Gustavson, Todd. Camera: A History of Photography From Daguerreotype to Digital, New York, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4027-5656-6.
George Eastman House - 360 pages including index.
Richly illustrated brochure about the camera accessories which were used by our forefathers.
White, Robert. Discovering Cameras, 1945–1965.: Shire Publications. 1st edition 1995, reprinted 2001. ISBN 0747802983.
122 pages, competent brief introduction of cameras in the twenty years since the end of WWII.
White, Robert. Discovering Old Cameras, 1839–1939. Buckinghamshire (UK): Shire Publications. 1st edition 1981, 2nd ed. 1984, 3rd ed. 1995, reprinted 2001. ISBN 0747802661.
183 pages, a fine document, not as many illustrations as in other publications, but several fine photo prints added. A not too brief British guide to amateur photography from the end of the great era of British cameras.
Roger Hicks. 1984 Focal Press. 198 pages. ISBN 0 240 51233 2.
The book covers the critical period of the 35mm still camera's development - 1912-1967 - and explains the technology that has changed our view of the world.
Wade, John (ed). The Hove International Blue Book: Price Guide and Handbook for Collectable Cameras. UK: Hove Books, 14th edition, 2003. 623 pages. ISBN 1874707367.
Interesting rarity scale for each camera. Contains a lot of inaccuracies, like listing a camera Yashicamat 635 while the picture above the text shows a TLR with aYashica 635 nameplate. (p.553). Lists Flektogon and Biometar lenses as Flektagon and Biometer (p.270) etc.
298 pages, a comprehensive illustrated reference for almost all the Kodaks with an appendix for Hawk-Eye, Premo and Folmer & Schwing cameras.
Matanle, Ivor. Collecting and Using Classic Cameras. London: Thames & Hudson, 1986. First paperback edition, 1992. ISBN 0-500-27656-0.
McBroom, Michael McBroom's Camera Bluebook: The Complete, Up-To-Date Price and Buyer's Guide for New & Used Cameras, Lenses, and Accessories, Amherst Media, Inc, 2000, 6th Edition, ISBN 1-58428-013-1.
The leading reference work in English for historical cameras. The most recent 12th edition is 1248 pages long and claims over 10,000 cameras are illustrated. Descriptions of camera models can include features, dates, accessories, and historical significance, making the description "price guide" somewhat too modest. The paper-bound edition weighs about 6.5 lbs. or 2.9 kg. The name McKeown is related to the name "McEwen" and the pronunciations are similar.
W. E. Dobbs and Charles A. Savage. Your Camera And How It Works, London, Chicago and New York: Ziff-Davis, 1946.
130 pages, Guide to cameras of the 1930s: large format to 35mm miniature cameras, old style SLRs to modern press cameras, lenses and shutters, well illustrated, excellent book to learn the photographic terminology as it was developed 100 years after the invention of photography, in the era of the legendary "prewar" classic cameras. Written by Instructors of the Department of Photographic Technology of the Athenaeum Mechanics Institute, Rochester (N.Y.).
Also see the category American periodicals.
Very thorough treatment of the brand, good at tracing other cameras' influence on Argus products. Dutifully slogs through even the late Argus-labeled Chinese imports.
Bluth, Hans and Schlegel, Gert, Das Linhof Kamera Buch, Peter Bauernschmid (Publisher), second revised edition, München, 2000. No ISBN stated, not published under the name of the authors. Text in German and English.
Wildi, Ernst. The Hasselblad Manual: Second Edition. Focal Press London, 1982, (1st Edition 1980), ISBN 0-240-51186-7.
van Hasbroeck, Paul-Henry, The Leica A History Illustrating every Model and Accessory Sotheby Publications UK & US, 1983 ISBN 0-85667-171-1.
Barringer, C. and Small, M. Zeiss Compendium East and West — 1940–1972. Small Dole (UK): Hove Books Ltd., 1999 (2nd edition). ISBN 1-874707-24-3.
The British Camera 1840-1960. The Jim Barron Collection. Auction catalogue. Christie's, South Kensington, 11 December 2002.
Second edition: Jean Loup Princelle, Made in USSR: The Authentic Guide to Russian and Soviet Cameras, 2nd Edition, 2004, Le Reve Edition. ISBN 2-9522521-1-4.
Tunec, Jan Czech cameras, Bratři Bradáčové and Optotechna. Published by: Nakladatelství Jakoubě, 2006, no ISBN. Interesting booklet on the development of Czechoslovak TLR cameras, from the Bradac brothers to Optotechna.
A large, clothbound book that presents a photograph of and a little very dry text (in both Japanese and English) about each of thousands of cameras. (The Japanese title means "illustrated catalogue" and is more accurate.) Hundreds of these cameras are obscure, giving the impression that the book is comprehensive. It is not: there are glaring omissions among even cameras that are well known (e.g. the Fujica G690 and its interchangable-lens successors). There are also some odd mistakes, many of them concerning the Roman (mis)reading of Japanese names. (The book is acknowledged to be a major resource for McKeown's Guide, and some of its mistakes — such as attributing the Mine Six to "Takamine" instead of Takane — are reproduced there.) While the book should be used with care, it is cumulatively very informative and a remarkable achievement; and it is greatly enlivened by the informal and irreverent asides scattered here and there. Although now (late 2006) out of print, new copies are still available at some retailers (e.g. JCII Camera Museum) for the original (high) price; the price of used copies is sometimes lower than this, more often higher (sometimes with the predictable if dubious claim of rarity).
A large and handsome paperback, whose title page reads From a translation by William and Amy Fujimura of Nihon Camera No Rekishi / Published by / The International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House / For / The Japan Camera and Optical Instruments Inspection and Testing Institute. One wonders what this translation was like. The book consists of sixteen chapters, each originating from an article by one of the following authors: Tanaka Yoshiro, Suzuki Hachiro, Tanaka Masao, Miyabe Hajimu, Shirai Tatsuo, Saeki Kakugoro, Ogura Iwao, Hibi Takashi and William Fujimura. After extensive editing by Lewis, the finished book is most interesting and well written, but it is unfortunately marred by a lot of minor errors. The book supersedes a 1984 exhibition catalogue from the International Museum of Photography, The Evolution of the Japanese Camera (although the minority of cameras in the earlier publication that are shown in photographs are shown larger and more clearly than that for any camera in the later one).
A clothbound book in a simple slipcase that presents a photograph and a very few facts about each of over seven hundred cameras, from 1903 to 2003. Most are innovative in some way (often only a small or merely gimmicky way, and sometimes innovative only among Japanese cameras rather than cameras in general). A very few are presented with no claim of innovation but because of their reputation, sales or both; there are surprising omissions, such as the original Asahi Pentax. The terse text is in both Japanese and English (the latter not always completely understandable), the Japanese (but not the English) also appearing in the camera database (archived) of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology. This book has no ISBN and perhaps is only sold at and from the museum (for ¥3500). The museum shows it here; however, the site seems to presume that anyone interested in buying it would be living in Japan and would order via fax.
A large book on the Canon rangefinder cameras, from the Kwanon onwards. Bilingual: the text is in Japanese and (largely but not completely) also in an English translation that is sometimes not fully idiomatic but is clear enough. It has a lot of material (particularly on lenses and accessories) that is not covered by Dechert, but this is in Japanese only. Although he politely cites Dechert's earlier work, Miyazaki seems curiously unaware of its content; for example, he does not mention that there are two very different (and easily distinguishable) versions of the Canon 7s (for the later of which Dechert coined the name "7sZ"). The book seems to have gone out of print rather quickly and is not easy to find in Japan, let alone anywhere else.
A compact, highly informative, and excellently written book that provides a detailed history of Canon's Leica-inspired cameras, and brief looks at other aspects of the company and its products. Dechert goes into enough detail to satisfy earnest rivet-counters, but also clearly enjoys using some of the cameras; the book thus gives plenty of information about how the equipment holds up in use, and thus a copy is an excellent investment for anybody wondering whether or not to buy this or that Canon with the intention of using it rather than merely sticking it in a display cabinet. Used copies of the book are now (2007) often described as "rare" by more optimistic or unscrupulous dealers; meanwhile, new copies are being sold at the modest list price by dealers such as Andrews (Teddington, suburban London).
A book on Nikon rangefinder cameras, lenses and accessories. More detailed books have been written on the subject since, including some by the same author, but it remains an excellent compact source of information.
St Denny, Douglas, Cameras of the People's Republic of China. Leicester, UK: Jessop Specialist Publishing, 1989. ISBN 0-9514392-0-0.
Describes lenses and optical systems for photography, film, video, electronic and digital imaging.
Very detailed listings and data on Canon lenses with photographs, charts and production figures, etc.
Dallmeyer, J. H., On the Choice and Use of Photographic Lenses (online), E. & H. T. Anthony & Co., New York, NY 1874.
This is a public domain work which from which content can be directly used within the wiki without copyright concerns. A short book (32 pages) containing advice for portrait photographers in their choosing of an appropriate lens. The more useful part of the book today is the extensive section of advertising that follows the main content. Some ads include woodcut illustrations of early photographic businesses, others mention specific brands or models of early lenses, a few even include illustrations of actual early lenses and cameras.
Taylor, J. Trail, The Optics of Photographic Lenses (online), Macmillan & Co, 1892.
This is a public domain work which from which content can be directly used within the wiki without copyright concerns. An illustrated practical guide that collects technical accounts previously appearing in The British Journal of Photography and contributions to other camera clubs and societies. There is also original content written specifically for the book.There are chapters covering basic optical science as understood at the time, covering topics like achromatic lenses, spherical aberration, meniscus lenses, lens distortions, Jena glass, and lens flares. There are also chapters talking about how lenses are made.
A wide range of information on selecting and using 35mm SLR lenses including camera-maker brands as well as 3rd party lenses. In some cases the authors provide some history of various manufacturers or specific lenses and dub some lenses as "cult classics". This book is frequently quoted in online lens research on several web sites.
Wolf, John C. The Vivitar Guide, Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., New York, NY, 1980 ISBN 9780871650658.
Extensive documentation on the families of lenses and accessories available from Vivitar ca 1980. This includes the first generation Vivitar TX mount lenses, the concurrent Vivitar fixed mount lenses, and the first generation Vivitar Series 1 lenses. The book also include information on other lens and camera accessories available from Viviar in 1980 including a large table of filter types and sizes.
Neblette, C. B., Brehm, Frederick W. and Priest, Everett L. Elementary Photography, New York: MacMillan, 1936.
253 pages. Hardcover. Ilustrated. Designed for schools, clubs as well as for individual self-instruction. Contents: Unit one: Introduction to photographic practice. Making a pinhole camera, picture taking with a pinhole camera, developing the film, making the print, mounting the print. Unit two: The camera. How the picture is made, about lenses, picture taking with hand cameras. Unit three: Making negatives. Preparation of developing and fixing solutions, the theory and practice of development, judging the quality of a negative, defects in negatives. Unit four: Making prints. Printing papers and their choice, more about printing, making enlargements, more about mounting, making lantern slides. Unit five: Purposeful photography. Making the most of the modern films, picture taking at home, picture taking at night, picture taking at school, photography with the microscope. Written by instructors of the Department of Photographic Technology of the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (New York) and by the Principal of the Rensselaer Falls High School (New York).
Tucker, Anne Wilkes, et al. The History of Japanese Photography. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-300-09925-8.
An unusually large and lavish catalogue for what must have been a major exhibition. Quite rightly, the vast majority of this book is about the photographs themselves and very little of it is about the cameras used for these photographs. But in addition to its discussion of aesthetics, the book contains a considerable amount of material on the social, economic and political history of photography in Japan, and thus the early history of the Japanese photographic industry, which reached adolescent vigor while exports (and even sales to foreigners within Japan) were negligible. The book has a number of informative and valuable appendices. The production is up to Yale University Press's usual excellent standard.
A history of photographic processes, cameras and photographic artistry, written by the former curator of the Kodak Museum, Brian Coe. The newer illustrated edition is enriched tastefully with a lot of examples of images of some of the most famous photographers. The only weakness of the book is that the era of photography's final popularization around 1900 is described very kodak-centrically.
A history of colored photographic images, from water-colored Calotype images of 1840 to the Kodachrome Professional slides of 1940, written on the base of the rich knowledge of one of the best popular authors on photography technological topics, Brian Coe.