Megapixel lens
Unfortunately, the term "megapixel lens" is a little bit misleading. Megapixel lenses also work well with industrial cameras whose resolution is less than one million pixels.
On the other hand, it is true that CMOS sensors and CCD sensors consist of more and more pixels on a smaller and smaller area. Thus, the pixels also become smaller and smaller. Thus, the optical resolution of lenses has to increase more and more. This is exactly the case with the so-called "megapixel lenses". Therefore, the manufacturers of industrial cameras, like The Imaging Source, recommend to use their cameras with these lenses.
Why is the resolution of megapixel lenses better?
As mentioned above, the optical resolution of megapixel lenses is better than that of normal C-mount lenses. But what is "optical resolution"? The windows of bathrooms are often fitted with textured glass. Its surface has a rippled structure and thus we see objects behind the window with a bad resolution. If the surface of a lens had a rippled structure, it would also create bad images. Thus, the smoother the surface of the lens, the better its optical resolution.
The rules applied to selecting megapixel lenses correspond to those of "normal" C-mount lenses.
