Comments on: Understanding lenses: the book http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Thu, 23 May 2013 16:09:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: beforewepost http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1640784 beforewepost Wed, 30 Jan 2013 02:59:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1640784 Right. I was thinking of an image plane some fixed distance in front of the lens. Right. I was thinking of an image plane some fixed distance in front of the lens.

]]> By: Matthew Miller http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1640101 Matthew Miller Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:08:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1640101  Not so! Some of the photons may have taken much longer — particularly true if you have stars in your frame. Even our closest star is far away enough for the time distance to be dramatic.  Not so! Some of the photons may have taken much longer — particularly true if you have stars in your frame. Even our closest star is far away enough for the time distance to be dramatic.

]]> By: Matthew Miller http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1640100 Matthew Miller Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:07:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1640100  I will buy this book. Especially if it's really pretty and can sit on my coffee table. A bare-bones instruction manual kinda thing would be fine too, but that really might be better as a web site. The book should be inspirational.  I will buy this book. Especially if it’s really pretty and can sit on my coffee table. A bare-bones instruction manual kinda thing would be fine too, but that really might be better as a web site. The book should be inspirational.

]]> By: beforewepost http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1640059 beforewepost Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:18:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1640059 Lens are little time machines.  Every photon from the image  took exactly the same amount of time to reach the focal point regardless of which part of the lens the photon went through.  Who needs H.G. Wells when we have real time machines? :) Lens are little time machines.

 Every photon from the image  took exactly the same amount of time to reach the focal point regardless of which part of the lens the photon went through.  Who needs H.G. Wells when we have real time machines? :)

]]> By: xzzy http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1640039 xzzy Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:49:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1640039 Next up should be a book about making your own lenses. Nothing clarifies for you what a "focal distance" is quite like setting up a flashlight and ruler to measure it manually. There's technically enough information out there to do this if  you google, but it's pretty spread out and takes a lot of work to distill everything down to useful nuggets. Next up should be a book about making your own lenses. Nothing clarifies for you what a “focal distance” is quite like setting up a flashlight and ruler to measure it manually.

There’s technically enough information out there to do this if  you google, but it’s pretty spread out and takes a lot of work to distill everything down to useful nuggets.

]]> By: mccrum http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1640002 mccrum Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:37:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1640002 Unfortunately, the people asking these questions would never, ever bother to read a book, or even do a web search for their question.  It's much, much easier to say "I want to do weddings and make money, what kind of lens do I need for my camera?" Unfortunately, the people asking these questions would never, ever bother to read a book, or even do a web search for their question.  It’s much, much easier to say “I want to do weddings and make money, what kind of lens do I need for my camera?”

]]> By: penguinchris http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1639938 penguinchris Tue, 29 Jan 2013 11:14:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1639938 The book looks great, don't get me wrong, but anyone who has spent countless hours poring over catalogues, reading reviews, and arguing in forums looking for the perfect camera will know that just as much - more, actually - of all that is devoted to finding the perfect lens. Considering that despite there being a multitude of sites that try to offer information to decipher it all the same questions get asked in every photography forum multiple times a day about which lens to get, a book like this should actually be quite welcome to a lot of people. The book looks great, don’t get me wrong, but anyone who has spent countless hours poring over catalogues, reading reviews, and arguing in forums looking for the perfect camera will know that just as much – more, actually – of all that is devoted to finding the perfect lens.

Considering that despite there being a multitude of sites that try to offer information to decipher it all the same questions get asked in every photography forum multiple times a day about which lens to get, a book like this should actually be quite welcome to a lot of people.

]]> By: Joseph Francis http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1639915 Joseph Francis Tue, 29 Jan 2013 07:45:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1639915 And if you want a super simple starting point, before moving on to the book... http://www.digitalartform.com/lenses.htm And if you want a super simple starting point, before moving on to the book…
http://www.digitalartform.com/lenses.htm

]]> By: Matthew Miller http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1639812 Matthew Miller Tue, 29 Jan 2013 03:36:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1639812 The book does look nice. Those same questions (and others!) are <i>also</i> nicely answered at <a href="http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/lens?sort=faq&pagesize=50" rel="nofollow">Stack Exchange Photography</a>, all under CC-BY-SA 3.0. I mention this not in competition (I don't work for Stack Exchange!) but because if you're interested in this, you might find that site helpful too. And, y'know, Creative Commons, too. The book does look nice. Those same questions (and others!) are also nicely answered at Stack Exchange Photography, all under CC-BY-SA 3.0. I mention this not in competition (I don’t work for Stack Exchange!) but because if you’re interested in this, you might find that site helpful too. And, y’know, Creative Commons, too.

]]> By: Jim Saul http://boingboing.net/2013/01/28/understanding-lenses-the-book.html#comment-1639803 Jim Saul Tue, 29 Jan 2013 03:19:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=208654#comment-1639803 Inadvertently, I had a nice foundation in how lenses work by getting into photography by way of backyard astronomy, after a few rounds of obsessing over purchasing decisions on a limited budget and reconditioning used telescopes bought on Ebay, This looks like a great resource for filling in the gaps and moving to the next level. Inadvertently, I had a nice foundation in how lenses work by getting into photography by way of backyard astronomy, after a few rounds of obsessing over purchasing decisions on a limited budget and reconditioning used telescopes bought on Ebay,

This looks like a great resource for filling in the gaps and moving to the next level.

]]>