Subjective is fine and seems to be prefered in this discussionI would like to contribute to this discussion but wouldn't be giving an objective opinion.
Subjective is fine and seems to be prefered in this discussionI would like to contribute to this discussion but wouldn't be giving an objective opinion.
Steven,
To me 'lens' sounds a bit less pretentious than objective, but on the other hand, 'glass' is a bit too casual for me.
So, somebody who takes photos uses a lens, a scientist uses objectives in his lab, and that jaded camera collector has all kinds of 'glass' which he rarely uses.
-Arne
A lens we can see through, that is not always the case with objectives.
The problem is that a "lens" is made up of lenses - it is not exactly easy to communicate about lens problems with English-speaking laymen.
As a user of cameras and a user of telescopes, I've come to realize that that the difference between a camera's objective lens and a telescope's objective lens (if it has one, not all telescopes, and not all camera lenses, have lenses) is moot: both can be used with a film holding body, and both can be used with an eyepiece (ocular) for visual observation whether terrestrial or heavenly. In essence they are all objective lenses (even those without lenses).
So what is proper usage? I don't think there is a well defined standard. Lately I personally have been referring to all objective and ocular lenses as "glass" because when I talk about them, the conversation invariably comes around to the quality of the glass used. A lot of photographers are taking very good images with mediocre (camera) glass, just as a lot of amateur astronomers do meaningful observing and excellent imaging with mediocre (telescope) glass. Those in the know, however, realize the glass can give a slight edge to the quality of the picture.
Just my humble opinion...
Brian
I was looking through my old photographic dictionaries and my 1911 copy freely uses both objective and lens interchangebly.
Common usage aside, there is still nothing wrong with using Objective and in literature that has to be precise, such as patents, it is still de rigeur.
Regards
Bill
A dictionary definition called up from Google just now says that an objective is:
"Also called object glass, object lens, objective lens. Optics. (in a telescope, microscope, camera, or other optical system) the lens or combination of lenses that first receives the rays from the object and forms the image in the focal plane of the eyepiece, as in a microscope, or on a plate or screen, as in a camera."
My first studio's name was "The Optimum Aperture". I thought it was a cool name that I found in a Leica catalogue and it looked good in Avant Garde type. The problem was that it was over everyone's head and the majority of the phone calls I got came from furnace manufacturers looking for injector orifaces.
Greg Lockrey
Wealth is a state of mind.
Money is just a tool.
Happiness is pedaling +25mph on a smooth road.
The word "lens" is very ancient and comes from the resemblance of the shape of a biconvex lens to that of a lentil.
We call it a lens because that's what it is!
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