Narrowfield

Narrowfield is a descriptive term used in optics and imaging to refer to systems or configurations that have a restricted angular field of view, typically smaller than a standard or wide-field reference. The field of view is determined by the optics, sensor size, and distance to the subject, and a narrow field yields higher magnification or finer sampling per pixel.

In photography and cinematography, narrow-field imaging relies on long focal length lenses or crop-sensor cameras to produce a small field of view, often associated with telephoto framing and detailed subject isolation. In microscopy, high-magnification objectives generate a narrow field that reveals small features but covers only a limited area of the specimen; researchers may image many adjacent fields or stitch them for larger context.

In astronomy, narrow-field instruments target small portions of the sky with high angular resolution to study distant or crowded objects. In machine vision and remote sensing, narrow-field cameras are used for targeted inspection, high-resolution mapping of a region, or when lighting and depth of field constraints favor a restricted view.

Design considerations for narrow-field systems include the trade-off between field of view, resolution, depth of field, and illumination. Narrow-field configurations often require precise alignment, higher magnification optics, more sensitive sensors, or scanning and mosaicking techniques to build larger images from multiple frames.

Narrowfield is a contextual label rather than a formal technical category, and its exact meaning depends on the domain and application.