Wayne Posted October 7, 2016 Share #41 Posted October 7, 2016 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Being fairly new to Leica- three or four years- and not qualified, in any way, to criticize the knowledge level of one individual over another, I offer the following...to any who may be in my shoes, and wondering about Irwin Puts' books: His books are unique and very readable. My favorite, so far, is Leica Practicum. I pack it whenever I go on the road, knowing, each night there will be an hour or so to give the book my full attention. Puts' writing is thoughtful and informative, but does not flow like a dime-store novel. I attribute this to the fact that he is attempting to relate complex ideas in a language not his own. If you have ever read Whitney's translation of Soltzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, you will get what I am speaking of. On the up side of this complex literary challenge, you get the benefit of receiving, in English, thoughts and interpretations from a person, not Anglo. His writing sometimes forces me to view the subject matter in ways unfamiliar; I am not certain if it is because of new approach, or just his unique capacity for translation from German to English. At any rate, if you are interested in photography, Puts' writings are, thorough, unique, and worth consideration.....You should have no trouble re-selling the book, should you decide you do not like it. I have ordered my copy of the new book. Edited October 7, 2016 by Wayne 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 7, 2016 Posted October 7, 2016 Hi Wayne, Take a look here Erwin Puts, "Leica Lens Saga" - Book. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
derleicaman Posted October 10, 2016 Share #42 Posted October 10, 2016 At least his English is far better than the (supposedly professional) translations we see in LFI. As for proof reading, yes, getting rid of typos and twisted grammar is not a job an author should tackle himself. We all tend to be blind to our own mistakes. You are absolutely correct on this. I have spent many hours with Erwin some years ago while visiting with him at Photokina. Long before these books were written. He has an incredible amount of knowledge on the subject of optics and incredible insight into the process of lens design as practised at Leica. I had scheduled him to speak at the LHSA annual meeting in Chicago in 1999. Unfortunately, Erwin fell ill and would up in the hospital literally minutes before he was to speak. Hopefully, he can make the Chicago meeting next year to speak to us. You could say I am biased, but the information contained in his books is not available anywhere else. Yes, it is hard going, but worth it. My copy of the Compendium has more book markers in it than any other book I have ever read as I go from one subject/section to another. There is no other comparable reference book on this subject. As they say, the proof is in the pudding. Easy to criticize, but try doing it yourself. As editor of the LHSA Viewfinder, catching all of the typos, etc. is the hardest part of my job, and sometimes it is a bit hard when you are in the middle of the forest to see the trees! I did publish one of Erwin's articles some years ago, and editing it was no easy task. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhoh7 Posted October 15, 2016 Share #43 Posted October 15, 2016 (edited) I find his style of writing hard going and some of the points he makes are inaccurate at best and often just silly! Each to their own of course. TL;DR I may not buy the book, but Puts is a treasure. Edited October 15, 2016 by uhoh7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted October 18, 2016 Share #44 Posted October 18, 2016 Being fairly new to Leica- three or four years- and not qualified, in any way, to criticize the knowledge level of one individual over another, I offer the following...to any who may be in my shoes, and wondering about Irwin Puts' books: His books are unique and very readable. My favorite, so far, is Leica Practicum. I pack it whenever I go on the road, knowing, each night there will be an hour or so to give the book my full attention. Puts' writing is thoughtful and informative, but does not flow like a dime-store novel. I attribute this to the fact that he is attempting to relate complex ideas in a language not his own. If you have ever read Whitney's translation of Soltzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, you will get what I am speaking of. On the up side of this complex literary challenge, you get the benefit of receiving, in English, thoughts and interpretations from a person, not Anglo. His writing sometimes forces me to view the subject matter in ways unfamiliar; I am not certain if it is because of new approach, or just his unique capacity for translation from German to English. At any rate, if you are interested in photography, Puts' writings are, thorough, unique, and worth consideration.....You should have no trouble re-selling the book, should you decide you do not like it. I have ordered my copy of the new book. Well, actually he is Dutch, not German. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulus Posted October 18, 2016 Share #45 Posted October 18, 2016 Well, actually he is Dutch, not German. Let's put Waynes " mistake " into perspective. Dutch is the language of the Netherlands, and German is the language of a country which borders the Netherlands, which is only a few hundred kilometers broad. German is called Deutsch in German, which sound like the word " Dutch " with an extra i : Duitch. I do not know the difference in language between Ohio and Kentucky. Erwin is a nice guy who speaks and reads Dutch and German quite well, so maybe he thinks in German also a little during his translations onto English. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted October 18, 2016 Share #46 Posted October 18, 2016 I am of a generation that makes a strict distinction... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 18, 2016 Share #47 Posted October 18, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) Since Erwin has just asked to become my friend on Facebook, it would be very rude not to buy his new book Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrycym Posted October 25, 2016 Share #48 Posted October 25, 2016 My book has just turned up along with an invoice for the remaining cost. It's not worth it to pass any comment regarding the contents. It does look nice though - am I allowed to say that? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 25, 2016 Share #49 Posted October 25, 2016 I hope my copy will be along soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McMaster Posted October 25, 2016 Share #50 Posted October 25, 2016 My copy was delivered today john Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedaes Posted October 25, 2016 Share #51 Posted October 25, 2016 My copy was delivered today john +1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianman Posted October 27, 2016 Share #52 Posted October 27, 2016 Mine arrived today... just 2 days after ordering, not bad. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted October 28, 2016 Share #53 Posted October 28, 2016 Mine is somewhere in the depths of our postal system, since it was to be sent last week. scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 28, 2016 Share #54 Posted October 28, 2016 Mine arrived two days ago. I am having to keep a face flannel in the fridge to put on my forehead to cool my brain while reading it. Fairly dense chewy stuff but lots of gems contained in the text. Wilson 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rramesh Posted October 28, 2016 Share #55 Posted October 28, 2016 Just received the book. What a wealth of information. An absolute must read for Leica lens owners. Information not readily available elsewhere. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted October 29, 2016 Share #56 Posted October 29, 2016 Can somebody more expert than me please explain? On page 57 he talks about "accelerating and decelerating" light rays. I always thought that the speed of light was a constant... Actually I think that he means phase shifting here... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted October 29, 2016 Share #57 Posted October 29, 2016 Can somebody more expert than me please explain? On page 57 he talks about "accelerating and decelerating" light rays. I always thought that the speed of light was a constant... Actually I think that he means phase shifting here... No, it isn't. The speed of light depends on the density of the medium it travels in, and it travels fastest in a vacuum. The refractive index of a glass directly depends on the speed the light reaches within that glass. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 29, 2016 Share #58 Posted October 29, 2016 The speed of light in a refracting medium such as glass (or more accurately, the phase velocity) equals the speed of light in a vacuum divided by the refractive index. Wilson 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted October 29, 2016 Share #59 Posted October 29, 2016 Remember Snell's Law. When a wave (like light) passes across an interface between two media in which it travels at different speeds, it will bend to make the high and low spots match at the interface. That's why you see things displaced when looking through an air/water interface and it is how lenses work. Presumably, he is talking about how light is accelerated and decelerated as it passes through the different types of glass used in a modern lens. scott 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodies Posted October 29, 2016 Share #60 Posted October 29, 2016 And what is the rate of acceleration/deceleration and does it vary from glass to glass? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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