Ludwig J. Bertele

Just over 100 years ago, 16-year-old Ludwig J. Bertele began an apprenticeship as an optical designer in Munich. The potential of this young man, so interested in mathematics, did not go unnoticed for long. At the age of only 20, he stunned the experts with an innovative optical design that was surprisingly powerful for that time. This fast, high-resolution lens made it possible to photograph indoors without flash and tripod for the first time. As a result, a well-equipped camera became the basis for the success of numerous famous photographers. The work of Ludwig J. Bertele played a key role in the rapid development of geometrical optics and thus photography after the First World War. Later, his designs also set new standards in aerial photogrammetry and other specialized fields of optics. This book tells the life story of an exceptionally talented man, autodidact and master of lens element combinations, who repeatedly set important impulses in optics research.