Lys på den ene siden, dybdeskarphet på den andre.

Not really. It is an elliptical expression, meaning some words are left out because they are easy to understand from context.

A fuller version could be something like:

Lys på den ene siden, dybdeskarphet på den andre siden.

Or even:

Du får lys på den ene siden og dybdeskarphet på den andre siden.

So this kind of wording is often used to present a contrast or trade-off in a compact way.

Here, lys means light as a noun.

In Norwegian, lys can be:

• a noun: light
• an adjective: light/pale in color

In this sentence, it is clearly the noun, because it is being contrasted with dybdeskarphet.

Literally, it means on the one side.

Idiomatic English equivalents are often:

• on the one side
• on one side
• on the one hand

In this sentence, it introduces one part of a contrast: one advantage, factor, or side of an issue.

Because Norwegian normally uses the definite article in this fixed pattern:

den ene ..., den andre ...

This means the one ..., the other ...

So:

• den ene siden = the one side
• den andre siden = the other side

This is a standard paired expression. Using en side would just mean a side, which is not the same idea.

Because siden is understood and can be left out.

The full pattern is:

på den ene siden, på den andre siden

But in the second part, Norwegian often omits the repeated noun when it is obvious:

• på den ene siden, på den andre
• full form: på den ene siden, på den andre siden

This kind of omission is very natural and common.

This is a very common learner question.

Norwegian has different forms of other/second depending on grammar:

• annen is often used by itself with a singular noun in an indefinite-like sense
• andre is used in several other contexts, including after den

In this fixed expression, the correct form is:

den ene ..., den andre ...

So you should learn this as a set pattern.

Examples:

• den ene boka, den andre boka
• den ene siden, den andre siden

You would not say den annen siden here in normal modern Bokmål.

Yes. Dybdeskarphet is a compound noun, which is very common in Norwegian.

It is made up of:

• dybde = depth
• skarphet = sharpness

Together, it means depth of field in photography/optics.

Norwegian often builds technical terms as one word, where English uses several words.

Yes, very often.

That is probably the most natural English equivalent when the sentence is presenting a contrast.

But literally it is more like:

• on the one side
• on the other

So the exact English wording depends on style and context. The Norwegian expression is doing the same job: setting up two contrasting considerations.

The comma separates the two contrasting parts of the expression:

• Lys på den ene siden
• dybdeskarphet på den andre

It helps show the balance between the two sides. Since this is a short, condensed contrast rather than a full clause with verbs, the comma makes the structure easier to read.

No. It can be literal or figurative.

Literal:

• På den ene siden av huset = On one side of the house

Figurative:

• På den ene siden er det billig, på den andre siden er kvaliteten dårligere. = On the one hand it is cheap, on the other hand the quality is worse.

In your sentence, it is clearly figurative: it is talking about two competing factors, not physical sides.