Abstract

Jan Hoogland has shown that fifth-order Petzval curvature is often the limiting aberration of a high-performance design, although this fact is often masked by higher-order astigmatism. I have shown that this fifth-order Petzval curvature is usually caused by pupil aberrations—mainly coma of the chief ray—within the lens. This same pupil aberration is intimately connected to the third-order distortion of the system, which is also a chief ray aberration.

© 1989 Optical Society of America