Very rich historical lens diagram resource and additional materials

[erian]

I found this amazing site Optique du 3ème Ordre (http://www.dioptrique.info/sommaire/sommaire.HTM) that contains a generous amount of various historical lens diagrams starting from early Wollaston and Petzvals.

The site is in French but very logical and easy to navigate.

If you want to supplement this with more modern analysis then I would like to recommend lens designer Kats Ikeda, Ph. D article The Ultimate Guide to Lens Design Forms (https://www.pencilofrays.com/lens-design-forms/).

If you want to have lens development history aspects enlighten better then I recommend wlungov (who is possibly a LF user (https://www.largeformatphotography.info/users-directory/people/wlungov.html)) historical series starting with the article The Petzval portrait lens (https://apenasimagens.com/en/the-petzval-portrait-lens/)

[RedGreenBlue]

I spent a few enjoyable hours of my day reading through only a portion of this material.

Thanks!

[Dan Fromm]

OP, I'm glad that you're sharing what you found. dioptrique.info is a fairly well-known site and has been mentioned here many times but mentioning it again can't hurt.

You and RGB may not be aware of all of this site's resources. The easily-found ones are on the site's FAQs and articles, which can be reached by clicking on LF Home Page. A link to a slightly harder to find resource is in the first post in the sticky "Where to find information ..." in the forum's lenses section. By an odd coincidence that won't bear close examination, it has had a link to dioptrique.info since it was first posted.

[Naej]

If you need someone to help you translate parts of the website, you can PM me.

I'm not the creator of this website, but my native language is French ;)

[erian]

OP, I'm glad that you're sharing what you found. dioptrique.info is a fairly well-known site and has been mentioned here many times but mentioning it again can't hurt.

You and RGB may not be aware of all of this site's resources. The easily-found ones are on the site's FAQs and articles, which can be reached by clicking on LF Home Page. A link to a slightly harder to find resource is in the first post in the sticky "Where to find information ..." in the forum's lenses section. By an odd coincidence that won't bear close examination, it has had a link to dioptrique.info since it was first posted.

Thank you for your supporting words. This is my first encounter with this site and I found it randomly while researching about one odd lens. I have not encountered it during my stay here. In fact my discovery order is opposite to the presented order and each discovery opened the world for me from very different perspectives.

[erian]

I spent a few enjoyable hours of my day reading through only a portion of this material.

Thanks!

You are welcome. I shared this because the same happened to me. It is a fantastic material.

[Nodda Duma]

I have a long-running project of converting all the designs on dioptrique into modern zemax format. Zemax is the most commonly used optical design tool...once converted, the database will be a resource for lens designers. I’m doing this with the blessing and thanks of dioptrique’s author.

[erian]

I have a long-running project of converting all the designs on dioptrique into modern zemax format. Zemax is the most commonly used optical design tool...once converted, the database will be a resource for lens designers. I’m doing this with the blessing and thanks of dioptrique’s author.

This is incredible. Do you need any help to automate your work?

[Nodda Duma]

There wouldn’t be much to help with until I get the prescriptions pulled into Zemax and then saved. That takes time to set them up properly, which includes identifying currently available glasstypes and ensuring the resulting design has the same characteristic as the original. It’s like 1000 mini-lens design efforts that just take time. Once they are all done, setting up an online database would be what I would need help with.