Optimized Solutions for Underwater Optics Design

Optical Design Considerations for Underwater Optics

Underwater optics play a crucial role in the design of underwater camera lenses, where a large number of variables come into play. As with every optical system design, the selection of cameras, lenses, housings, and operational parameters greatly influences the performance of the complete system. Determining the correct combination of components is what experienced optical […]

Variable spot size + color mixing optical system

Variable spot size + color mixing optical system

In applications like concert show lighting, architectural lighting, and cinema projection, achieving good color mixing and variable spot size is essential. The optics design in front of a RGBW LED source must include optimization for color uniformity as well as beam shape. A common solution is to place diffuse materials in the optical path. This […]

Conoscopic Lens Design

Conoscopic Lens Design

A conoscopic lens is an instrument that can be used to measure the angular distribution of a light source. Its use is quite different from a lens, as in photography. An image created by a conoscopic lens resembles that of a fisheye lens. That is a highly distorted image. Conoscopic lenses are used to evaluate […]

Non-sequential ray tracing

Non-sequential ray tracing (ophtalscope)

When doing optical simulations using a program like ZEMAX, we can choose to do our simulations using two modes: sequential and non-sequential optics. Sequential optics, as the name indicates, follows the optical path of light as it goes from one surface to the next. For example in Cooke Triplet shown in Figure 1, light travels […]

Fisheye Lens Design

Fisheye Lens Design

Anyone who has peaked through a hotel room peephole has used a fish eye lens. Usually, the fish eye lens has a very short focal length (less than 15mm for a 35mm-size image sensor), but a large field of view (FOV). The latter can be as large as 180-degrees, giving the user a complete view […]

Laser and Adaptive Headlight Tech Explained

Laser and Adaptive Headlight Tech Explained

In the past we have talked about LiDAR and its use in auto industry, there are many more examples of optical engineering in the auto industry. One good example are the new adaptive headlights that protect the driver from glare. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has lifted some of the bans that […]