Detailed Product Description

Cylindrical lenses have at least one surface that is formed like a portion of a cylinder.  Cylindrical lenses are used to correct astigmatism in the eye, and, in rangefinders, to produce astigmatism, stretching a point of light into a line. Some styles of cylindrical lenses have antireflective coatings to increase the transmission of light through the lens.

Cylindrical lenses are available in either plano-concave or plano-convex configurations. Plano-concave lenses have a negative focal length and are used for image reduction or to spread light. Plano-convex lenses have a positive focal length, which makes them ideal for collecting and focusing light for many imaging applications.