Varying image location is more associated with which type of chromatic aberration?

• A. Longitudinal chromatic aberration
• B. Lateral chromatic aberration
• C. Spherical aberration
• D. Chromatic aberration (general)

Answer: (A)

Longitudinal (axial) chromatic aberration occurs because different colors have different focal lengths, so the image forms at different positions along the optical axis for different wavelengths. This means the image location shifts depending on color, which is exactly what’s described. In contrast, lateral chromatic aberration moves colors to different positions in the image plane (side-to-side) without a change in focus along the axis. Spherical aberration is a geometric flaw not tied to wavelength, so it doesn’t cause color-dependent image location.