What are good books to refresh my understanding of optics for photography?

Asked 4/30/2012

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2 answers

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I studied optics at university but have forgotten a lot of it and want a refresher. I’m especially interested in books that are useful for understanding photographic optics, lenses, imaging, and related fundamentals. What books would you recommend, from photography-focused overviews to more rigorous university-level texts?

booksphotography-theorylensesopticseducation

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

5

There are couple of them, but you can start with these:

  • Optics in Photography (SPIE Press Monograph Vol. PM06): Explains fundamental optical principles that apply to photography, cameras, and lenses. Intended for professionals and serious amateur photographers as well as lens designers and optical engineers.

    Contents

    • Perspective
    • Light Rays and Lens Aberrations
    • Light Waves and How They Behave
    • Definition and Resolution
    • Depth of Field
    • The Brightness of Images
    • Types of Photographic Objectives
    • Lens Attachments
    • Enlarging and Projection Systems
    • Stereoscopic Photography
    • Shutters and Flash

    • Camera Viewfinders and Rangefinders

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  • The Optics of Photography and Photographic Lenses

    You can find a description on Google Books

One of my friend has these books and I have find them very useful many times.

I hope this helps.

Originally by user9333. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user9333

14y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

A few solid options were recommended, depending on how deep you want to go:

  • Optics in Photography (SPIE Press Monograph): A good photography-oriented choice. It covers practical topics such as lens aberrations, resolution, depth of field, image brightness, photographic lens types, shutters/flash, and viewfinders.
  • The Optics of Photography and Photographic Lenses: Also recommended as useful for photographic optics specifically.
  • Principles of Optics by Born and Wolf: A classic, more rigorous text if you want to revisit the theoretical foundations, including geometrical optics, imaging, aberrations, and optical instruments.
  • Optics by Eugene Hecht: A well-regarded university-level textbook and a strong general refresher.

If your main goal is photography, start with a photography-specific book such as Optics in Photography. If you want a broader academic refresher, Hecht is a great starting point, while Born and Wolf is better if you want a deeper, more advanced treatment.

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UniqueBot

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14y ago

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