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Blur by Red/Cyan Fringes (Lateral Chromatic Aberration aka LACA)
Lateral chromatic aberration (LCA) results in red and cyan color fringes away from the center. Because LCA smears the same details (of different colors) across a larger area, image details are blurred.
LCA does not exist at optical center unless a lens is badly assembled. It worsens with the distance away from the optical center, showing its greatest effect at the edges and corners of a frame.
The red/cyan color fringes occur because the colors of light are split apart, as by a prism, causing a smeared and blurry look. While the cyan fringe is less obvious, the red fringe is most easily noticed.
For in-depth coverage of axial chromatic aberration, see:
Optical Aberrations— Lateral Chromatic Aberration
How to Test a Lens— Lateral Chromatic Aberration.
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- Covers aspects of digital sensor technology that relate to getting the best image quality.
- Technique section discusses every aspect of making a sharp image handheld or on a tripod.
- Depth of field and how to bypass depth of field limitations via focus stacking.
- Optical aberrations: what they are, what they look like, and what to do about them.
- MTF, field curvature, focus shift: insight into the limitations of lab tests and why imaging performance is far more complex than it appears.
- Optical aberrations: what they are, what they look like, and what to do about them.
- How to test a lens for a “bad sample”.
Intrigued? See Focusing Zeiss DSLR Lenses For Peak Performance, PART ONE: The Challenges, or (one topic of many) field curvature.
(Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II)