I think a discussion of this stuff could get to be fairly complex, fairly quickly. In the beginning, there were practical technological limitations as to what could be accomplished, along with practical budgetary limitations -- and while both pressures have been eased considerably over the past several years, the audience that finds reprints of this sort of material of interest has fallen off significantly during that time -- which, I think, has a tendancy to reinstate the budgetary limitations.

I agree, though, I think it's a fascinating topic.

In The Back Of Beyond: My photography blog. Everything seen through the camera of my iPhone.