Face and iris imaging system and method

A duplex camera with common face and iris imaging optics locates an iris in a scene and images the iris without requiring multiple camera alignment or a rapid zoom capability. A wavelength selective mirror separates the light from an imaged scene into visible and infrared components. The visible component supplies a face image in which an iris location can be determined. Visible light optics and a visible light sensor array provide a scene image to an image processor that determines the iris location. Infrared optics and an infrared sensor produce an iris image centered on the iris location. Upon determining an iris location, a motorized stage can position the iris image in the infrared sensor. The common face and imaging optics allow the image sensors to be permanently aligned to one another.