Optical Engineering & Camera Engineering Technical Blog
Lens selection guides, imaging fundamentals, and machine vision engineering references written by the Commonlands optical engineering team in San Diego.
43 articles
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Imaging FundamentalsWorking Distance and Minimum Object Distance
Working distance and minimum object distance in machine vision: how they differ, how to measure them, and how they drive lens and focal-l...
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Optical PerformanceWhat Is a Telecentric Lens?
What a telecentric lens is: object-space telecentricity, how it removes perspective error for gauging, and low-distortion alternatives.
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Optical PerformanceWhat Is a Low Distortion Lens?
What a low distortion lens is: barrel vs pincushion vs TV distortion, why it matters for measurement, and how to spec distortion in machi...
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Lens Mounts & FormatsWhat Is a C-Mount Lens?
What a C-mount lens is: the 17.526mm flange focal distance, 1-inch 32-TPI thread, manual iris control, and CS-mount compatibility.
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Optical PerformanceStray Light in Machine Vision
Control stray light in machine vision: veiling flare, ghosting, and glare, plus baffles, BBAR anti-reflection coatings, and lens-hood fixes.
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Optical PerformanceSpatial Resolution in Machine Vision
Spatial resolution in machine vision: mm per pixel, minimum detectable feature size, the diffraction limit, and the Airy disk explained.
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Lens Mounts & FormatsSensor Size and Lens Compatibility
Match a lens to your sensor: image circle vs sensor diagonal, vignetting and corner shading, and relative illumination in machine vision.
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Ruggedized LensesRuggedized Machine Vision Lenses
Ruggedized machine vision lenses: thermal focus stability, hydrophobic coatings, vibration resistance, and IP sealing for harsh environme...
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Filters & NIR ImagingNIR Imaging for Machine Vision
NIR imaging for machine vision: 850nm vs 940nm illumination, bandpass filters, IR-corrected lenses, and sensor QE tradeoffs for near-infr...
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Industrial & Medical InspectionMachine Vision Lenses for Food & Pharma Packaging Inspection
Choose lenses for food, beverage, and pharmaceutical packaging inspection: washdown-rated optics, fill-level and label checks, and date-c...
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Industrial & Medical InspectionMachine Vision Lenses for Electronics Inspection
Choose machine vision lenses for electronics inspection: resolution and working distance for PCB, semiconductor wafer, and battery defect...
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Industrial & Medical InspectionLenses for Medical Imaging
Lens selection for medical imaging and device inspection: mount and sensor matching, sterilization and material constraints, and resoluti...
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Automotive & TransportationLenses for Intelligent Transportation Systems
Lens selection for intelligent transportation systems: focal length and plate-pixel requirements for LPR, iris control, and day/night ima...
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Optical PerformanceLens Aberrations in Machine Vision
The lens aberrations that limit machine vision: field curvature, astigmatism, chromatic and spherical aberration, how each degrades image...
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Filters & NIR ImagingIR Corrected Lenses for Machine Vision
IR corrected lenses hold focus across visible and NIR light so day/night cameras stay sharp. How IR correction works and when you need it.
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Ruggedized LensesIP Ratings for Machine Vision Lenses
What IP67, IP68, and IP69K mean for machine vision lenses: ingress protection levels, washdown, and when a sealed or ruggedized lens is r...
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Imaging FundamentalsImage Sensor Selection for Machine Vision
Select a machine vision image sensor: resolution, sensor format and size, global vs rolling shutter, and how to pair the sensor with the ...
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Optical PerformanceHow to Read MTF Curves
How to read MTF curves: MTF vs spatial frequency and vs field, sagittal and tangential, Nyquist matching by pixel pitch, and design vs me...
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Imaging FundamentalsHow to Choose Focal Length for Machine Vision
Choose machine vision focal length: the EFL formula, sensor size and working distance inputs, and step-by-step lens selection with worked...
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Focus & AlignmentFixed vs Varifocal vs Zoom Machine Vision Lenses
Fixed focal length vs varifocal vs zoom machine vision lenses: focus behavior, calibration stability, and how to choose for repeatable me...
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Imaging FundamentalsMachine Vision Field of View
Calculate machine vision field of view from focal length and sensor size, understand angle of view, and avoid the common FOV pitfalls. Wi...
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Imaging FundamentalsDepth of Field in Machine Vision
Depth of field for machine vision: the four DOF drivers, circle of confusion from pixel pitch, hyperfocal distance, diffraction limits, a...
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Industrial & Medical InspectionLenses for Barcode Reading, OCR & Document Scanning
Lens selection for data capture: pixel coverage for 1D and 2D barcodes, character-height sampling for OCR, and flat-field uniformity for ...
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Filters & NIR ImagingBandpass Filters for Machine Vision
Machine vision optical filters explained: IR-cut for color accuracy, bandpass for NIR isolation (CWL, FWHM, OD), and dual-bandpass day/ni...
