Spectral Lens Aberration Pro

Spectral Lens / Spectral Aberration Pro

This Nuke gizmo implements a physically inspired spectral dispersion model that simulates lens chromatic aberration as a continuous wavelength phenomenon, rather than a simple RGB channel offset.

Instead of shifting only red and blue channels, the operator decomposes the image into seven discrete spectral bands, radially scales each band relative to an optical center, and recombines them with energy-preserving weighting. The result is a smooth, lens-like dispersion effect that behaves more like real glass optics under refraction.

First submitted: 6 February 2026

Author: Marty Blumen

Website: https://www.martyblumen.com/

Compatible Nuke versions: 13.1 or later

Compatibility: Windows

Description Licence Download

Spectral Lens is a physically inspired chromatic aberration gizmo for Nuke that models dispersion as a continuous wavelength phenomenon rather than a simple RGB channel offset. Instead of shifting only red and blue, the image is decomposed into seven discrete spectral bands (from violet to red), allowing intermediate colours such as cyan, yellow, and orange to emerge naturally. This produces smoother, more lens-like colour separation that better matches real optical behaviour.

Each spectral band is radially scaled around a user-defined optical center using a Cauchy-style dispersion model. A focus wavelength remains sharp (scale = 1.0), while shorter and longer wavelengths expand or contract based on a dispersion coefficient. The magnitude of the effect increases with distance from the optical center, mimicking how real lenses refract light.

The bands are tinted, additively recombined, and normalized to preserve overall luminance and colour balance. An optional smoothing pass blends the discrete bands into a more continuous spectrum, trading strict physical accuracy for improved visual cohesion. The result is a controllable, artist-friendly spectral aberration effect that behaves consistently across the frame and scales cleanly from subtle realism to stylised dispersion.

BSD 3-Clause License

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its
contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
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Spectral Lens — A Nuke gizmo for spectral-based image manipulation.

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