Types of optical systems in a lens designer's toolbox (2020)

There are so many optical systems that are out there. Why is one lens type used over the other? What lens design for do I need for this system? What lens design alternatives should I consider? Can I use this lens somewhere else? What if we don’t know where to start with the lens design, when only given a specification sheet? Overview This is an Ultimate Guide of lens design forms, the optical systems that are used in our world. The basic lens design forms are in here, and we can take a deep look into the development of lens design. But the not all the lens designs are simple lenses, we will look at newer and important lens design forms as well. You’d be surprised to see what lenses are related to one another, and how we can break down seemingly complex lens design into parts from different lens forms. I can’t catch all of the design forms, but let me know in the comments if you want to know more about a subject, or if you feel there is a lens form missing. N.B. A few primers ... Read full article.