Lens Distortion Quiz – Test Your Photography Knowledge

Lens distortion warps straight lines, curving them outward (barrel) or inward (pincushion). Wide lenses often show barrel distortion; telephoto lenses often show pincushion. Modern software can correct distortion, but some photographers embrace it for stylistic effect.

Wide-angle lenses fit a very wide view onto the sensor, and their designs tend to bow straight lines outward near the edges, which is barrel distortion. Fisheyes are the extreme case. Telephoto lenses tend toward pincushion distortion instead.

Lens distortion warps straight lines, curving them outward (barrel) or inward (pincushion). Wide lenses often show barrel distortion; telephoto lenses often show pincushion. Modern software can correct distortion, but some photographers embrace it for stylistic effect.

Telephoto lenses, and the long end of many zooms, tend to bend straight lines near the frame edges inward toward the center, which is pincushion distortion. It is usually milder than the barrel distortion of wide lenses and is easy to correct with a lens profile.

Many zoom lenses show barrel distortion at the wide end and pincushion distortion at the long end, often passing through a nearly distortion-free point in between. Lens profiles in editing software correct it for each focal length.

Perspective distortion, such as a large nose in a close-up portrait, comes from how close the camera is to the subject. Nearby parts are much closer than farther parts, so they look much larger. Any lens used from that distance gives the same perspective; wide lenses simply tempt you to stand close.

Barrel distortion grows with distance from the center of the frame. Straight lines through the center stay straight, while lines near the edges and corners bow outward the most. That is why a horizon near the top or bottom edge curves more than one through the middle.

Many modern lenses, especially compact ones, are designed with some distortion left in and corrected in software, in the camera or the raw converter, using built-in profile data. Fully optical correction needs extra elements, which add size, weight and cost.