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mattdm
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mattdm
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How does the human eye compare to modern cameras and lenses?

A goal in most photography is to present a scene which resembles what a person who had been there at that moment would have seen. Even when intentionally working outside of that, human vision is the de facto baseline.

So, it seems useful to know something about how the eye compares to our camera technology. Leaving aside issues of psychology, pattern recognition, and color perception as much as possible (because that's a separate question!), how does the human eye compare to a modern camera and lens?

What's the effective resolution? Field of view? Maximum (and minimum) aperture? ISO equivalence? Dynamic range? Do we have anything that is equivalent to shutter speed?

What structures are directly analogous to parts of a camera and lens (the pupil and iris, say), and what features are uniquely human (or found in cameras but not biology)?