Re: [Leica] Erwin's Book

["Logan Reinwood" <reinwood007@hotmail.com>]

Hi fellow luggers,

I got my Erwin's book yesterday... and spent "all" night reading (part of 
it) it.
It is really a great book. It's a book where you learn a lot of things, not 
like almost all book about leica where they only add together the leica data 
sheets and catalog from 192x to 2000.

I would have expected more comparisons between the lenses because each lens 
report tells you that the lens is "really a good lens". For
example a table with the vignetting, flare resistance, etc.

Nick made a good review, it is right that there are still some typos
e.g., caption of a figure 35 1/1.0 Asph but nothing really disturbing.

Have fun reading it,


logan.



>From: Nick Poole <nick.botton@camphill.org.uk>
>Reply-To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>Subject: [Leica] Erwin's Book
>Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 17:32:15 +0000
>
>Dear LUG Friends,
>
>My copy of Erwin Puts' book 'Leica Lens Compendium' arrived yesterday
>and I spent a long, happy evening dipping into its pages to gain a
>first impression. Here are a few thoughts which emerged.
>
>Let me say at the outset that it's an absolutely enthralling read -
>and not only for lovers of Leica glass hoping to find confirmation of
>the superior quality of their chosen equipment! They'll find that in
>abundance, of course, but its relevence extends beyond the Leica
>brand. Anyone interested in the difficulties and challenges of
>attaining a theoretically possible optical design within the
>practical limitations of the grinding, polishing, assembly and QA
>stages of lens manufacture may be astonished at the complexities
>involved. I know, as we all do, that the standards Leica sets itself
>are high, but I had not fully appreciated the painstaking care - and
>indeed the time - it takes to produce lenses to these standards. The
>extraordinarily tight tolerances almost beggar belief, but it
>certainly is not all automated CNC machining and robotic assembly by
>any means. The manufacture is largely computer controlled, of course,
>but it still requires a human operator to interpret machine drift and
>adjust for such variances as they occur. Now, for the first time, I
>have a glimmering understanding of why these lenses command such high
>prices (and, by inference, some of the production woes of the 35-70
>Vario-Elmarit-R ASPH), and I feel less inclined to be critical of
>occasional shortcomings. The optical and mechanical achievements of
>Leitz/Leica over the years are indeed very real, as we all know, but
>the details make a fascinating story nonetheless.
>
>Perhaps the most impressive thing about this book (as opposed to the
>lenses it describes) is Erwin's success in writing what might have
>been a technical manual, with page after page of MTF graphs and
>optical data, in a manner that is completely accessible to the
>non-specialist reader. Behind each lens assessment must be sheafs of
>test data, impenetrable to all but the optical engineer or physicist.
>Yet each description succeeds in presenting the analysis in plain
>English (and without the florid adspeak of some Leica brochures;
>often hilarious in translation!). This is a breath of fresh air to
>those who, like me, have a passionate interest in the subject but
>lack a specialist background because the depth of information that
>can be gleaned has not been sacrificed, as far as I can tell. For
>example, much can be inferred on the topic of boke (a LUG
>preoccupation if ever there was one!) from descriptions of the
>changes in out of focus characteristics of Leica lenses in the slow
>evolution of their optical designs over the years. It seems to me
>that an enormous wealth of experience and knowledge has been brought
>to bear on many aspects of the subject which I'm sure will repay
>hours of close study.
>
>One, perhaps minor, criticism that can be levelled at the book is the
>poor quality of its editorial control (and I say this as a book
>publisher, so you'd expect me to notice!). Far too many typographical
>errors have been overlooked in the proof-reading - which may not
>worry most readers, I suspect - and the choice of body typeface is
>not inspired. More pertinent however, is that the figures showing the
>light paths through each lens system are reproduced as rather crude,
>bitmapped images which look pretty rough alongside other (vector)
>diagrams whose lines are crisp. This makes it hard to tell at a
>glance which are glass elements and which are 'air' lenses between
>them. Perhaps the drawings were hurriedly scanned without conversion
>into vector artwork to save on costs, but they do detract from the
>overall quality of a book whose subject is, after all, about quality!
>(On the other hand, they tell us far less than the text, so maybe
>this is not an issue for most people.) We know publication was
>delayed so as to include the latest products from Photokina, but it's
>a pity all the same.
>
>Apart from the minor carping (which you can all happily ignore), I
>highly recommend this extraordinary book. It is a real labour of
>love, and I hope others will share my enthusism for it, and in my
>thanks to Erwin.
>
>For those of you across the pond who may wish to get a copy, it is
>distributed in USA by Silver Pixel Press, 21 Jet View Drive,
>Rochester, NY 14624 (and before you even ask - No, I have never met
>Erwin Puts and have no connection with him whatsoever. My motive for
>this post is nothing more sinister than simple admiration for his
>having completed a Herculean task on all our behalfs!)
>
>Best wishes, and happy reading!
>
>Nick Poole.

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