Doris writes:
<< Whether to make the contents hardware-centered per se, or
use-centered is a big question, and central to the nature of the book.
>>
I would say that Shipman and Cooper addressed both. Joseph Cooper did
the "Handbooks" in binders for Nikon (later as a hardback), Pentax and
Minolta. He was, perhaps, as technical as any author. Shipman recycled
photographic technique text successfully between his Minolta, Canon,
Nikon, Pentax and Olympus "How to Select & Use" guides. He was quite
thorough in covering all the components in a system. IMHO, Barbara
London's "Short Course" books were way too light in the equipment
treatment. Lou Jacobs books (e.g., Olympus and Konica) seemed to recycle
corporate text a lot. The Way books (Leica, Hasselblad, Pentax,
Olympus, Contaflex, Rollei) covered both with a very European style
arising out of Focal Press editing. Anyone who has read a few Focal
Press books can probably spot another in an instant, just on editing and
presentation style.
They all seemed to try and appeal to the broadest audience. I've never
read one cover to cover and I doubt many do, although I did read
"Identifying Leica Cameras" cover to cover the other evening. Great
rarity info. The best will make you want to use/choose the camera
system. The reader picks and chooses according to their interest. As
a reference, they go to it when they need help in a different shooting
situation, or with deciding on what to buy next, or learning the ins and
outs of a particular component/lens/body. Anyone who has seen the
appendices to The Olympus Way know the power of them as a "first stop"
reference source, albeit diminished now due to obsolescence.
I'm personally not fond of books covering technique when it isn't
specific to the camera system the book is about. There are lots and lots
of books on general technique. But there certainly exists technique
specific to Olympus OM - like macro with a Telescoping Auto Tube, flash
with the T Power Control 1 combos, spot metering differences in the
OM-2S/OM3(Ti)/OM-4(T)(i) family; focusing screens in practice; using the
Photomicrography Group, etc.
<< IMO, perhaps a good place to start is with already extant potential
content, seeing what there is. >>
To focus narrowly on the just the back: the potential is there for some
outstanding and comprehensive appendicies. That material already
exists. The way I see it, chapter authors could find that material will
greatly reduce research time, although they may turn out to be one and
the same person.
Gary Reese
Las Vegas, NV
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