Elements of Modern Optical Design (Wiley Series in Pure and Applied Optics)

Rating:
Summary: Buyers Beware
Review: I only had the opportunity to scan the texbook to extract technical info to understand a training manual written by Donald O'Shea for Photon Inc. (who makes the BeamScan machine). The manual is an absolute disaster: numerous diagrams are wrong; some instructions are incomplete; theory is given in hard-to-follow style. I got the training manual for free and did not have enough courage to buy O'Shea's textbook (at $130), i.e., if a training manual is that bad, the textbook must be in similar shape. I expected better from a PhD professor at Georgia Tech.

Rating:
Summary: The Zero star option was not available.
Review: This book has not at all been tasteful for me. I think than the author should rename it: "How to design a laser printer for dummier". I honestly don't know why and what an example about laser printer is doing in such book. Ok, now because I read it I know how the laser printer I use work. But even that part is incomplete. I have seen in an optical handbook more and more information about that. Only the different point shape/pattern was a one page table and O¡¯Shea did not speak at all about that choice.

So, let¡¯s talk about this famous laser printer example. Just in itself you don¡¯t think so than such apparatus is more relevant of non imaging system and it¡¯s not at all a good end for a book about optic design in general. The right place to speak about that could be in some expert textbook witch one is really dedicated to non-imaging system.

I can't say this book is full of lack, hole and omission, etc. But It¡¯s really difficult to fellow where Mr. Donald C. O'Shea is interested to bring you.

Rating:
Summary: An Egineers Text
Review: This is a great book. For a working engineer in optics it is one of the three you need to survive. I rate it just under Smith, and Kingslake for usable content; which is no small tribute. It is written in plain, clear Engish with worked numerical examples. Those examples are well chosen to cover the interesting uses of a technique. I'm paying the author the ultimate compliment. I'm in the process of ordering a second copy, since somebody snagged mine.