On Mon, 28 Dec 1998 21:41:09 -0800, "Nandakumar Sankaran" wrote:

>Ofcourse, another factor that plays a role in distortion is the lens itself.
>In the past, I have seen Popular Photography's tests rate some lenses for
>the amount of distortion and some have much more than others.

[posts referring to perspective "distortion" deleted...]
Um, their are two "distortion issues:
- "distortion" (actually, just unfamiliar perspective
effects) due to distance (and possibly also angle of
view included...).
- "distortion" (sometimes actually just unfamiliarity with
different perspective types) due to the inability of
the lens to render straight subject lines off center
as straight lines in the image.
If you stick with a non-zoom of about 100-135mm (for 35mm),
you will rarely encounter either type of image "distortion",
but that's no fun...! ;-) Even with lenses in this FL range,
you can still encounter a third "distortion" type, the
convergence of parallel lines that occurs from three-point
perspective effects - but you would need a 1000mm + lens to
minimize that! ;-) The issue of photographic distortion is
interesting to me (see an article on my web page under "I
babble", "On Seeing and Perspective"...) - we often try
to make photo images that record what we saw, but for
numerous reasons it is impossible to make an accurate
photographic record of anything, let alone an accurate
record of the way we saw something (photos do, did, and
always will lie...! ;-). The best one can do (for recording
purposes...) is to make a photograph that reminds one of
what the experience of having seen something is like...
But one can also make photographs that have no recording
intent...;-)