Pancake lenses aren’t new, but they’re usually restricted to focal lengths between 24 and 40mm. At least I’ve only seen them in or around these focal ranges. I’m referring to lenses that are considered smaller and more compact (in the full frame genre) than lenses of other focal ranges. Any semi-decent lens is at least thick enough to be comfortably gripped by the whole palm of your hand. The bigger the focal length, the obviously larger the size of the lens we’re used to seeing. That all might change in the near future if the Metalens technology showcased by a company named Optor gets adopted by mainstream manufacturers.
What Is A Metalens?
No, it’s not a lens made by that soul-sucking company that trades your personal info to the highest bidder and then stares blankly into the distance, denying any culpability at Senate hearings. A metalens is a type of lens that doesn’t rely on traditional curved glass or plastic elements found in conventional lenses. Instead, it uses nanostructured materials to focus light. In the past, we’ve written about how curved sensors could reduce the size of lenses, but metalenses don’t have this dependency. These lenses are made up of really tiny structures that manipulate light at the nanoscale. By precisely engineering these structures, a metalens can guide light in ways that are impossible with traditional optics.
Metalens By Optor
As reported by DC Watch, the company Optor exhibited some examples of metalenses at the Nexty Electronics booth at CEATEC 2024. Take a look at the lens seen in the photo above, which depicts a focal length of 30mm. According to the exhibitor, this lens contains 6 billion 2μm-thick lens pillars, which are arranged on a 1mm-thick glass. 1mm is slightly over 1/32 inch, which is incredibly flat for a lens. Metalens thicknesses are wafer-thin and could totally change the way we see lenses being produced.
The company claims that the resolution is on par with what you’d expect from a traditional lens and that aberrations are handled too. Usually, to tackle aberrations, you’d have to deal with multiple aspherical elements stacked inside the lens. But with a metalens, all that can be done with just a single piece of glass. The result is a lens unit that’s significantly thinner, thus making your gear more compact without sacrificing image quality
However, there does currently seem to be an issue with color bleeding when using a metalens. This is because, in principle, focusing using a metalens relies on a phenomenon known as diffraction.
The Future Is Flat
Imagine just how much larger focal length lenses could shrink if camera manufacturers adopt this technology. We’re talking about a revolution in camera and lens sizing then. If such optic companies and camera brands marry, super telephoto lenses could fit in your pocket in the future. The benefits would extend to lenses used in smartphone cameras as well. As with all such technology, I suppose it won’t be a direct swap out of traditional lenses for metalenses overnight. We might see camera brands using a metalens or two alongside aspherical glass elements in lenses, which could still give noticeable size and weight reduction in the next few years. And while the future
All images seen in the article are screenshots from DC Watch.