Best resource to learn about lens designs

[wallrat]

I'm really interested in the older lenses. I'm curious what you guys recommend as far as resources for learning about the older designs and lenses available. I'm an engineer by trade, so reading "owners manuals" (as my wife calls all of my reading material) is not a bad thing :) I'm interested in anything, books (private & published), web resources, etc.

Thanks in advance,
-Bill

[John Schneider]

Any book by Rudolph Kingslake (former head of lens design for Kodak) will be great. My personal favorite, however, is the relevant chapter in Handbook of Photography by Henney and Dudley (e.g., http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Photography-Keith-Henney/dp/B000V77AYG)

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

I second John regarding Kingslakes's books.
Regarding old lens designs, "A History of the Photographic Lens" might be the first choice. Academic Press (1989) ISBN 0124086403
Contains little maths, but a great gallery of vintage lenses and short biographies of our beloved lens designers of the XIX-th and XX-st century.

Regarding the engineer's point of view, this book contains the basics of what optical engineers had to know, before the computer era. For those who want to know how a tessar design is computed "by hand" !
"Lens Design Fundamentals", 2-nd edition, Rudolf Kingslake and R. Barry Johnson, Academic Press (2009) ISBN 012374301X

Now for those who want to use an optical lens design software to simulate old lenses, this book is interesting
"Modern Lens Design", Warren Smith, McGraw-Hill Professional; 2nd edition (2004)
ISBN 0071438300


If you can read some French, I recommend Eric Beltrando's web site, with a collection of old lenses. From original patents, Eric Beltrando has re-computed their performance.
http://dioptrique.info/sommaire/sommaire.HTM

And you'll find an article dedicated to the Petzval lens, but there is a lot of text in French.
http://dioptrique.info/base/complements/petzval/petzval01.HTM
...........
http://dioptrique.info/base/complements/petzval/petzval08.HTM

[Arne Croell]

Here are a few more books with lens diagrams and some history:

Sidney F. Ray, Applied Photographic Optics, Focal Press, 3rd Ed. 2002 http://www.amazon.com/Applied-Photographic-Optics-HonFBIPP-HonFRPS/dp/0240515404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308594871&sr=8-1

Arthur Cox, Photographic Optics, Focal Press, 15th ed. 1974: http://books.google.com/books?id=nOw4AQAAIAAJ&q=arthur+cox+optics&dq=arthur+cox+optics&hl=en&ei=K5P_TavwGY76sgaAyKCrAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAg

If you can read some German:

Johannes Flügge: Das photographische Objektiv, Springer, Wien 1955: http://www.lindemanns.de/shop/fotobuchhandlung/64062f-johannes-fluegge--johannes-fluegge-das-photographische-objektiv.php?sid=4dff9393de3d8&direkt=10&ruck=/shop/fotobuchhandlung/uusuch4dff9393de3d8.php&anker=ank0&iproj=limainst&wspez=1

Hans Harting: Photographische Optik, 4th ed, Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig 1948. Harting was the inventor of the Voigtländer Heliar and other lenses.

And there is some information on specific lens lines in these articles that I wrote (in English): http://www.arnecroell.com/articles

[wallrat]

I second John regarding Kingslakes's books.
Regarding old lens designs, "A History of the Photographic Lens" might be the first choice. Academic Press (1989) ISBN 0124086403
Contains little maths, but a great gallery of vintage lenses and short biographies of our beloved lens designers of the XIX-th and XX-st century.

Regarding the engineer's point of view, this book contains the basics of what optical engineers had to know, before the computer era. For those who want to know how a tessar design is computed "by hand" !
"Lens Design Fundamentals", 2-nd edition, Rudolf Kingslake and R. Barry Johnson, Academic Press (2009) ISBN 012374301X

Now for those who want to use an optical lens design software to simulate old lenses, this book is interesting
"Modern Lens Design", Warren Smith, McGraw-Hill Professional; 2nd edition (2004)
ISBN 0071438300


If you can read some French, I recommend Eric Beltrando's web site, with a collection of old lenses. From original patents, Eric Beltrando has re-computed their performance.
http://dioptrique.info/sommaire/sommaire.HTM

And you'll find an article dedicated to the Petzval lens, but there is a lot of text in French.
http://dioptrique.info/base/complements/petzval/petzval01.HTM
...........
http://dioptrique.info/base/complements/petzval/petzval08.HTM


Awesome, thanks. The French shouldn't be too bad. I know a bit, and Google's Chrome plugin for language conversion does a decent job. I greatly appreciate the links. Headed to amazon for the books now.