Distortion

dɪstɔrʃən
Term: Distortion
Description: Distortion is an optical effect caused by lens structure. There are three types of distortion: barrel, pincushion, and mustache, which is a mixture of barrel and pincushion. Barrel distortion is the most commonly seen type of distortion and is found in normal to wide angle lenses, with more pronounced examples seen in the widest focal lengths. Picture an image produced by a fisheye lens and you will have an image in mind that features strong, very exaggerated barrel distortion. It should be mentioned that not all wide angle lenses suffer barrel distortion - there is a specific type of lens called ‘rectilinear’ which has little to no distortion Pincushion distortion is less common and can be seen in older or low-quality telephoto lenses. Rather than lines bowing out as in barrel distortion, they converge inward toward the center when pincushion distortion is present.

Related Articles to Distortion Definition

4 reasons 85mm prime lens perfect for portraits and how to use it

4 Reasons the 85mm is Perfect for Portraits & How to Use It

Pye Jirsa
In this video, Pye gives four reasons why the 85mm prime lens has become a staple in a portrait photographer's toolkit and he also shares how to use it.
canon rf 15 35mm f 2 8 mirrorless wide angle lens review 03

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L Review | The Workhorse Mirrorless Wide-Angle Zoom

Matthew Saville
This $2300 lens is raising the bar for flagship wide-angle zooms. Is it the right lens for your collection?
how to use natural light for high key portraits

When SHOULD You Blow Out the Highlights?

Pye Jirsa
In this article/video, we'll show you how and when to use natural light for high key portraits that balance imperfect lighting with a refined, authentic look.
Fujifilm X100V Review Camera Hands on Head to Head

Fujifilm X100V Real-World Camera Review | Head to Head Series

Pye Jirsa
Our new Head to Head Series is here to offer HONEST, objective gear reviews and share what it's like to actually live with the products and use them in real-world situations.
Feature for natural light portrait tips hard light to shape the body

Natural Light Portrait Tips | Use Hard Light to Shape the Body

Pye Jirsa
While many photographers tend to shy away from using harsh natural light in portraits, you can use it to dramatic effect to shape your subject's body.

Fix Lens Distortion With The Guided Upright Tool In Lightroom

Wendell Weithers
Wide angle lenses enable architectural photographers to provide the necessary perspective to place a structure within its context while remaining relatively close in proximity. The drawback the to these lenses is the distortion they...

Lightroom Tips | How To Fix Perspective & Distortion in Lightroom

Holly Roa
While retouching and post processing are about as old as photography itself, there are corrections that are uniquely digital, and certainly more easily accomplished with digital photography. Adobe Lightroom can shuffle pixels around at...

EXIF.co | Using Smart Watermarks And Embedded Exif Data To Protect Your Images

Wendell Weithers
Image theft or image usage without attribution and compensation is a fear that always lurks in the back of a photographer’s mind. Once your image is online, it is at risk. As with all...

ViewPoint 3 | A Distortion Removal Tool From DxO Isn’t Just For Architecture

Bilal Akhtar
ViewPoint 3 was just announced by DxO, and brings a major update to their image correction program,  featuring new algorithms designed to correct alignment and distortion. [rewind: HOW LENSES AFFECT COMPOSITION | A LOOK AT...

Lens Distortions | Pure Preset Temptation

Kishore Sawh
Artistically designed presets that will be tempting enough to overuse.