LWIR Thermal Imaging Camera Lenses
For a thermal camera, Field of view (FOV) is defined as the maximum angle at which the device is sensitive to Infrared electromagnetic radiation. The focal length of the thermal lens modules and the dimension of the sensor/detector determine the FOV. For a given dimension of the detector, FOV is only dependent upon the focal length of the lenses. Unlike a set of double FOV lenses which has two switchable focal lengths, or a set of zoom lenses that has continuous variable focal lengths between a given range, a set of LWIR single FOV lenses features a fixed focal length, and therefore, a fixed FOV.
However, in real-life cases, although most single FOV thermal imaging lenses are devised with one definite focal length, manufacturers often incorporate some minute adjusting mechanism into the lenses, so that users can calibrate the scope and adjust the visual distance, whether the aiming objects are near or distant, users can bring the objects intended for observation into focus. Nominally, the focal length remains “fixed”, and the FOV is the same, but the focal length is in fact variable to a quite subtle extent. There are two mechanisms for adjusting the focal length, manual focusing and motorized. Manual Focusing Lenses are lenses whose focal lengths can be changed using hands. While Motorized Lenses allow users to adjust the camera from remote distances without manual handling.
Hangzhou Shalom EO offers a series of IR single FOV lenses for LWIR (8-12 micro) thermal imaging cameras with focal lengths from 4.8mm to 300mm, fit for uncooled FPA detectors ranging from a low resolution of 160x120 pixels to a high resolution of 1024x768 pixels. Each of these thermal camera lenses from Shalom holds a designated focal length and provides a certain FOV. However, for the convenience of practical usage, for most off-the-shelf LWIR single FOV lens modules, the configured focal length is slightly adjustable, either using a manual focusing mechanism or a motorized mechanism, and lenses with absolutely invariable fixed focal lengths are also available. You might select our LWIR manual Focus Lenses, motorized Lenses, or fixed focal length lenses according to your requirements. Besides the off-the-shelf products, custom free-design IR thermal imaging lenses could also be tailored.
Tutorial:
This is a basic and brief tutorial and guide to help you understand some important glossaries about Optical Lenses and Camera Lenses including Sensor Size and Resolution, Depth of Field (DOF), Focal Length, Field of View (FOV), f-number, Transmission of Materials, Image Distortion, Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), Spherical Aberration and Coma when you are selecting them.
Note: This article focuses on how to select lens assemblies. You might want to learn more about the selection of Singlet Optical Lens Elements, click here to view Lens Selection Guide to learn about different lens types and their aptness, and click here to view Optical Substrate Material Selection Guide to learn about material properties.
Sensor Size and Resolution： The Sensor Size is the Width (Horizontal Length) and Height (Vertical Length) of the sensor/detector, often measured in mm, inch, or pixels. Resolution refers to the number of pixels arranged in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. A 1280x1024 detector has 1280 pixels in each horizontal row and 1024 pixels in each vertical row. Each lens module has compatible sensors with specific sizes and resolutions. Greater pixel numbers mean higher resolution, which implies better image quality. For Thermal Imaging Camera Lenses, Shalom EO specifies the width and the height of the compliant detectors in pixels, and also the pixel pitch. Pixel pitch, which is the length between the centers of two adjacent pixel units, is also an important concept. Smaller pixel pitch leads to greater resolution but at the cost of reduced light sensitivities or thermal sensitivities in the case of thermal camera detectors. High Resolution detectors are also often called High Definition (HD) detectors, the terms are equivalent and both mean dense arrangements of pixels in the sensor frame and great image finess.
Depth of Field (DOF): DOF is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in sharp focus in the image. Depth of Field could be calculated, providing the focal length, subject distance, and acceptable Circle of Confusion (CoC, a blurred spot resulting from the imperfect focus of point light sources, and the numerical value of acceptable CoC refers to the diameter of the blurred spot which is tolerable). and the f-number. Assume the focal length is f, subject distance is u, CoC equals c, and the f-number is n, then: DOF=2u^2nc/f^2
Focal Length: Focal Length is the distance from the optical center to the point at which radiations parallel to the optical axis of the lenses converge (i.e. the focal point). There is also Effective Focal Length (EFL), which is the distance from the principal point and the focal point, and Back Focal Length (BFL), which is the distance from the vertex of the rear lens to the back focal point. Lenses with greater focal lengths allow close-up image capture at farther distances with a narrower view angle, while short focal length lenses are excellent for obtaining an extended view angle. In general, longer focal length leads permit expanded vision over remote range, but at the cost of reduced FOV, which leads to a kind of trade-off relationship. Lenses with long focal length designs are often adopted in applications like surveillance, such as long-range MWIR thermal camera lenses in order to obtain more agile alertness of the threats. In terms of focal length, camera lenses can be divided into three types, prime lenses, also known as fixed focal length lenses, which only have one focal length; double FOV lenses, which have two switchable focal lengths; and continuous zoom lenses, also called zoom lenses or CZ lenses, of which the focal lengths can be altered continuously within a set range by the users.
Field of View (FOV): Field of View is the maximum angle within which an optical instrument is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. It describes the visual scope of a camera and is determined by the focal length and the sensor size of the detector. In the specification forms, the FOV given is measured as angular values. The Calculation formulae for Field of View (FOV) are:
AFOV = 2 x tan-1 (H/2f)
Where H = sensor size (horizontal or vertical dimension), f = focal length of the lens.
The conversion formulae between vertical FOV and horizontal FOV are:
vertical FOV (angular) = 2tan^-1 (height of detector/2f)
and since width of detector = height x aspect ratio, horizontal FOV (angular) = 2tan^-1 (height x aspect ratio/2f)
Click Here to View The Diagram of FOV and Learn More about It.
f-number: f-number, sometimes known as the f stop of the focal ratio, is the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of the entrance pupil (the aperture). The f-number indicates the ratio of radiations entering the lens, the greater the f-number, the smaller the aperture, and hence the less the radiations transferred. Also, lenses with a lower f-number appear crisper, since the blurring spot will become less perceptible on the image plane as the aperture contracts. The term “lens speed” also refers to the f-number of the lenses.
Transmission of Materials: It is important that the lens modules should be made from materials that have high transmission to your wavelength of interest. For instance, in the case of the MWIR thermal lenses, Germanium is a common material due to its wide optical transmission range from 2 to 12 microns. Thermal properties are another issue to consider, since the refractive index of optical materials varies as temperature varies, which leads to the defocus of the lenses. Therefore for working conditions with fluctuated temperatures, athermalized lens modules are more appropriate. The weight of the material should also be evaluated for weight-sensitive applications.
Image Distortion: Image Distortion is defined as the deviation from a rectilinear perspective, the result is the bending over of straight lines into curved lines in the image. The greater the FOV, the more difficult it is to correct the spherical images into a rectilinear perspective. Distortion has no impact on the image qualities, but solely affects the similarities of the image to the object. Distortion has nothing to do with the relative aperture but is associated with the field of view of the lens. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the influence of distortion when using wide-angle lenses. For example, fisheye Lenses tend to have a rather significant image distortion. There are also several algorithms aimed at rectifying distortions, such as findChessboardCorners, calibrateCamera, initUndistortRectifyMap, remap, etc.
Modulation Transfer Function (MTF): Modulation Transfer Function is a comprehensive measurement to assess the ability of the optical lens to maintain contrast between line pairs of the real object at different spatial frequencies, where the distribution of light from the object is regarded as sinusoidal functions with specific frequencies. The greater the MTF value, the more capable the camera is of preserving the details from the real scene in the image.
Spherical Aberration and Coma: Spherical aberrations: These aberrations result from variations in the optical paths of light beams when passing through an optical lens' spherical surface. Monochromatic light beams that are incident on optical lenses but are not parallel to the optical axis tend to focus at the front of the mathematical focal point of the optics, while paraxial light beams that are closer to the optical axis tend to focus at the back of the mathematical focal point of the optics. Spherical aberrations can occur with lenses that have one or more spherical sides, including plano-convex lenses and ball lenses. When a cone of light from a point light source forms a defocused, comet-shaped, elliptical patch on the focal plane, coma, also known as comatic aberration, is said to be present. When the vertex of the cone of lights—the point light source—is not on the optical axis, this phenomenon takes place. Click here to learn more about spherical aberration and coma.
Chromatic Aberration: Chromatic aberration is a failure of a lens to focus all colors to the same point. It results from dispersion: the refractive index of the lens elements varies with the wavelength of light. Axial chromatic aberration is related to the focal distance of imaging, causing the separation of colors or flares; while magnification chromatic aberration is related to the magnitude of the imaging plane, causing color staggering around the screen, forming diffuse color fringes, this is known as the fringing phenomenon. Chromatic aberration affects the color reproduction of images on the color film and also reduces the resolution of images made on black and white film. The common approach to correct Axial Chromatic Aberrations is using an Achromatic Doublet Lens, and The correction of Magnification Chromatic Aberration by using lenses made from abnormal/ultra-low dispersion optical glass.
Field Curvature: Field Curvature, also known as “Curvature of Field” or “Petzval Field Curvature”, is a common optical problem. It is the phenomenon that an object plane perpendicular to the principal optical axis can not form a flat image field, but instead, the image field conjectured to be planar is inward bent into a curved, bowl-like shape. The consequence of field curvature is a flat object fractionally appearing sharp in a certain part(s) of the frame, instead of appearing sharp across the entire film frame. All optical lenses have associated with it, a basic field curvature, which is a function of the index of refraction of the lens elements and their surface curvatures. The sharpest image can only be formed on a curved focal surface rather than a flat focal plane.
Astigmatism: Astigmatism is said to be present when the object point is not on the optical axis of the optical system, and the beam it emits has an inclination angle with the optical axis. Astigmatism is different from Coma. It is an off-axis aberration that describes the imaging defect of infinitely narrow beams and is only related to the field of view. The magnitude of the projection of the distance between the convergent point of the meridian narrow beam and the convergent point of the sagittal narrow beam on the optical axis is the value of astigmatism. Due to the presence of astigmatism, the image quality of the off-axis field of view is significantly reduced. Even if the aperture is opened very small, very clear images cannot be obtained in the meridional and sagittal directions at the same time. The size of the astigmatism is only related to the angular field of view, not the size of the aperture. Therefore, astigmatism is more obvious in the wide-angle lens, and the subject should be placed in the center of the picture as much as possible when shooting.
How to Select Thermal Camera Lenses? Thermal imaging lenses operate based on thermal radiations, not the RGB light, this fundamental distinction introduces several differences in how these lenses work, and therefore users need to consider different factors when purchasing thermal camera lenses. You might switch to the Resource Tab for a more in-depth exploration of how to read the specifications for thermal camera lenses.