I think that most people are misinformed on the purpose of multi coating
optics for use in photography. The most important reason is to reduce
lens flare. Obviously some designs don't flare as much as others.
By reducing the flare optical designers are freer to use different
designs. Optical coating went high tech in the late 1970's and into to
early 1980's and are getting better than ever with the new technology
and clean rooms. Different lens designs coupled with differnt coating
methods present diffent colorations to the human color spectrum. Just
like looking at a light prism at differnt angles. These coatings do not
have a pigment in them to cast a color.
Multi coatings work best on wide & super wide lens (these lens tend to
flair more for obvious reasons. Most important in the design is that
all of the light should pass thru evenly and reproduce itself on the
film plane at 100%. This is almost a impossible task. Stray light is
is always bouncing around. The lens design can determine these
effects. Good multi coatings can reduce this light bouncing around.
I have found that when shooting portraits of people a single coated lens
can give a more desirabe or natural effect. The light can be
"perfectly" diffused to soften skin tones to a more natural state.
Getting the shadow density of a skin pore or mole right next to a bright
skin shade is not what the portrait photographer is attempting to do.
Therefore once again the use of the proper lens with just the right
characteristics for a given task is more important than state of the art
technology. We are mostly artists not technicians. Correct?
Phillip Franklin
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