Reading mode: Light Dark

How cool would it be to be a lens designer....

  • Thread starter Thread starter JasonTheBirder
  • Start date Start date
Go to last post
J

JasonTheBirder

Guest
Personally, in another life, I'd like to be a lens designer at Nikon or Canon. I think it would be so cool to put a lens from scratch together and test it out. Not only that, but it would be my job to know lenses of the company inside an out so I'd be able to use every lens in the lineup as well, on every camera!

I certainly can't afford to try out every piece of equipment but I would do so if I were a lens designer!
 
No thank you. It seems very boring.

Unless you're considering that a lot of lens-design input comes from the market research department. Now that would be interesting. Plus I can squash your dreams by introducing the concepts of pricing and consumer behavior to you.
 
Last edited:
JasonTheBirder said:
Personally, in another life, I'd like to be a lens designer at Nikon or Canon. I think it would be so cool to put a lens from scratch together and test it out. Not only that, but it would be my job to know lenses of the company inside an out so I'd be able to use every lens in the lineup as well, on every camera!

I certainly can't afford to try out every piece of equipment but I would do so if I were a lens designer!
Click to expand...
I hope you enjoy the constant compromise required by budget dudes.
 
JasonTheBirder said:
Personally, in another life, I'd like to be a lens designer at Nikon or Canon. I think it would be so cool to put a lens from scratch together and test it out. Not only that, but it would be my job to know lenses of the company inside an out so I'd be able to use every lens in the lineup as well, on every camera!

I certainly can't afford to try out every piece of equipment but I would do so if I were a lens designer!
Click to expand...
Only if I could design a paisley lens.
 
JasonTheBirder said:
Personally, in another life, I'd like to be a lens designer at Nikon or Canon. I think it would be so cool to put a lens from scratch together and test it out. Not only that, but it would be my job to know lenses of the company inside an out so I'd be able to use every lens in the lineup as well, on every camera!

I certainly can't afford to try out every piece of equipment but I would do so if I were a lens designer!
Click to expand...
This would be an ultimate cure for GAS patients. However only a lucky few so dedicated to gears and engineering knowledge could earn their spot with Canon & Nikon R&D division. BTW you need to speak perfect Japanese to work there.

Just like those who fancy a role with Japan Adult Video industry....once you have got there you will realized business is still business and you have absolute no control on any fantasy you once dreamt for.
 
JasonTheBirder said:
Personally, in another life, I'd like to be a lens designer at Nikon or Canon. I think it would be so cool to put a lens from scratch together and test it out. Not only that, but it would be my job to know lenses of the company inside an out so I'd be able to use every lens in the lineup as well, on every camera!
Click to expand...
Way back in film days In Australia amateur me somehow got into the pro group dealing with the then private Nikon importer and I could borrow any lens I liked to play with for a few days or longer on my Nikon N8008s. That was an interesting time. The borrowed f/2.8 zooms were giving me nice results but long term I could not handle the weight and bulk. Luckily in this digital life I went M4/3 and the f/2.8 zooms there are a totally different carry-able difference.

Once was asked to do a mini casual review for the importer on a a relatively cheap Nikon tele zoom lens and it turned out to be way better than expected if used correctly, so bought one for myself.
Member said:
I certainly can't afford to try out every piece of equipment but I would do so if I were a lens designer!
Click to expand...
I would suspect lens designers would be chained to their desk and the computer and not allowed outside to play.

To sample stuff, become a sales rep for the company in question. Or get filthy rich and buy everything - sadly I only managed to get filthy.
 
It would be dreadful. Your employer will always be asking for corner cutting to save money and make production easier. They will tell you the lenses you want to design wouldn't sell and a load of optimistic fools on the internet will forever pester you for impossible lenses at impossible weights, sizes and prices.
 
Guy Parsons said:
JasonTheBirder said:
Personally, in another life, I'd like to be a lens designer at Nikon or Canon. I think it would be so cool to put a lens from scratch together and test it out. Not only that, but it would be my job to know lenses of the company inside an out so I'd be able to use every lens in the lineup as well, on every camera!
Click to expand...
Way back in film days In Australia amateur me somehow got into the pro group dealing with the then private Nikon importer and I could borrow any lens I liked to play with for a few days or longer on my Nikon N8008s. That was an interesting time. The borrowed f/2.8 zooms were giving me nice results but long term I could not handle the weight and bulk. Luckily in this digital life I went M4/3 and the f/2.8 zooms there are a totally different carry-able difference.

Once was asked to do a mini casual review for the importer on a a relatively cheap Nikon tele zoom lens and it turned out to be way better than expected if used correctly, so bought one for myself.
Guy Parsons said:
I certainly can't afford to try out every piece of equipment but I would do so if I were a lens designer!
Click to expand...
I would suspect lens designers would be chained to their desk and the computer and not allowed outside to play.

To sample stuff, become a sales rep for the company in question. Or get filthy rich and buy everything - sadly I only managed to get filthy.
Click to expand...
Or one could consider becoming a grey market savvy like me, these days used camera gears are at rediculous low price and if you pick wisely you would end up spending nothing while feast on used gears until you are bored with them.
 
JasonTheBirder said:
Personally, in another life, I'd like to be a lens designer at Nikon or Canon. I think it would be so cool to put a lens from scratch together and test it out. Not only that, but it would be my job to know lenses of the company inside an out so I'd be able to use every lens in the lineup as well, on every camera!

I certainly can't afford to try out every piece of equipment but I would do so if I were a lens designer!
Click to expand...
My son is a lens designer.

From my conversations with him, I think that maybe your idea of what the job entails is not exactly accurate.
 
I grew up loving working on my cars. Then I went to school, became a certified master, and worked on other people's cars. I no longer worked on my own.

I once questioned the integrity of the cigar reviews in a popular cigar magazine. The magazine editor invited me to be on the review panel. For a year, quarterly I was sent about 20 ziploc bags with cigars in them for me to taste, test, make notes, and submit.

In both cases, my increased levels of involvement really killed the joy I had for said activities. It is rare, it seems, for someone who turns a hobby into a vocation where they still feel the joy pf the hobby. I wonder how many photographers who went pro still enjoy the hobby the same way.

Not well versed in lens design, but I imagine it doesn't all happen in the same place, there is a way more cad/cam BS then shooting pictures, all day sitting at a desk etc.
 
I thought that too and tried to purchase some books. I really wanted to better understand why certain groups were created and why each moved (or didn't). None of the books I found really did it for me.

I suspect going into it you would need a lot of math and physics. Then probably 99% of new lens design is a modification of an old lens design. All of which is embedded in a set of templates and algorithms in a specialized CAD s/w used by the few places actually doing the designs these days.

a9f17481191643d7b7624846f8767fba.jpg
 
Not for me and especially at my background as a home builder and developer. I'll leave it to the engineers.

Kent
 
JasonTheBirder said:
Personally, in another life, I'd like to be a lens designer at Nikon or Canon. I think it would be so cool to put a lens from scratch together and test it out. Not only that, but it would be my job to know lenses of the company inside an out so I'd be able to use every lens in the lineup as well, on every camera!

I certainly can't afford to try out every piece of equipment but I would do so if I were a lens designer!
Click to expand...
Don't wait for another life, what if you come back as a caterpillar and not as a lens designer? :-D

Build it now! I did just that about 10 years ago! Designed an L lens, built it and tested it all myself!

If you'd like to see it I'll post it!!!

John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
w
Next unread
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top