"A lens that is rotationally asymmetrical does not look the same after you turn it around it’s center point. The number of positions in which the object looks exactly the same is called the order of the symmetry. In OOWA, we are using second order symmetry.
Due to the second order symmetry in our free-form lenses, we are able to optimize image quality in a rectang ular shape, mapping this high-quality image space onto the rectangular sensor."
I don't really understand the rationale behind these lenses. Rotationally symmetrical lenses for smartphones, both spherical and aspherical, can already be cheaply mass produced at diffraction limited quality.
ReplyDeleteThese adapters are huge. Maybe this is the first attempt to make a really high quality tele/wide converter for smartphones but optics that large using symmetrical lenses can deliver a large enough image circle to provide the same edge to edge sharpness and low chromatic aberrations OOWA does. Most current smartphone lens adapters are low precision cheap optic affairs so their comparison with the "leading brand" might not tell the whole story.
Using free form lenses would make more sense if they could have made the package slimmer. Even in this form factor, if OOWA could demonstrate a higher t-stop and/or MTF improvements, that would be welcome. Both improvements could be made using conventional designs though so I'm wondering if smartphone lens adapters are really an appropriate application of this technology.
In a similar vein, and perhaps coincidentally, the Nokia technologist on their team was also behind the mass introduction of extended depth-of-field technology into their smartphones, an introduction that made little sense in a world of wideangle lenses coupled with tiny sensors, i.e., already enormous depth of field.