Newer lenses are optimized to minimize optical aberrations, but there are lenses such as the Canon EF 135mm lens f/2.8 with Softfocus and Pentax SMC 28mm f2.8 FA Soft Lens, to name but two, which have adjustable levels of spherical aberration at wide apertures.

Since the 1980s, manufacturers have been able to minimize unwanted aberrations by:

Ion optic designer Steve Clement based the prototype instrument (now referred to as 'SHRIMP-I') on a design by Matsuda which minimised aberrations in transmitting ions through the various sectors.

The use of many lens elements is designed to minimise aberrations and to provide a sharp image, free from flare and other optical imperfections.

To minimise chromatic aberrations, in which different wavelengths of light are refracted to different degrees, requires, at a minimum, a couplet of lens elements with a positive element having a high refractive index matched with a negative element of lower refractive index.

Wide angle lenses therefore tend to have more elements than a normal lens to help refract the light sufficiently and still minimise aberrations whilst adding light-trapping baffles between each lens element.

These techniques are used to optimize the design of the instrument by minimizing aberrations, for photography, and for longer wavelength applications such as designing microwave or even radio systems, and for shorter wavelengths, such as ultraviolet and X-ray optics.

In contrast to a telephoto lens, for any given focal length a simple lens of non-telephoto design is constructed from one lens (which can, to minimize aberrations, consist of several elements to form an achromatic lens).

ED glass minimizes chromatic aberrations, contributing to superb contrast and resolution performance.

To minimize chromatic aberrations the lens uses an extra-low dispersion glass element.