{"id":4984,"date":"2026-01-27T08:55:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T13:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stvision.com\/machine-vision-solutions\/?p=4984"},"modified":"2026-02-26T09:14:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T14:14:34","slug":"opto-engineering-liquid-lenses-for-rapid-focus-adjustment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stvision.com\/machine-vision-solutions\/2026\/01\/opto-engineering-liquid-lenses-for-rapid-focus-adjustment.html","title":{"rendered":"Opto Engineering liquid lenses for rapid focus adjustment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All of us machine vision practitioners know a thing or two about camera lenses<\/a>. Some of us are optical engineers. Others are self-taught through reading<\/a> and experience. Others let their systems designers choose the lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever need a fast focus change?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your application does fine with a fixed focal lens, or a mechanically adjustable focus, that’s great. But some applications benefit from – or only become possible with – the ability to rapidly tune the focus. Enter liquid lenses, like Opto Engineering’s EL5MP<\/a> and EL12MP<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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EL5MP liquid lens – Courtesy Opto Engineering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Liquid lenses – from theory to commercial availability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leonhard Euler<\/a> (Euler’s equations, anyone?) did groundbreaking work in fluid dynamics in the 1700s. In 1859 Thomas Sutton<\/a> used a glass sphere filled with water to create a lens. So the concepts for liquid lenses aren’t new. But they’ve only been commercialized in the last 20 years. Here’s a short video (3 minutes) featuring an early leader in liquid lenses, with a nice overview of the key concepts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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