Find an M12 Lens / S-Mount Lens
M12 Lenses are miniature lenses for embedded cameras, computer vision, and human viewing camera applications such as robotics, surveillance, automotive, and medical.
Despite their small size, M12 lenses deliver high-quality imaging and are a cost-effective alternative to larger C-mount lenses. Engineers favor these lenses for projects where space is limited or weight should be minimal, without sacrificing image performance.
We offer many types of M12 lenses including fisheye, wide-angle, no-distortion, and telephoto types. Our board lenses support various image sensor sizes and resolution..
We have >200 lenses with accurate specifications, downloadable .STP files, and same-day global sample shipping. All of our lenses are ready for mass production.
Ask us about customizations, custom lens designs, and camera module assembly.
Our low F#, low distortion, and/or ingress protected lenses are ideal for automotive, mobile robotics, and aerial robotics.
Our 16mm, 25mm, and 50mm M12 lenses are great for long-distance imaging, and tiny fisheye lenses ideal for obstacle avoidance.
Our miniature fisheye, telephoto, and IR Corrected lenses are suitable for doorbell cameras and active IR illuminated scenes.
Our lenses are available with multiple F# and customizations allow you to quickly optimize any camera design.
Find an M12 Lens / S-Mount Lens
M12 Lenses are miniature lenses for embedded cameras, computer vision, and human viewing camera applications.
We offer many types of M12 lenses including fisheye, wide-angle, no-distortion, and telephoto types. Many are ingress protected.
We have >200 production-ready lenses with accurate specifications, downloadable .STP files, and same-day global sample shipping.
Our low F#, low distortion, and/or ingress protected lenses are ideal for automotive, mobile robotics, and aerial robotics.
Our miniature fisheye, telephoto, and IR Corrected lenses are suitable for doorbell cameras and active IR illuminated scenes.
Our lenses are available with multiple F# and customizations allow you to quickly optimize any camera design.
Calculate Field of View, Apply Search Filters, then Order Samples.
Click the square arrow icon to open product pages where you can see pictures, download files, view sample pricing, and add-to-cart.
Engineering & Quality Assured
US Engineering Support
Easy Global Shipment
Volume Production Ready
A couple of our customer's favorite lenses are:
There are many M12 Lens Types and Options
Board mount lenses are available in a range of options to enable you to create a vision system that is customized to your use-case.
Many of our M12 lenses are available in multiple apertures (F#) and with special features like ultra low distortion or ingress protection for harsh environments. They support various image sensor sizes (from small 1/4” sensors up to 1/1.8” or larger) and resolutions (including multi-megapixel HD and 4K sensors), making them practical for a wide range of cameras.
A few types of lenses are:
- Fisheye Lenses: Ultra-wide field of view (up to ~180°+) for maximum coverage, ideal for panoramic imaging and obstacle avoidance.
- Wide-angle lenses: Large field of view with low distortion, great for surveillance and machine vision applications.
- No-distortion / Low-Distortion Lenses: Engineered optics that minimize distortion for accurate image reproduction without dewarping or calibration.
- Telephoto Lenses: Longer focal lengths (e.g. 16 mm, 25 mm, 50 mm) for narrow FOV imaging, useful in drone imaging at altitude or long-range security cameras.
- IR-Corrected Lenses: Optimized for both visible and infrared light (day/night use), suitable for security cameras with IR illumination (e.g. doorbell cameras or CCTV).
Choosing the Right S-Mount Lens
When choosing an S-Mount lens (M12 lens), there are several factors to consider. Common considerations include:
- Field of View: A shorter focal length is ideal for wide-angle applications, while a longer focal length is better suited for telephoto applications.
- Depth of Field: the depth of field of a lens determines the range over which objects are in focus.
- CMOS Sensor Format: the format of your sensor will determine which lenses will provide full coverage, or the crop ratio for FoV.
- Resolution: The lens MTF or sharpness needs to match the sensor's pixel pitch (size) otherwise you'll have a blurry image.
- F#: The amount of light that the lens collects is dependent on the aperture diameter.
- Ingress Protection: If your application is outdoors, having an ingress protected lens eliminates the need for a window or dome.
- Chief Ray Angle: The CRA of a lens needs to match your image sensor within ~+/-5~7 degrees otherwise color shading may be an issue.
- Operating Temperature: the range in which a camera stays in focus is partially dependent on the lens construction (glass versus glass+plastic)
By considering these factors, you can choose the right S-mount lens for your application, regardless if it's high resolution or low resolution.
Ask our Application Engineers About Trade-OffsInterested in Customizations or A Custom Board Mount Lens?
We offer several customizations for our lenses and have fully automated lens manufacturing in the US.
Contact us to discuss feasibility, minimum order quantities, and NRE requirements.
- Preassembly with M12 lens holders to reduce anodization debris and image plane tilt
- As-measured performance data (MTF, EFL, etc..) with serialized unit-level traceability
- Custom filters glued to the rear for Day/Night dual-bandpass applications and Bandpass, Dual Notch, etc..)
- Customized higher F-number
- Barrel mechanical design adjustments for active alignment and ingress protection.
- Hydrophobic coating on front optical surface
We consider full custom all-glass lens designs starting from 5,000pcs.
Contact Us for DetailsFAQs
Key Features of Our M12 / S‑Mount Lenses
- Quality Assured: 100% functional and cosmetic testing to make sure your device is production ready.
- 200+ models in stock: fisheye, wide‑angle, no‑distortion & telephoto board‑mount lenses ready to ship.
- Accurate specs: published FOV, distortion, MTF data + downloadable .STP files for fast CAD integration.
- High‑resolution support: image circles sized for sensors up to 1/1.8″ and 4K resolution.
- Specialized builds: IR‑corrected, ultra‑low‑distortion, and ruggedized options for extreme environments.
- Rapid prototyping: same‑day global sample shipping from our U.S. warehouse cuts development time.
- OEM services: custom tweaks, full lens design, and camera‑module assembly for volume production.
Our Customers span Fortune 100 Companies, Startups, and Hobbyists across many applications:
- Drones & UAVs: lightweight optics for aerial imaging and obstacle avoidance.
- Robotics & automation: compact vision lenses for navigation, pick‑and‑place, and QC inspection.
- Smart retail: wide‑angle coverage for shelf analytics and cashier‑less checkout systems.
- Automotive: ADAS, rear‑view, and in‑cabin cameras requiring rugged board‑mount lenses.
- Security & surveillance: day/night CCTV and doorbell cameras using IR‑corrected S‑mount lenses.
- Video conferencing & IoT: slim webcams and smart‑home cameras needing HD board‑level optics.
I feel like I'm repeating myself when I say thank you for the excellent information and the time you've given to our project. You have gone above and beyond to support us and it is very much appreciated.
Our demo did go well and we're moving right along with the project
Thanks for the math, that is very helpful for future analysis.
Also, as a side note that I forgot to mention, we recently swapped from a different company’s lens to your CIL018 for another project with very good results. It was a smaller effort, only about 30 cameras delivered in the current contract, but more folks here are becoming aware of Commonlands as a good provider of M12 lenses for our smaller camera sensor applications.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,