MCQ Detailed View

Cameras are optical devices designed to capture light and form clear, focused images on a film or digital sensor. The essential component responsible for image formation in a camera is a convex lens. A convex lens is thicker at the center than at the edges and is known as a converging lens because it bends incoming light rays towards a single point known as the focus.

When light from an object passes through the convex lens of a camera, the lens refracts (bends) the rays so that they converge and form a real, inverted, and reduced image on the film or electronic sensor. The position of the lens relative to the sensor is adjusted (focusing) to ensure the image is sharp and clear. This principle is similar to how the human eye lens works to form images on the retina.

A concave lens, on the other hand, diverges light rays and cannot form a real image on a screen, making it unsuitable for cameras. A condenser lens is used mainly in microscopes or projectors to focus light on a specific area but not for image formation in cameras.

Modern cameras may contain multiple convex lenses assembled in groups to minimize distortions and aberrations, allowing photographers to zoom, focus, and capture high-quality images. Despite technological advancements, the fundamental principle of using a convex lens for converging light rays to form an image has remained unchanged since the invention of cameras.

Thus, the correct answer is convex lens, as it enables a camera to gather light and produce a real, focused image on its sensor, which can then be processed or recorded as a photograph.