The modulation transfer function describes the contrast and resolution of an optical component, and is one key to determining image quality.
In order for an optical imaging system to be successful, it must provide images of sufficient quality. Exactly what qualifies as sufficient quality depends on the application, but is always a combination of resolution and contrast, as well as distortion and perspective errors. In this article, we will take a close look at the first two factors.
Resolution is a measure of an imaging system's ability to reproduce object detail. A low-resolution image contains blurry scenes in which objects lack detail. A high-resolution image provides crisp edges and includes much detail.