A computational photography shootout: Wavefront coding vs. lattice focal imaging

We systematically compared the optical performance of two computational photography (CP) approaches used to extend the depth of field of an imaging system: wavefront coding and lattice focal lens imaging. A test bed was developed by translating test resolution targets through the focal plane of a high magnification telescope placed 25 meters away. We demonstrated an increase in depth of field from 2 cm to 20 cm in each case. We found qualitative differences in restored image quality that depend both on the CP modality and signal to noise. A comparison of results in the frequency domain suggests optimization strategies for computational photography when the frequency content of imaged objects is known ahead of time.