Group Comment on Instructional (camera lucida)

Regarding Tim Hunkin’s set of instructions on how to make a camera lucida, we have to remark that they seem more confusing than helpful. There are no detailed explanations delivered on how to perform the different steps. In order to understand Hunkin’s instructions, specific knowledge is required, which makes this set of instructions suitable only for people with more advanced knowledge about how to construct a camera lucida. Above all, the construction of the wooden scaffold for the camera lucida remains a mystery to us, as there is not a single word mentioned in the instructions on how to build it. If you are not familiar with building something by yourself, this step might cause you serious problems. Apart from this lack of information, this set of instructions doesn’t  fulfill two more important aspects. The steps are neither numbered nor in a chronological order, which might cause errors during the process of building the camera. The font used in the set of instruction makes the instructions even more confusing because it is almost impossible to discern the unit of length. Also, at the beginning, the list of needed materials and tools is missing.The only positive aspect we found is the use of pictures in this instructional text, as they make it easier to follow the instructions.