How Eyes Relate to a Camera Lens

One thing that Miami eye doctors explain to their patients quite often is just how similar the human eye is to regular cameras that people use to capture images. They both contain lenses and rely on refraction, which is how they perceive images and either store them on a memory chip or send them to the brain via the optic nerves. In fact, if the human eye were put into the same scale as man-made cameras, it would have 576 megapixels! This is why people see images so clearly and efficiently. The highest megapixel camera that has ever been made by man is 50 megapixels, but it can capture up to 200 when the multi-shot function is used. However, technology is constantly improving and becoming more powerful. Your eye doctor in Miami Beach may tell you that a camera which rivals the human eye could be available within the next twenty years.

Similarities Between the Human Eye and a Man-Made Camera

The things your Miami optometrist may tell you when you ask them how similar a camera and the human eye really are could very well surprise you. Here are just some of the things that this most important organ and a camera have in common:

• A camera has a diaphragm that controls how much light is able to enter its lens. This is similar to the the same way the human pupil gets bigger and smaller; muscles inside of the eye expand or contract to increase or decrease how much light can pass through the pupil.
• A lens to focus light and create an image is present in both the human eye and cameras.
• The retina in the human eye, which is responsible for sensing images and delivering them to the brain, is similar to the film in which a camera stores stores images.

The Complexities of Biology and Technology

As time passes and both humans and technology evolves, we may develop sharper senses and someday be able to see beyond the 576 megapixel range that the human eye currently has. However, some people don’t have as accurate of vision as others. The most common visual issue people have is refractive errors because of a misshapen cornea. The cornea is the outermost layer of the eyeball and is responsible for refracting light properly onto the retina. If someone’s cornea is misshapen, then the visual problems resulting from this issue can be corrected with a pair of eyeglasses in Miami Beach. If the lens in a physical camera gets damaged in some way, it can be replaced with a new one.

photo credit: Nando.uy Mi vista via photopin (license)