Camera Technology,: The Dark Side of the Lens [Hardcover]

Norman Goldberg was Modern Photography's senior technician in the 70s-80s before it was acquired by Popular Photo. His job was to take apart new cameras and dissect their technical features, and he did an outstanding job. You just cannot find such expertise easily.

Dark Side of The Lens(DSTL) is a textbook on camera technology. Covered are classic mechanical types to more modern ones with autofocusing. Emphasis is on the mechanical and electronics aspects, but there is also a wealth of tech info on lens technology. It is not a book for casual browsing, the reader will benefit most if he has a background in electronics, optics or engineering similar to NG's.

Profusely illustrated with CAD diagrams and concisely explained by NG, this book is worth much more than its modest price. It deserves its place of honor in any camera lover's bookshelves.

The only sad thing: what are we going to do when NG (now in his 80s) is no longer around? Like Marty Forscher, NG is a legend in his own time.

I have read this book twice, once back in 1992 when it was published and again recently to bone up for this review. It is a rare and remarkable work in which Mr. Goldberg summarizes a lifetime of studying the insides of cameras, or as he puts it, "the dark side of the lens." Clearly the author has a singular talent for describing and illustrating the complex mechanisms and control systems that have transformed consumer cameras into marvels of clever, intricate engineering.

The main body of the book comprises seven chapters covering focusing, exposure, time lags, viewfinders, film support, hardware, and testing. Each section abounds with mechanical and optical detail conveyed via lucid descriptions keyed to superb illustrations. This is not a book for the casual prospective camera buyer, but rather a valuable reference work for people who enjoy understanding in detail the way things work. Goldberg also provides fascinating historical perspective on how difficult technical problems have been solved in stages by ingenious designers. "Camera Technology" was written too early to cover the recent digital revolution, but a surprising amount of its content is still relevant today. After all, cameras still have bodies, lenses, diaphragms, shutters and viewfinders supported by extensive autofocusing and autoexposing subsystems. And the single-lens reflex (SLR) is still the premier configuration for professional as well as serious amateur photographers.

I think the strongest distinguishing feature of this book is the skill with which the author personally produced nearly all of its many illustrations and diagrams. From the look of the graphics, I would guess that he used a bit-mapped application similar to Apple's classic MacPaint program. Such software, while capable of many useful artistic effects, was not designed with technical applications in mind. Nevertheless I was repeatedly impressed by Goldberg's uncanny ability to illustrate intricate mechanisms and sophisticated concepts with admirable clarity. And because author and illustrator are the same person, the correlation between text and graphics is virtually perfect. An excellent example would be Figure 2.10, an isometric (simulated 3D) illustration of a Leica style three-axis focal-plane shutter and its mechanically coupled film transport components. I would call the figure a masterpiece of essentially freehand drawing on a computer.

This book presents the technical side and history of the working components of (mostly) 35mm cameras. There are sections on shutters, aperatures, etc. There are many illustrations but I agree they are a bit spotty in quality. I enjoyed the book a lot.