Ever wanted to take a camera lens apart to see what's inside? Be prepared for a seemingly endless array of the worlds tiniest screws, a fountain of various rings, and a bit of grease.

• Canon FD 50mm f/1.8

• Mini Screwdriver

• Elapsed Time: 38 Minutes

Deconstructing A Camera Lens

I have to say the ingenuity that goes into making even an old lens is truly incredible. It's easier to understand after watching this video, why lens manufacturers with a long track record of building lenses often have a higher quality product. Sure you can just hire a team Mathematicians, Industrial Engineers, and Optical Scientists and begin building lenses, but decades of research and development provide truly invaluable experience in crafting a beautiful lens. It was especially hard to fathom the knowledge required to build a lens, when I could hardly figure out how to just take it apart.

Lens Manufacturers: Who Came First?

Here is a rough timeline of lens manufacturers and the year they began, from Voight to Venus!

• Voigtländer - 1756

• Leica - 1849

• Zeiss - 1874

• Kodak - 1888

• Schneider Kreuznach - 1913

• Nikon - 1917

• Olympus - 1919

• Pentax - 1919

• Canon - 1937

• Tamron - 1950

• Sigma - 1961

• Soligor - 1968

• Samyang - 1972

• Venus - 2014

The Innovative History Behind Canon EF Lens Technology

If instead of taking a camera lens apart, you'd like to one come together, the two videos below are quite interesting.

[embed]http://youtu.be/fkBOsTVfpdA[/embed]

[embed]http://youtu.be/ovxtgj4SsiI[/embed]