There are so many optical systems that are out there. Why is one lens type used over the other? What lens design for do I need for this system? What lens design alternatives should I consider? Can I use this lens somewhere else? What if we don’t know where to start with the lens design, […]
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The Ultimate Guide to Lens Design Using the Classic Spreadsheet Method
Conceptual lens design by the masters, without using expensive software, but a spreadsheet Introduction to the General Theme About this guide (and how we can use a spreadsheet in lens design) This guide will tackle how lens design was done before optical design software on computers were invented, which I will call the “classic” method […]
What’s in a Name? Where Camera Companies Got Their Names
I love my cameras. I love my Pentax ME. I love my Leica M2. These camera companies have been around for decades, and certainly before I was born. I wonder, where do these camera company names came from? It turns out the established names in the industry, the names on the cameras we learned to […]
What’s in a Lens Name? The Famous Lens Names
I love lenses. I love the ray diagrams I can build with the specs, I love the history, and I love all the possibilities that lenses can do for the betterment of the world. I also love the lens names themselves, because the names engraved on the front rings of the lenses we use every […]
What’s in a Name? The Optical Words We Use Every Day
What’s in a name? More to the point, what’s in a name for optical terms? Specifically, the words we use every day as lens designers. Have you ever stopped to wonder where they came from? It would be a shame to ignore the reasons behind the words and terms we use every day, because the […]
The Eras of Optics: A Tour Through the People Who Built the Field
I like “eras.” These are named chunks of time. I live in Japan, and we use the Common Era (CE) notation alongside the Japanese calendar — 令和 (Reiwa) 2019–present, 平成 (Heisei) 1989–2019, 昭和 (Showa) 1926–1989, 大正 (Taisho)1912–1926, and 明治 (Meiji) 1868–1912 for modern Japan. Each had its distinct flavor — we still sometimes refer to […]
Remembering John Greivenkamp
I wanted to take a moment to share some personal reflections about Dr. John E. Greivenkamp, whose passing we mourned in 2022, but whose impact on optics education continues to resonate in ways both profound and deeply personal. It has been a few years after his passing, and I felt compelled to write this now. […]
Aachen Polymer Optics Days 2022 conference report. This time I presented!
I participated in an overseas conference and gave a presentation. This was the first time I went overseas since the pandemic. The whole experience was a mix of excitement, concern, restlessness, and happiness. Let me explain. This was my first overseas trip of any kind since the pandemic As it was for everybody, 2020 and […]