What does “4P + IR” mean in a compact camera module lens specification?

Asked 10/14/2010

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I’m new to optics and was reading a compact camera module datasheet. One spec says the lens construction is “4P + IR.” I assume “IR” refers to some kind of infrared filter, but I can’t tell what “4P” means. Is this a standard lens term, or is it manufacturer-specific?

datasheets lenses optics camera-modules infrared

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

16y ago

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I don't know about 4P, but at least in CCTV IR lenses are lenses that are corrected for infrared wavelengths, which means you can use them with day/night cameras that switch to IR when it goes dark (see Tamron site for examples of these).

Originally by user112. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user112

16y ago

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

In this context, “4P + IR” most likely means 4 plastic lens elements plus an infrared filter.

This does not appear to be a general photography term like a standard interchangeable-lens designation. Based on similar compact camera module datasheets, “4P” is used as shorthand for 4 plastic elements (“P” = plastic), and “IR” indicates an IR-cut/filtering component in the module.

A few cautions:

It seems to be manufacturer-specific nomenclature, not a universal standard.
The datasheet may not tell you how the IR filtering is implemented — it could be a separate filter or part of the optical stack.
This is unrelated to Nikon “P” lenses or other interchangeable-lens naming systems.

So for a phone/camera module datasheet, the safest reading is: lens made of 4 plastic elements, with IR filtering included.

What does “4P + IR” mean in a compact camera module lens specification?

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