade Mecum is a labour of love and Neill is very genuine but it is not a registered charity (UK charities have to go through a regsitratiuon process), he merely asks that re-sellers make a contribution to the Hospice movement. Neill certainly makes no profit from it and contributes many hours of effort.

If US users have additional data in areas where they feel the Vade Mecum has gaps, please pass it on to Neill. It can be passed to him indirectly via the webmaster of the MPP Users Club website - he contributes a lot to this LF club too.

As an example of a personal effort to share an interest in lenses with others it is an admirable effort.

[Colin Carron]

Like Tim I have tried suggesting to Neil Wright that he should put the Vade Mecum on the web - and with similar results. The CD is based on the work of Matthew Wilkinson who did from cancer in 1994 hence the request for donations to the hospice movement. The credits for people lending their precious lenses and knowledge to the project include most of the well known UK collectors. This probably explains the breadth and depth of information.

[QT Luong]

Maybe he could be convinced if someone else would do the work of formatting the contents for the web ? I am open to hosting it on this site and set up a paypal and/or amazon account for people to make volunteer donations to the charity of the author's choosing.

[Tim Hicks]

This is an excellent and generous offer from Tuan and I personally cannot think of a better place for the Lens data to be made available. I will contact Neill Wright in the next few days and see if he is willing to consider this option.

As Colin mentions the initial draft the Vade Mecum and much of the source information was pulled together by the late Matt Wilkinson and Neill has continued the effort and added a great deal. It is a credit to both of them.

I must stress I am just a friend of Neill's and I cannot speak on his behalf but I am sure he will applaud the aims of this forum and he will greatly appreciate the offer from Tuan.

[Dan Fromm]

Guys, I don't mean to be a wet blanket with respect to posting the Vade Mecum on the web, but it is a little on the large size for that. The disk I received contains 20 files totalling 332 MB. Even with a T1 or cable connection, downloading will take a while. Downloading is impractical with my home connection, which runs at 33kb/sec on a good day.

19 of the files I received, 121 MB, hold version 7.05.2001, which lacks the nice lens diagrams. And then there's one more file, 211 MB, that holds the 2nd edition with the diagrams. The second edition as I received it is copy protected, i.e., nothing can be cut and pasted from it.

As for the Vade Mecum itself, it is very useful. It is also highly idiosyncratic and in desperate need of a copy editor's attentions. And it is riddled with errors, some inconsequential, others not.

Cheers,

Dan

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

There are many ways of reducing the size of any file; the HTML version of the Vade Mecum would not necessarily have to have all the images. For instance, I made, in less than an hour of work, a 'lite' version of the Vade Mecum, without illustrations, in PDF format which is all of 68k. Adding the lens diagrams would not increase the size so much as to preclude it from being put in html.

In any case, while the Vade Mecum may be idiosyncratic, it is a wonderful resource, and by far the best available. I think the fact that this discussion is taking place is indicative of this.