Designing and Specifying Digital Cameras

Level: Introductory Length: 4 hours Format: Online Intended Audience: Scientists, engineers, technicians, or managers who wish to learn how to specify a camera, the lens and the sensor, from a system perspective to satisfy a particular requirement. Managers and engineers who want to talk to lens designers or camera vendors with a higher level of understanding. No prerequisites. Description: This course teaches how to design a digital camera from a systems perspective with emphasis on the optical specification and how that relates to the sensor. Concepts are explained through graphics, animations and examples. Only simple math is presented. Rules of thumb are emphasized over rigorous theory. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - discuss the difference between rectilinear, fisheye, and telecentric lenses - explain how to calculate the required focal length to yield a desired field of view - explain how to calculate the field of view that a focal length will yield - explain how to specify the appropriate lens performance for a given sensor - discuss aliasing, Nyquist, oversampling, and the limits of oversampling - discuss terms like MTF, diffraction limited, PSF and how to specify them - explain how aperture affects lens performance - describe chief ray angle, and what happens when the CRA is mismatched - explain the difference between spherical lenses and aspherical lenses - discuss when to use stock lenses, and when to consider custom or semi-custom optics - gain familiarization with different lens production methods, and when to consider each - demonstrate the difference between rolling shutter and globally shuttered imagers Instructor(s): Leo B Baldwin is a physicist, a futurist, and an inventor with 89 US patents. He has delved into nuclear reactor core design, submarine design, plastic waste processing, and utility-scale solar power. The majority of his career has been in photonics. Leo has designed cameras including lenses, pixels, and sensors; illumination systems, lasers including beam-shaping and delivery systems, machine vision and robotic guidance systems. His original designs can be found with the armed forces of 26 countries, on ship decks and helicopters, in glass plants and breweries, in semiconductor fabs and on manufacturing floors, on iPhones and iPads, in the Amazon Go store and in Amazon consumer products. Leo is currently working on the Scout autonomous delivery robot for Amazon. Fun fact: Leo was deemed an Expert Witness on the subject of Beer Foam (and its measurement) in Judge Ito’s court. SPIE online courses are on-demand and self-paced, with access for one year. For more information visit: spie.org/education/online-courses