Archives for 2015

Many years ago, a talented and iconoclastic engineer named Bob Carver issued a challenge to the staff of a “golden ear” hi-fi magazine. They could pick any amplifier, and he would attempt to make his distinctly mid-fi $700 amp sound so much like it that the staff couldn’t tell them apart. They hemmed and hawed,… [Read More]

Over on dpr, there was a response to yesterday’s post that was interesting to me: Regarding your wine comparison, I would say that to be able to distinguish different top quality wines… requires training, experience, and talent. Same with lenses. Well, you made me think, and I have two responses. The first is that people… [Read More]

This is a somewhat inconclusive set of musings about what photographers call lens character, or the way a lens draws. But before we get into that, I’d like to confess my biases. I’m an engineer by training, and I’ve spent most of my life either doing research, designing things, or managing others who do those… [Read More]