This process has continued and here we have the ninth edition of 2000, surely one of the few books with a presence in three centuries. Comparison of this new edition with the first of 1890 shows the progress made in the intervening 110 years. The first edition contained a surprising amount of physics and chemistry with the necessary accompanying mathematics. These dealt with the optics of image formation and image properties and the processing and printing of a range of photographic materials. Emphasis was on practical techniques and a complete catalogue of Ilford products was appended for reference. This new edition takes the opportunity to document and explain progress in imaging in the past decade, most notably concerning digital imaging, but also in the topics of each chapter. A balance has been maintained between traditional chemical processes and current digital systems and between explanations of theoretical principles in relation to practice. The titles of many chapters have been changed to reflect the change in emphasis and content, which is also reflected in the new title. Many of the detailed explanations of chemical practices associated with earlier generations of photographic materials have been substantially reduced to make way for explanations concerning the principles and practices associated with the new digital media. This edition, like the first edition, contains information on the physics, mathematics and chemistry of modern systems with the balance shifting in favour of the physics and mathematics associated with current practice. The process of total automation of picture making is now virtually complete. with most cameras having means of automatic focusing, exposure determination, flash and film advance. The simplicity of use disguises the complexity of the underlying mechanisms, mostly based on microchip technology. There have been significant advances in the properties and use of electronic flash as a light source, with complex methods of exposure determination and use of flash in autofocusing. The introduction of new optical materials and progress in optical production technology as well as digital computers for optical calculations have produced efficient new lens designs. particularly for zoom lenses, as well as the microoptics necessary for autofocus modules. Camera design has progressed, with new film formats introduced and others discontinued. Although capable of a surprising versatility of use, special purpose cameras still find applications. Digital cameras are not constrained by traditional camera design and many innovative types have been introduced, with the technology still to settle down to a few preferred types. Large format cameras use most of the new technologies with the exception to date of autofocusing. The use of an ever increasing range of optical filters for cameras encourages experimentation at the cameras stage with their digital counter parts becoming increasingly popular. Both input and output of image data have been substantially revised to reflect the changes in technology and the wide range of choices in media and systems for producing pictures. More emphasis is now placed on electronic and hybrid media in the new digital age. Like digital cameras, the production of hard copy is settling down but there are a number of different solutions to the production of photographic or ‘near photographic’ quality prints from digital systems in the desktop environment, which are included in this edition. Contemporary interest in black-and-white printing and its control suggested a sensitometric description of exposure effects and this is included, for the first time, in this edition. Other novel features include the spectral sensitivities of extended sensitivity monochrome films, monochrome and colour charge coupled device (CCD) sensors used in digital cameras. the inclusion of the mechanisms of CCDS and how their sensitivities are measured. Current concerns with the life expectancy of both traditional and digital media are discussed in this edition with explanations of the principles on which predictions are based. A new chapter, ‘Colour Matters’, is devoted to an understanding of the measurement and specification of colour with applications to colour reproduction. This is designed to equip the reader to understand and take advantage of the colour information provided by digital imaging and image manipulation software. Current optical. photographic and digital imaging systems all share certain common principles from communications and information theory. At the same time, digital systems introduce special problems as well as advantages that the critical user will need to understand. These aspects are considered in this edition. A new chapter. ‘Image Processing and Manipulation’, presents an overview of the field of digital image processing. Particular attention is paid to some of the more important objective methods of pixel manipulation that will be found in most of the commonly available image processing packages. The chapter contains over 30 images illustrating the methods described. The nature of the material covered in a number of chapters means that some important mathematical expressions are included. However. it is not necessary to understand their manipulation in order to understand the ideas of these chapters. In most cases the mathematics serves as an illustration of, and a link to, the more thorough treatments found elsewhere. The aims of the ninth edition are the same as those of previous editions which are: 0 to provide accessible and authoritative information on most technical aspect of imaging; 0 to be of interest and value to students, amateurs, professionals, technicians, computer users and indeed anyone who uses photographic and digital systems with a need for explanations of the principles involved and their practical applications.

Imaging systems 1
Ralph E. Jacobson
The production of images 1
Photographic and digital imaging 2
General characteristics of reproduction systems 5
Imaging chains 6
The reproduction of tone and colour 6
Image quality expectations 7
Fundamentals of light and vision 9
Ralph E. Jacobson
Light waves and particles 9
Optics 10
The electromagnetic spectrum 10
The eye and vision 11
Photographic light sources 16
Sidney F. Ray
Characteristics of light sources 16
Light output 21
Daylight 25
Tungsten-filament lamps 25
Tungsten-halogen lamps 26
Fluorescent lamps 27
Metal-halide lamps 27
Pulsed xenon lamps 27
Expendable flashbulbs 28
Electronic flash 29
Other sources 38
The geometry of image formation 39
Sidney F. Ray
Interaction of light with matter 39
Image formation 41
The simple lens 42
Image formation by a compound lens 43
Graphical construction of images 45
The lens conjugate equation 45
Field angle of view 48
Covering power of a lens 49
Geometric distortion 49
Depth of field 50
Depth of field equations 53
Depth of focus 56
Perspective 57
The photometry of image
formation 61
Sidney F. Ray
Stops and pupils 61
Aperture 62
Mechanical vignetting 62
Image illumination 63
Image illuminance with wide-angle
lenses 66
Exposure compensation for close-up
photography . . 67
Light losses and lens transmission 68
Flare and its effects 68
T-numbers 69
Anti-reflection coatings 69
Optical aberrations and lens
performance 72
Sidney F. Ray
Introduction 72
Axial chromatic aberration 72
Lateral chromatic aberration 74
Spherical aberration 75
Coma 76
Curvature of field 77
Astigmatism 77
Curvilinear distortion 78
Diffraction 79
Resolution and resolving power 80
Modulation transfer function 81
Camera lenses 83
Sidney F. Ray
Simple lenses 83
Compound lenses 83
............and other