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Rating: 
Summary: Informative, readable resource for photographic theory.
Review: A very informative guide to all things photographic. This book covers all the basics (why light chemically reacts with photographic film) to advanced topics of photometry and the preparation of your own printing paper. I was looking for a source covering the chemical processes involved in all stages of the photographic process, including home preparation of basic photo chemistry. BPMP covers the gamut of chemistry but also has sections devoted to optics, printing, camera design, and lots of other topics in between. It's much more informative than the Hedgecoe or Kodak "basic manuals" but not so advanced as to read like an advanced physics text. It's the ONE book I use for referencing the nuts and bolts of the photographic process. Readable and insightful. Four Stars
Rating:
Summary: A good book with a lot of details
Review: All the technical details of photography have been covered. The review questions at the end of the each chapter are helpful too. I feel one can surely save a lot of film after reading this book. And there are quite a few b&w photogrpahs which are quite interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Zone System section
Review: Anyone interested in an explanation of the zone system as it relates to the curves one finds in the data manufacturers such as Kodak, Fuji, Ilford,Agfa put out should take a look at this book. The Zone System is nicely explanined.
Rating: 
Summary: Good explainations of how photography works.
Review: Basic Photographic Materials and Processes is the principal text for photographic science and beginning color photography at Houston Community College. An understanding of the technical aspects of light, optics, and chemistry as relates to photography is necessary for consistent results, and this book gives that technical background in a readable and understandable way. It is well written, but lacks a treatment of digital imaging, which would round out the information.
Rating:
Summary: This is a must-have for any photography professional.
Review: Having taken the "Materials and Processes" class at RIT and having read this book several times, I can say without hesitation that if you are a professional working in the technical side of photography, you need this book. This is the most complete, yet concise explaination of photographic principles you can find in one book. If you can find a copy of the grey hardcover edition, so much the better. If you are a photography student and are serious about understanding the science and technique of photography, I strongly recommend this book. I am a technical specialist for a major film manufacturer and not only does this book reside on my desk, it is used as a reference more than any other I own.
Rating:
Summary: wealth of information in a cheap jacket
Review: No question, content wise this one tops most pubs on the subject. Especially helpful for those who like reading into it. In a sense it could replace all of Ansel Adams books. In some respects it makes photographic process easier to understand, easier to anticipate inconsistancies and sure should help better ones' photography (Ansel is still a required reading though as his language is simply superior to anything out there). At $... it also should be better published (photographs are just cheap looking). All in all information far outweighs printing shortfalls.
Rating:
Summary: A good book with a lot of details
Review: The book "Basic Photographic Materials and Processes" is separated on 16 chapters. Very useful chapters for everybody, both for beginners and professionals are chapters: 1) Light and Photometry, 4) Photographic Sensitometry, 5) Photography Optics (there is an instruction how to build the pinhole camera with exact calculation a diameter for different pinhole cameras and how make the lens testing), 8) Black and white Photographic Developments (with a paragraph about anti-foggants, special black-and-white process), 10) Tone Reproduction (Objective tone-reproduction curves for motion pictures, transparency etc., Luminance values of an outdoor scene, Flare factor, The making of negative, The making of Positive, the equations for average gradient for different quadrants of tone-reproduction diagram, ......), 11) Micro Image Evaluation (with much examples og graininess of films of different producers), 13) Filters with their influencies on different sort of films, 14) Color, 15) Color Reproduction and 16) Digital photography. This book is very useful and its content is very comprehensive one. I photograph since 1960 and I admire Mr. Anselm Adams, that is to say I very, very recommend this book for one, who has serious interest about photography and different cameras with their optics. The book has many pictures, useful tables and diagrams. (Rene Novak, studio ER67, ...)
Rating:
Summary: The admirable book
Review: The book "Basic Photographic Materials and Processes" is separated on 16 chapters. Very useful chapters for everybody, both for beginners and professionals are chapters: 1) Light and Photometry, 4) Photographic Sensitometry, 5) Photography Optics (there is an instruction how to build the pinhole camera with exact calculation a diameter for different pinhole cameras and how make the lens testing), 8) Black and white Photographic Developments (with a paragraph about anti-foggants, special black-and-white process), 10) Tone Reproduction (Objective tone-reproduction curves for motion pictures, transparency etc., Luminance values of an outdoor scene, Flare factor, The making of negative, The making of Positive, the equations for average gradient for different quadrants of tone-reproduction diagram, ......), 11) Micro Image Evaluation (with much examples og graininess of films of different producers), 13) Filters with their influencies on different sort of films, 14) Color, 15) Color Reproduction and 16) Digital photography. This book is very useful and its content is very comprehensive one. I photograph since 1960 and I admire Mr. Anselm Adams, that is to say I very, very recommend this book for one, who has serious interest about photography and different cameras with their optics. The book has many pictures, useful tables and diagrams. (Rene Novak, studio ER67, ...)
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive school-book
Review: This is a rather comprehensive introduction to the theory of photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester (NY) is of course where the headquarters of the Eastman Kodak Company is located...Note the word "theory" above. That the volume contains an appendix on the calculation of basic logarithms should give you a clue to the nature of this book. This is a book about the physical properties of light, the chemical properties of photographic papers and film, and so on. It is not a book about composition and "beauty". Photography is an art and also a craft. You would buy this book to become a better craftsman. After a boring introduction to one of the most exciting topics I can think of (Light and Photometry) the volume covers exposure both at the picture taking (camera) stage and post-exposure (printing). These are extremely useful chapters for any photographer. There then follows five chapters and 160 large pages whit what is essentially an introduction to science for photographers. You wouldn't guess it from the chapter headings, but you are given a brief introduction to statistics, sensiometry (excellent chapter!), optics, chemistry, and physical chemistry. Only what is relevant for photography is presented, and it is done at a fairly high-level. The level may suit you or frustrate you. The style is unlikely to excite you... Finally, on page 213 we get practical and hands-on again with a chapter on black-and-while development followed, after a section on archival, by one of the gems of this book: tonal reproduction. Starting from the foundation it has developed over the five "boring" chapters it shows how to achieve the tonal reproduction that you want, and shows the Zone System as a practical approximation. Understanding the Zone System in this light (pun intended) will give you a great background on when and how to use it, and when not to use it: it is only an approximation. The remaining chapters are classics and include excellent sections on visual perception, colors and color reporductions. This book is a must read! I considered deducting a single star in the rating because the book is very focused on black-and-white photography. It does cover color, but not in the level of detail that I would have liked. In the end I decided that it would be unfair to give this book anything less than 5 stars: you should read it.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive school-book
Review: This is a rather comprehensive introduction to the theory of photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester (NY) is of course where the headquarters of the Eastman Kodak Company is located... Note the word "theory" above. That the volume contains an appendix on the calculation of basic logarithms should give you a clue to the nature of this book. This is a book about the physical properties of light, the chemical properties of photographic papers and film, and so on. It is not a book about composition and "beauty". Photography is an art and also a craft. You would buy this book to become a better craftsman. After a boring introduction to one of the most exciting topics I can think of (Light and Photometry) the volume covers exposure both at the picture taking (camera) stage and post-exposure (printing). These are extremely useful chapters for any photographer. There then follows five chapters and 160 large pages whit what is essentially an introduction to science for photographers. You wouldn't guess it from the chapter headings, but you are given a brief introduction to statistics, sensiometry (excellent chapter!), optics, chemistry, and physical chemistry. Only what is relevant for photography is presented, and it is done at a fairly high-level. The level may suit you or frustrate you. The style is unlikely to excite you... Finally, on page 213 we get practical and hands-on again with a chapter on black-and-while development followed, after a section on archival, by one of the gems of this book: tonal reproduction. Starting from the foundation it has developed over the five "boring" chapters it shows how to achieve the tonal reproduction that you want, and shows the Zone System as a practical approximation. Understanding the Zone System in this light (pun intended) will give you a great background on when and how to use it, and when not to use it: it is only an approximation. The remaining chapters are classics and include excellent sections on visual perception, colors and color reporductions. This book is a must read! I considered deducting a single star in the rating because the book is very focused on black-and-white photography. It does cover color, but not in the level of detail that I would have liked. In the end I decided that it would be unfair to give this book anything less than 5 stars: you should read it.
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