Lens Tester for Photographic Lenses

Cite as: Review of Scientific Instruments 21, 722 (1950); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1745697

Submitted: 30 March 1950 . Published Online: 20 December 2004

F. G. Back

Review of Scientific Instruments 21, 722 (1950); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1745697 21, 722

© 1950 American Institute of Physics.

TilE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS VOLUME 21. NUMBER 8 AIlGUST, 1950

Lens Tester for Photographic Lenses

F. G. BACK
Research a,nd Development Laboratory, New York, Nf'w York
(Received March 30, 1950)

Testing lenses, particularly photographic lenses, in a simple, fast, and accurate manner is quite a difficult
problem. One of the solutions to this problem is a lens tester which is basically a modified autocollimator
with a built-in color filter arranged in conjunction with an assembly unit consisting of an adjustable micro-
screen and a lens holder. This latter unit may be rotated about an axis perpendicular to the optical axis of
the instrument, giving an immediate reading of the tangential and sagittal foci. By means of this instrument
it is possible to determine: (1) the flange focal distance, (2) the shift of axial focus with respect to the lens
aperture, (3) longitudinal chromatic aberration, (4) tangential and sagittal foci for any angular distance
from the axis and for any aperture, and (5) all these readings for various color bands. This new instrument
makes possible the immediate reading of the results without further computation. The determination of
the nodal point and the focal length for extra-axial aberrations is unnecessary. Built-in color filters allow
testing for chromatic aberrations. Because of a special microscreen and reflection-free beam splitter arrange-
ment, this instrument gives satisfactory readings also for small apertures.

T ESTING photographic lenses in a fast and accu-

rate way presents a problem in many cases,
especially if a great variety of lenses with different
equivalent focal lengths have to be checked and the
quality of the images evaluated. Very often it is not
required, and even not desirable, to measure or deter-
mine the five basic aberrations separately because
frequently they would not give a true picture of the
real performance.
It is well known that certain aberrations mask others.
On the other hand, aberrations of different kinds may
appear as similar defects as far as the final photographic
image is concerned. For instance, on a black and white
photograph, longitudinal color and spherical aberration,
especially zonal aberration, create the same fuzziness
all over the image. Coma and astigmatism will show a
similar fuzziness toward the edges of the frame.
It is therefore very often better to determine the
combined effect of all aberrations on the actual picture
quality of the photographic lens for different relative
apertures and different field angles.
These measurements cannot be obtained quickly and
accurately by conventional methods. The Hartman
method as well as the nodal slide method, although
accurate, are time consuming. The Hartman method
requires photographic processing and determines axial
aberrations only. The bench method necessitates a very
accurate determination of the nodal point and the
equivalent focal length. The results obtained by the
interferometer measurements are difficult to translate
into actual picture quality.
Fre. 1.
722
The lens tester is based on the principle of the auto-
collimator. This same principle has been used by
Townsley and Foote! in their "microfocuser." The basic
difference between the lens tester and the "micro-
focuser" lies in their different purpose. The "micro-
focuser" has been designed to determine the "flange
focal distance," i.e., the distance between the flange of
the test lens to the image plane, which is the only
standardized size in motion picture optics and is there-
fore preferable to the customary back focal length.
The "microfocuser" also allows accurate calibration
of the focusing scale of the test lens for objects at finite
distances, as well as checking the coincidence of running
motion picture film with the image plane of the
camera lens.
All these measurements can only be made on suffi-
ciently corrected lenses. If the lens is afflicted with
heavy aberrations, the instrument cannot be focused.
It is therefore self-evident that the "microfocuser"
cannot be used for a quantitative measurement of lens
aberrations. The lens tester, on the other hand, is
primarily intended to measure lens aberrations.
Both instruments use a peculiarity of the auto-
collimator, namely, that the longitudinal magnification
of such a system is twice as large as the longitudinal
magnification of any other system of equal lateral
magnification. This gives to both instruments a sensi-
tivity which cannot be obtained with the ordinary
bench method. Townsley and Foote have furnished a
very elegant mathematical proof of this phenomenon
which need not be repeated here.
Figure 1 shows a schematic cross section through the
lens tester. It can clearly be seen that the instrument
consists of two units-the collimator unit and the
micrometer unit.
The collimator unit consists of:
(A) A low voltage filament lamp burning at two
intensity levels: the lower level for measurements under
1 M. G. Townsley and P. C. Foote, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 37, 42
(1947).
 LENS TESTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC
normal conditions; the higher level for measurements
with dark filters or very small apertures.
(B) A four-way filter disk with a white window and
a red, green, and blue filter.
(C) A condenser system which images the filament on
the collimator lens.
(D) A target consisting of a thin metal plate showing
a transparent cross and a concentric dotted circle.
(E) A beam splitter consisting of a plano parallel
glass plate with a semitransparent and semireflective
coating on one side and antireflection coating on the
other side, set at a 45° angle to the optical axis of the
system with the semireflective coating away from the
target.
[The author prefers the coated semitransparent mirror to the
block glass-type of beam splitter used in the "microfocuser"
because it eliminates internal reflections. These reflections are
objectionable because they diminish the contrast of the image
seen through the eyepiece, thus making it difficult to obtain
accurate reading for small lens apertures. The anti-reflection
coating on the reverse side of the semi-transparent mirror re-
duces the brightness of the secondary image. Whatever remains
of this unwanted image is rendered harmless by the thickness of
the semi-transparent mirror which provides ample separation
between the primary and secondary image.]
(F) An eyepiece arranged perpendicular to the optical
axis of the system in such a way that its focal plane and
the target (D) are equidistant from the point where the
optical axis of the system intersects the semireflective
coating of the beam splitter (E).
(G) A collimator consisting of a cemented triplet
corrected for primary and secondary color and designed
in such a way that zonal spherical aberrations are at a
mmlmum.
[The collimator lens of the "microfocuser" is a long focus
achromatic doublet which is fully sufficient for the purposes for
which the "microfocuser" was designed. On the other hand, an
instrument which measures aberrations has to use a much higher
corrected objective to avoid the contribution of its own aberrations
to those of the lens under test. The author has succeeded in
designing a sufficiently thin triplet to avoid transversal color,
which is the bane of most apochromats.]
The above-mentioned components are mounted in
one metal unit on the standard optical bench. This
unit collimates the target at infinity and transmits a
bundle of parallel rays toward the lens to be tested.
The micrometer unit comprises:
(A) A microscreen consisting of a finely ground but
unpolished silver-coated first surface glass mirror ar-
ranged perpendicular to the optical axis of the test lens.
This microscreen is the basic point of difference between
this instrument and the "microfocuser." Although
ground as fine as possible to achieve maximum resolu-
tion, the microscreen still obeys Lambert's law and
therefore reflects the incident rays diffusely. The re-
ceiver of the "microfocuser," on the other hand, is a
highly polished mirror. This explains why, in the
presence of stronger aberrations, the "microfocuser"
cannot be focused, as there are an infinite number of
LENSES 723
FIG. 2.
coincidence planes equally out of focus. A quantitative
analysis of lens performance is therefore impossible
with the "microfocuser."
(B) A micrometer screw attached to the screen for
moving it back and forth along the optical axis.
(C) An interchangeable lens mount which holds the
test objective and which is dimensioned in such a way
that the flange of the lens mount has the proper focal
plane distance from the screen when the micrometer is
set at zero.
A differential action of the aforementioned microm-
eter screw prevents the microscreen from rotating and
at the same time permits an accurate reading.
This second unit can be rotated around an axis per-
pendicular to the optical axis of the system, and the
angle of rotation is indicated on a dial. Since the micro-
screen remains always perpendicular to the optical axis
of the lens to be tested, it is not necessary that this
axis of rotation coincides with the transverse axis of
the test objective. It is also unnecessary to keep any
accurate distance between the two measuring units
because the rays between the collimator and the lens
are parallel.
The novel features of the aforementioned instrument
give an accurate indication of the lens performance in
the following readings.
(1) The distance from the lens flange to the image
plane for an object at infinity in the center of the field
with the iris closed to the smallest setting, measured
with white light. This distance represents the flange
focal distance of the lens. The :flange focal distance is
measured from the :flange because the flange distance is
the only standardized dimension on a camera and there-
fore most suitable as a reference point for photographic
lenses.
(2) Determination of the same distance as (1), but
for different iris settings. This measurement shows the
shift of the focal plane caused by spherical aberration.
Our measuring method integrates the total spherical
aberration for that particular relative aperture and
determines automatically the circle of least confusion
for this iris setting.
(3) Same as (1) and (2), but measured with green,
red, and blue light. These data determine the primary
and secondary longitudinal color of the objective for
the paraxial region as well as for the higher orders of
this aberration.
 724 McKINNEY, McCREA, EPSTEIN, ALLEN, AND UREY

(4) Distance between the flange and the two focal
surfaces for objects at infinity not located on the optical
axis but sub tending, with the latter, various angles with
the iris closed. The difference between these two dis-
tances represents the amounts of pure astigmatism with
which the lens is afflicted at that particular field angle;
while the difference between each of these two measure-
ments and the flange focal length as measured according
to (1) represents the tangential and sagittal field
curvature.
(5) Same as (4), but for different iris settings to
determine the additional influence of coma and oblique
spherical aberration.
It should be noted here again that the measurements
(2) and (5) do not represent the mathematical image
point for that particular aperture but rather the circle
of least confusion, taking into consideration the sum
total of all aberrations which come into play at the
image formation for that particular point of the field.
The variations of these distances give a reliable measure
for the evaluation of the lens performance under actual
working conditions.
" Figure 2 shows the instrument mounted on a standard
optical bench.
It is obvious that, from the standpoint of production
engineering, the necessary computations have been
reduced to an absolute minimum. Nearly all data
required to plot graphs of the resolution of the lens at
different apertures and field angles can be directly read
off from the instrument.
The instrument is also very sturdy and needs no
adjustment once it is set. Like the "microfocuser ," it
can be operated by an unskilled worker after very
short instruction.
An instrument of this type has been in practical
daily use for over a year and has given most satis-
factory results.

THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS VOLUME 21. NUMBER 8 AUGUST. 1950

Improvements in Mass Spectrometers for the Measurement of Small Differences

in Isotope Abundance Ratios
C. R. McKINNEY, J. M. MCCREA, S. EpSTEIN, H. A. ALLEN, AND H. C. UREY
Institute for Nuclear Studies, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
(Received March 30, 1950)

A Nier-type mass spectrometer and its associated electronic units have been constructed for the purpose of
measuring small variations in the abundances of oxygen of mass 18 and of carbon of mass 13 in carbon
dioxide, and of oxygen of mass 18 in oxygen gas, to an accuracy of ±O.OI percent of the abundance of these
isotopes.
The electronic units of the necessary stability for this degree of accuracy are described. A gas feed system is
described which permits fast alternate introduction of the sample of gas to be analyzed and a standard gas
into the mass spectrometer. All measurements of the variation in the abundance of the oxygen and carbon
isotopes are made with reference to a standard.

D DRING recent years great progress has been made

in developing mass spectrometers for the measure-
ment of the relative abundance of isotopes. Particularly
sensitive instruments have been developed by Nier,
Thode, and others.! Basically, the mass spectrometer
and electronic units in our research were those described
by Nier. We report only the changes we made in these
that assisted us in being able to measure small differ-
ences in the abundance of the rarer isotopes in gaseous
compounds. The method has been applied to carbon and
oxygen in carbon dioxide and to oxygen in oxygen gas.
Our success in securing this greater sensitivity depends
both upon increasing the intensity of the ion beam and
upon increasing the absolute sensitivity of detection. In
doing this, it has been necessary to improve the stability
1 A. O. Nier, Rev. Sci. Inst. 18, 398 (1947). Thode, Graham,
Ziegler, Can. ]. Research B23, 40 (1945). For an excellent review
of this subject, see M. G. Inghram, Advances in Electronics 1,219
(1948).
of the beam intensity and output from the amplifiers by
the use of more stable power supplies, more reliable
amplification systems, and an improved emission regu-
lator. Also, it has been necessary to use a method for
rapid change of samples in order to decrease errors due
to general variability of the instrument with time, and it
has proved essential that a recording potentiometer be
used to detect and record the state of balance of the
simultaneously collected ion beams. The instrument has
been constructed with the objective of measuring small
differences in isotopic abundances of the oxygen isotopes
as a means of measuring paleotemperatures, but the
instrument and our procedures may be useful in other
researches.
POWER SUPPLY FOR ELECTROMAGNET
Figure 1 shows the circuit diagram of the power sup-
ply used to furnish the current for the magnet windings