What is the resolution of the human eye?  Is it higher than the sensor of your smartphone camera

Without further ado, let's answer the question. As the magazine *Curiosity* points out, the human eye's resolution is around 576 megapixels. You might laugh at this, thinking about smartphone manufacturers who boast cameras with over 100 megapixels. However, this 576-megapixel resolution is theoretical. It assumes that the eye has the same visual sharpness across the entire field of view.

The human eye's resolution can be expressed as its ability to distinguish two separate points, but this varies depending on several factors, such as the distance to the observed object and the individual’s visual acuity.

 

Visual acuity:

Visual acuity is typically measured using the Snellen chart (the test with letters decreasing in size). For normal vision, a score of 20/20 (or 10/10 in France) corresponds to the ability to distinguish details separated by about one minute of arc (1/60th of a degree).

 

Angular resolution:

In terms of angular resolution, a healthy human eye can distinguish two points separated by about 0.6 minutes of arc (or roughly 0.00029 radians). This is equivalent to being able to distinguish two objects 1.75 mm apart at a distance of 6 meters.

 

Field of view:

The human eye has a horizontal field of view of about 120 to 140 degrees and a vertical field of view of about 60 degrees above and 75 degrees below the visual horizon.

 

 In pixels:

As mentioned earlier, if we were to compare the eye to a digital camera, the density of photoreceptors in the retina could be estimated to have an equivalent resolution of about 500 to 600 megapixels. However, this comparison is rough, as the eye doesn’t function like a camera, with resolution varying across the field of view.

 

Is the human eye really better than a smartphone?

Although this field reaches 180°, our vision is only optimal within a 2-degree angle from the center. This zone, called the fovea, is located in the visual axis. Outside of this zone, distinguishing colors becomes more difficult depending on the distance. Similarly, each eye has a blind spot where the optic nerve meets the retina, known as the blind spot.

Thus, a healthy eye (without age-related issues or conditions like myopia or astigmatism) and perfectly still, has an average resolution of 7 megapixels—more than 80 times less than the theoretical 576 megapixels. Most of our smartphones have surpassed this resolution for quite some time.

 

 

Enjoyed this article? Stay informed by joining our newsletter!

Comments

You must be logged in to post a comment.

About Author