What is chromatic aberration, and why does it occur?
Chromatic aberration is a phenomenon you can sometimes see in images when they’re viewed at high magnifications, such as 100% or more on-screen, or alternatively when large prints are made. Most commonly, it’s seen as one or more colored bands surrounding the contours of a subject, where light areas and dark ones intersect in an image. Chromatic aberration is also sometimes loosely referred to as “color fringing”. Note the red/cyan ‘fringing’ on the left detail (corrected on the right) Even when viewed at normal magnifications on your computer screen, or in modest-sized prints, chromatic aberrations can reduce your images’ overall contrast, and make them seem somewhat soft and reduce the visible fine details. Chromatic aberrations can be caused by two separate sources: your digital camera’s sensor, and also by your camera lens itself. In some cases, they can combine to generate noticeable color fringing upon close inspection. When it originates in the lens, chromatic aberration is caus
