Can I retrofit a gel documentation system with a smaller-sensor camera and keep the same field of view?
Asked 6/28/2018
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I’m replacing the dead original camera in a Kodak 2000R gel documentation system with a Basler acA1300-200um. Using the existing system lens, the image is much more magnified and only shows a reduced area. The Basler sensor is about 4.9 × 3.6 mm, while the original Kodak IS1000 CCD was about 15 × 15 mm. I also tried a 0.5× focal reducer, but it made the result worse. Is there any adapter or focal-length solution that would let me keep the same field of view with this smaller sensor, or do I need a different lens or camera sensor size?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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To get the same field of view with a differently sized sensor, you need a different focal length. In this case to get the same horizontal angle of view with the 4.9mm wide Basler sensor that you got with the 15mm wide Kodak IS1000 sensor you need a lens with roughly one-third the focal length of your current lens. To get the same vertical angle of view with the 3.6mm tall Basler sensor that you got with the 15mm tall Kodak IS 1000 sensor you need a lens with about one-fourth the focal length of your current lens.
If you wish to continue to use the same lens without adding an image degrading reducer, you need to use a sensor the same size as the one you are replacing. If you do use a reducer, you need one that actually reduces by a factor of three to four by casting an image circle 1/3 to 1/4 the size of the original lens. (It seems your 0.5X "reducer" actually magnifies by a factor of 2X?)
It's that simple.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
8y ago
0
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Yes, the smaller sensor is the main reason the image looks much more magnified. With the same lens, a 4.9 × 3.6 mm sensor captures only a much smaller central portion of the image compared with a 15 × 15 mm sensor.
To match the original field of view, you’d need either:
- a much shorter focal length lens, roughly 1/3 to 1/4 of the current focal length, or
- a camera with a sensor close to the original 15 × 15 mm size.
A 0.5× reducer is not enough here, and adding reducers can also degrade image quality. Based on the sensor size difference, you’d need something closer to about 0.33× to 0.25× reduction to approach the original coverage.
So the practical answer is: if you want to keep the existing lens, use a sensor similar in size to the original. If you want to keep the smaller Basler sensor, you’ll need a substantially shorter focal length lens rather than a simple adapter.
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