C-mount lenses for machine vision cameras

What should I consider when looking for a C-mount lens?

For every lens series, a variety of focal lengths are available. Most of our C-mount lenses have a fixed focal length, providing stability in your application and enabling high resolution and contrast in captured images. This makes them ideal for use in industrial applications, where fixed parameters such as working distance and field of view are necessary. The cost of a fixed-focus lens is relatively low, allowing the possibility of meeting the needs of large-scale industrial productions.

If you in the process of selecting the right lens for your machine vision application, it is essential to consider various factors. These factors include the desired field of view, working distance, sensor size, and required focal length. To help you calculate the right lens, you can use our Lens calculator to determine the right focal length for your application. This tool can also be used as a C-mount lens calculator for your specific field of view. 

Another point to consider is the match between the lens resolution (resolving power) with the pixel size of your industrial camera. You can read more about this on this article: "How to select the best lens resolution for the pixel size of your camera". This article explains in detail the relationship between the lens resolution and pixel size. 

We have an experienced team that can help you select the best lens for your application. Please contact us for a direct assistance!

Advantages of C-mount lenses

Using C-mount lenses has many benefits, they are designed specifically for use in industrial environments. They are built to be robust and durable to withstand harsh conditions such as high temperatures, humidity, vibration, and other adverse factors. Some other advantages include:

• Suitable for image sensors up to 1.4;
• Manual aperture (iris) adjustment;
• Manual focus setting;
• Screws to fix securely the iris and focus position;
• You can easily and securely mount the lens;
• Selected lenses with very high light sensitivity, apertures ranging up to F1.4

Applications for C-mount lenses

C-mount lenses are versatile optical tools employed in a wide spectrum of applications, including quality control, inspection, and monitoring of the production process in machine vision systems. In robotics and automation, they serve as essential components for object identification, positioning, and tracking. 
Their ability to provide sharp and detailed images is particularly valuable in scientific research and medical imaging for capturing intricate details of samples and tissues. From inspecting products on assembly lines to assisting robots in manipulating objects, C-mount lenses demonstrate their adaptability and versatility across diverse fields.

Get Cameras portfolio of C-mount lenses

We have more than 50 different C-mount lenses on offer in our portfolio, GeT Cameras provides an extensive line of high-performance lenses for each resolution level (45MP, 25MP, 20MP, 10MP, 12MP or 5MP), each with different focal lengths and sensor sizes. We also offer options of macro lenses and varifocal lenses. If you could not find a solution for you in our online store//if your applications requires a very specific solution that you cannot find directly in our portfolio, please make an enquiry for custom C-mount lenses. Our goal is to provide high-quality products with an extremely low level of variation among individual lenses. 

Are you in need of a perfect camera to match with your C-Mount Lens? Check out our selection of Machine Vision Cameras.

Differences of C-mount lenses 

Our portfolio of standard C-mount lenses can be divided into three categories based on their focal length, aperture, and optical design: 

• Fixed focal length lenses: This type of lens is the standard in machine vision applications. While focus and aperture can be set, the focal length (magnification) can’t be changed. This enables the manufacturer to construct a lens with more light sensitivity, compared to other types of lenses. In addition, less mechanical parts make the lenses more rigid and reliable to perform in an industrial environment. The focal length of a lens depends on the sensor size, working distance and desired field of view for the application. Our lens calculator is a perfect tool to determine the needed focal length.
• Zoom lenses: These lenses offer a variable magnification, allowing for a wide range of field of views without changing camera position or more flexibility in the working distance. They are typically characterized by their maximum and minimum focal length. Zoom lenses are available in manual focus or motorized/autofocus such as those commonly used in CCTV systems and machine vision applications. 
• Macro lenses: These lenses are specialized for close-up images, designed for high resolution applications where a short working distance is required. They feature a short minimum focusing distance and a shallow depth of field, making them ideal for capturing intricate details of small subjects. We have macro lenses available for 12MP resolution for 25, 35, 50 and 75mm focal length.
• In addition, we have also available telecentric C-mount lens that you can use in your application. 

Lens filters and adapters for a C-mount lens

We offer a wide portfolio of lens filter for C-mount lenses. With our filters you can improve the contrast in your machine vision application. You can find a diverse range of bandpass, long pass, UV, NIR and polarizing filters. Choose from a variety of filter threads to match your specific C-mount lens.
If you are using a camera with a CS-mount, you can simply pair your C-mount lens with our C-EXTENSION-RING-5MM adapter and easily integrate it into your system.
It is also possible to use a focal extender such as our 2x focal length extender or our 4x focal length extender. to zoom a factor of 2 or 4 and increase your focal length of a C-mount lens. These focal extenders can be very useful when working with a C-mount lenses with a microscopic for example, where the field of view is usually smaller.

C-mount lenses production and quality control

Our manufacturing facility has the capacity to produce more than 300,000 lenses each year. We keep a stock of 500 units specifically for machine vision lenses. These lenses undergo meticulous crafting and polishing to attain the precise aspherical size. Constructed with glass elements and housed in metal, the initial production step involves cutting the glass elements, followed by polishing and thorough cleaning. Rigorous quality control measures are implemented to ensure that our C-mount lenses meet stringent quality standards, providing an outstanding price-performance ratio.

C-mount lens shock & vibration test

The industrial c-mount lens for Machine Vision applications is tested on shock and vibrations. The lens is designed with glasses that are fixed with a pressure ring. Lenses are tested under the following conditions:

• Vibration testing: a generated sine wave with an amplitude of 1.5mm and a frequency of 10hz-55hz will shake the lens for 25 minutes in three perpendicular directions
• Drop test: The lens, packaged in the standard package, is dropped 5 times, each from 1 corner, 3 edges and 6 sides at a height of 1m on a rigid surface (steel plate)

For machine vision applications where the c-mount lens might vibrate, we advise to use blue Loctite® glue to be sure that the lens locking screws for focus and aperture will not vibrate or loosen up. These are best practices for industrial C-mount lenses.