The diameter of the aperture of the main objective is a common criterion for comparison among optical systems, such as large telescopes.
However, in the late twentieth century, optical fiber was introduced as a technology for transmitting images over long distances.
Isaac Newton is reported to have designed what he called a catadioptrical phantasmagoria, which can be interpreted to mean an elaborate structure of both mirrors and lenses.
Newton believed that such correction was impossible, because he thought the path of the light depended only on its color.
In 1757 John Dollond made an achromatised dioptric, which was the forerunner of the lenses used in all popular photographic equipment today.