What lens is closest to the human eye?

[JohnathanTyler]

Hello everyone,
I am learning photography, so I would love to learn about camera accessories. As far as I know, in deciding on the quality of the camera, the most important thing is the lens. The better the lens, the better the image will be. Can anyone tell me which lenses are closest to the human eye? And maybe its price is not cheap either.
Thanks everyone.

 

[7006]

Very tricky to answer.
The human eye is not a fixed lens as we constantly move it around and focus closely and far away.
We also use both eyes to collect and send information to the brain that builds the picture we process.
The brain also makes up for missing information and fills the gaps so that we have a full (albeit usually not 100% real) picture of our surroundings based on what we expect.
You will find that some papers talk about certain angles and depth of field that are similar to the eye, but being purely mechanical it is a poor approximation of how we create images in our mind.
(There are quite a few discussions on this in The Infinite Monkey Cage, the BBC science podcast).

 

[JLH]

Others will give you much more detailed replies. You did not state what sort of camera you were thinking of. The size of the sensor will change the perspective of the lens used due to what is called "Crop factor". This could become a very lengthy and technical discussion! So, what sort of camera are you looking to use and what type of photos do you intend on taking? Photography is such a wide area and one needs to narrow down their interests a bit to determine what they want their gear to be able to do. Not all cameras are equal. There are many great articles available on-line that cover some of these subjects. Perhaps it might be good to look over some of that information first.
For a simple answer: Some cameras are "better" than others but here again it depends on what you are going to do with it. And, you are correct in that the better the lens, the better the image. But here again one has to use some judgement. How good does the photo have to be? What do you plan on doing with the photo? I have wild life photos in my house that are very nice. People who look at them from only a few feet away can not tell any difference between the ones taken with a 5 megapixel and the other with a 24 megapixel camera. One with a "standard" supplied kit lens, the other with a quality telephoto. Its not so simple to explain what is "best", there are many factors involved. Its well beyond a simple question and quick answer.

 

[Palouse]

You will often see lenses between 35mm and 55mm mentioned. In general , yes, that advice is ok. This link will provide you some more information: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/cameras-vs-human-eye.htm

 

[Jonathan F/2]

I'd say 35mm to 40mm is very close to the human eyeball FOV. 28mm being a bit too wide and 50mm being too tight. I'd also consider the 16:9 aspect ratio closer to human vision.

 

[Butlerkid]

A quick Google search comes up with lots of opinions and justifications.....

This article seems to favor a popular answer....about 22-24mm...............

 

[480sparky]

A 'normal' focal-length lens will be equal to the diagonal measurement of your sensor or film dimension.

ie, a 35mm film frame, being 24x36mm, will be 43.666mm.

 

[acnomad]

A 'normal' focal-length lens will be equal to the diagonal measurement of your sensor or film dimension.

ie, a 35mm film frame, being 24x36mm, will be 43.666mm.

This is commonly considered the objective answer to your question, thinking in terms of the field of view of one eye looking in a fixed direction. But remember that the way we see our surroundings is with two eyes and plenty of peripheral vision scanning a scene.

Can anyone tell me which lenses are closest to the human eye? And maybe its price is not cheap either.

For a crop sensor camera, 35mm is about right, and for a full frame, 50mm is the accepted equivalent. Both or typically modest in price.

 

[mjcmt]

Eye has 46 degree view so it's between a 35 and 50mm lens on full frame. If your style leans towards portraits go for the 50, if it leans towards street and environmental go for the 35, on full frame cameras.

 

[JohnathanTyler]

Very tricky to answer.
The human eye is not a fixed lens as we constantly move it around and focus closely and far away.
We also use both eyes to collect and send information to the brain that builds the picture we process.
The brain also makes up for missing information and fills the gaps so that we have a full (albeit usually not 100% real) picture of our surroundings based on what we expect.
You will find that some papers talk about certain angles and depth of field that are similar to the eye, but being purely mechanical it is a poor approximation of how we create images in our mind.
(There are quite a few discussions on this in The Infinite Monkey Cage, the BBC science podcast).

Thanks for your comment

 

[JohnathanTyler]

Others will give you much more detailed replies. You did not state what sort of camera you were thinking of. The size of the sensor will change the perspective of the lens used due to what is called "Crop factor". This could become a very lengthy and technical discussion! So, what sort of camera are you looking to use and what type of photos do you intend on taking? Photography is such a wide area and one needs to narrow down their interests a bit to determine what they want their gear to be able to do. Not all cameras are equal. There are many great articles available on-line that cover some of these subjects. Perhaps it might be good to look over some of that information first.
For a simple answer: Some cameras are "better" than others but here again it depends on what you are going to do with it. And, you are correct in that the better the lens, the better the image. But here again one has to use some judgement. How good does the photo have to be? What do you plan on doing with the photo? I have wild life photos in my house that are very nice. People who look at them from only a few feet away can not tell any difference between the ones taken with a 5 megapixel and the other with a 24 megapixel camera. One with a "standard" supplied kit lens, the other with a quality telephoto. Its not so simple to explain what is "best", there are many factors involved. Its well beyond a simple question and quick answer.

Thanks you so much

 

[JohnathanTyler]

You will often see lenses between 35mm and 55mm mentioned. In general , yes, that advice is ok. This link will provide you some more information: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/cameras-vs-human-eye.htm

Thanks for your opinion

 

[JohnathanTyler]

I'd say 35mm to 40mm is very close to the human eyeball FOV. 28mm being a bit too wide and 50mm being too tight. I'd also consider the 16:9 aspect ratio closer to human vision.

Thanks a lot

 

[JohnathanTyler]

A quick Google search comes up with lots of opinions and justifications.....

This article seems to favor a popular answer....about 22-24mm...............

Thanks for your support

 

[TonyW]

22-24mm is about right according to most 'expert' sources e.g. Roger Clarke (Clarkvison). Here is an interesting one for those that enjoy the maths

http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/531.cas8m.fall04/l11.pdf

 

[mjcmt]

22-24mm is about right according to most 'expert' sources e.g. Roger Clarke (Clarkvison). Here is an interesting one for those that enjoy the maths

http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/531.cas8m.fall04/l11.pdf

When I look through the viewfinder of my full frame camera w/ a 24mm prime lens the width is a slight bit wider than the human eye, but the background is pushed further back giving a more exaggerated look from normal. When I look through a 35mm prime lens the look is more similar to the human eye as far as depth but a bit narrower than the human eye, but overall it looks more natural to the human eye.

 

[TonyW]

When I look through the viewfinder of my full frame camera w/ a 24mm prime lens the width is a slight bit wider than the human eye, but the background is pushed further back giving a more exaggerated look from normal. When I look through a 35mm prime lens the look is more similar to the human eye as far as depth but a bit narrower than the human eye, but overall it looks more natural to the human eye.

I assume that this is not based on any research but just a subjective opinion?
And who’s eye did you use ;-)
Other research suggests 17mm, but..

The Focal Length of the Eye

.
For the correct answer refer to:
Reference: Light, Color and Vision, Hunt et al., Chapman and Hall, Ltd, London, 1968, page 49 for "standard European adult":

Object focal length of the eye = 16.7 mm
Image focal length of the eye = 22.3 mm

The object focal length is for rays coming OUT OF THE EYE. But for an image on the retina, the image focal length is what one wants. E.g. see:http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/531.cas8m.fall04/l11.pdf.

So this explains the commonly cited ~17mm focal length, but the correct value is ~22 mm focal length

This then makes more sense for the f/ratio: with an aperture of 7 mm, the f/ratio = 22.3/7 = 3.2.

Of course these values vary, with cited values from 22 to 24 mm, same with the aperture. The maximum aperture also decreases with age.

 

[mjcmt]

I assume that this is not based on any research but just a subjective opinion?

It's what I see. Your quoted tests have nothing to do with depth perception, only width.

 

[NikonAIS]

This depends on the format. Usually the length of the diagonal of the format approximates the field of view of one human eye,

 

[TonyW]

It's what I see. Your quoted tests have nothing to do with depth perception, only width.

As far as I can see no one was talking about depth perception more along the lines of FoV. Hence your incorrect assumption based on width

Eye has 46 degree view so it's between a 35 and 50mm lens on full frame. If your style leans towards portraits go for the 50, if it leans towards street and environmental go for the 35, on full frame cameras.

The human eyes FoV is much wider than 46 degree. Somewhere around 120 degree quoted with greater figures with binocular vision 180 - 210 degrees?

In terms of a 35mm FF we are looking at around 11 - 12mm closest to 120 degree

IMO, the most accurate answer posted by MortyCapp post #2