Theory

Theory is a statement of how and why particular facts are related. In the context of JAPB, theory is all that which is not directly pertaining to specific items of gear, but more to how gear relates to other gear (in the context of taking photos).

See below for a list of the more detailed musings. You can also look at our glossary for explanations of the more simple* concepts and terms.

* simple, as in “explainable in a few paragraphs”.

Articles on lens mounts:

Articles on lens mounts in general:
An introduction to lens mounts
Identifying a lens mount
Intermediate mounts
Being strategic with adapters
Set lenses

Articles detailing specific lens mounts:
Altix
Canon EF
Canon FL, FD and newFD
Canon R
Canon RF
Contax G
Contax / Kiev
Contax/Yashica
DKL
Exakta
Four Thirds
Fujica X
Fujifilm G
Fujifilm X
Icarex BM
Konica AR
Konica F
L mount
Leica M
Leica R
LTM (Leica Thread Mount)
m42
Mamiya Z
Micro Four Thirds (MFT)
Minolta A (Sony A)
Minolta SR
Nikon 1
Nikon F
Nikon S
Nikon Z
Olympus OM
Pentacon Six
Pentax K
Petri FT
Praktica B
Praktina
Rollei QBM
Sony FE (including Sony E)
T-4/TX
Tamron Adaptall (1&2)
Topcon UV
Yashica AF
(and more to come)

JAPB series on optical flaws and aberrations:

Introduction
Distortions (optical)
Vignetting
Veiling and Ghosting (flare)
Atypical ghosts
Spherical aberration
Focus shift
Comatic aberration (‘Coma’)
Astigmatism
Chromatic aberrations
Field curvature
Uniform colour casts
Partial colour casts
Diffraction (even though it’s not an optical flaw or aberration)

JAPB series on exposure

Introduction
The components of exposure (and the side-effects)
Working with Exposure (in practice)
Various approaches to exposure automation
EV tables, and how to use them

Articles that are not part of a series:

Autofocus
Effective Aperture
Legacy, Classic and Vintage lenses? What are those?
Practicalities of adapting lenses