Due to the vast number of imaging lenses that are available on the market, actually choosing a lens for a given application can be a daunting task. Part one of this article covered the most common types of lenses used for machine vision.

Lenses are a complicated and nuanced component in imaging systems. It is not always straightforward which decisions to make when it comes time to choose a lens and what tradeoffs are made as a direct result of those decisions.

All machine vision systems rely on the production of an image of sufficient quality to allow the required measurements to be made.

The ability to quickly perform repeatable, high accuracy measurements is critical to maximize the performance of many machine vision systems.

The ability to quickly perform repeatable, high accuracy measurements is critical to maximize performance of many machine vision systems.

Precision lenses do an excellent job conveying contrast and color from object to image, but they can do a poor job of transferring accurate dimensions, especially if they have small focal lengths.

When the first multi-lens microscopes were invented in 1590, scientists marveled at their new ability to see small objects and features in the natural world that were previously invisible to the eye and therefore seemingly nonexistent.