What does the size of a cameras imager (i.e. 1/3″ or 1/4″) have to do with lens optics or field of view?
A2: Quite simply, the larger the imager (or image sensor)- the wider the field of view a camera will have with the EXACT same lens. As seen in our 1/3″ lens chart- the field of view for one of our 1/3″ image sensor cameras with a 3.6mm lens is 76 degrees horizontal & about 100 degrees diagonal (corner to corner). When this exact same lens is used with a camera with a 1/4″ image sensor, the resulting horizontal view is knocked down to only 46 degrees (or a SERIOUS reduction of 30 degrees horizontal coverage!). Unfortunately, we all too often see cameras advertised as having 1/3″ image sensors- when in reality they are only 1/4″. The sellers don’t even seem to make the time to use a protractor to test if the advertised field of view is actually deleivered! We only carry a couple different 1/4″ imager cameras for special situations. Please let us know if you have a need for special order 1/4″ units. NOTE: While there are some higher quality 1/4″ image sensors out there- as well as a ton o
