Free form folding optical system

Abstract

The invention relates to a free form folding optical system. The free form folding optical system comprises two free form prisms with diopters. At least one of the free form prisms is configured to fold the optical axis twice. Thus, embodiments of the free form folding optical system fold the optical axis three or four times. Folding the optical axis three or four times in the free form prism allows for the long focal length required for telephoto lens applications without the need for additional lens elements between prisms. Furthermore, the configuration of the free form folded optical system provides a reduced Z-axis height compared to conventional folded lens systems with similar optical characteristics.

Description

[0001] background technical field [0002] The present disclosure relates generally to camera systems and, more particularly, to folded optical systems. Background technique [0003] The advent of small multipurpose mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets or tablet devices has led to the need for high resolution small form factor cameras that are lightweight, compact and capable of capturing high resolution high quality images at low f-numbers for integration into devices . However, due to the limitations of conventional camera technology, conventional compact cameras used in such devices tend to capture at lower resolution and / or lower image quality than is achievable with larger higher quality cameras image. Achieving higher resolution with a camera with a small package size generally requires the use of an image sensor with a small pixel size and a good compact imaging lens system. Technological advancements have enabled a reduction in the pixel size of image se...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, due to the limitations of conventional camera technology, conventional small cameras used in such devices tend to capture image

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