MTF and SQF

By Bob Atkins

Part 6: Books and Reference Material

If you're interested in lenses, optics, resolution, MTF, lens aberrations and associated subjects, the best way to learn more is from a book.

The problem with recommending books for further reading is that they tend to fall into one of several categories, all of which have problems:

• Technical books which are good, but tend to get into differential and integral calculus by the 3rd or 4th paragraph.
• Simple books which are so simple that they don't say anything worth readings
• Good books which are out of print, expensive and hard to find
• Technical books which are good but which were written 30 years ago or more
• Expensive college level textbooks

By now you will have noticed the book listing in the column on the left. If I had to pick one book which deals with resolution and image quality it would be the book "Image Clarity" by John B. Williams.It's written at a level that most people can understand. It deals with practical issues as well as the theory and the math is held to a minimum. Unfortunately it's out of print and used copies sell for more than the original cover price (which at around $60 wasn't cheap to start with). So you can get a copy (used), but it will likely cost you $80 unless you find it in your local used bookstore, when it might be in the $5 bin! I don't think there were very many copies printed, so it's not easy to find.

A couple of older books which deal with the basics of optics, lenses, aberrations etc. on a level which doesn't need a Ph.D. are those by Conrady and Fowles. Their advantage is that they are cheap - because they were written 30 years ago. However optics are optics and not that much has changed!

"Modern Optical Engineering" by Warren J. Smith is a classic - it was written in 1966. Being a textbook aimed at scientists and engineers it's not light reading, but it's a good book which can often be found pretty cheap in used bookstores. It not too hard to find since it was widely used in college courses.

If you're looking for books which are more about photographic lenses than general optics then the two books "Optics in Photography" and "A History of the Photographic Lens" by Rudolf Kingslake may be useful. Rudolf Kingslake was Director of Optical Design at Kodak for many years.

The links on the left will take you to Amazon, and many of these books are available from them new (or from their associates, new or used). In fact many of the books are ONLY available used!

© Copyright Bob Atkins All Rights Reserved
www.bobatkins.com

Canon EF 16-35.2.8L