Dependence of camera lens induced radial distortion and circle of confusion on object position

Our work presents a theoretical description of camera lens radial distortion and its dependence on the change of the object position with respect to the optical system. We derived approximate formulas within the validity of the third-order aberration theory, which make possible to calculate the changes of lens distortion and the circle of confusion in dependence on the change of the object from the camera lens. These formulas consider a wide angle bundle of rays for calculation of the image point. We also prove that the elimination of distortion by tracing the principal ray does not warrant the removal of distortion of the optical system for the wide angle bundle of rays.

► Analysis of camera lens radial distortion. ► Calculation of the dependence of distortion on the object position. ► Considering a wide angle bundle of rays for calculation of the image point. ► Distortion analysis using the third-order aberration theory.