The new iPhone camera is eight megapixels. Meanwhile, Canon is reportedly testing a new DSLR with 75 megapixels. But how many megapixels is the human eye? That is, how many megapixels would an image the size of your field of vision need to be to look normal?
Well, as Vsauce explains in its latest video, the better question is actually: What is the resolution of the human eye?
It’s a complicated question, one that must take into account the peculiar anatomy of the eye which is different than the less peculiar engineering of a digital camera. As such, it’s worth watching all 10 minutes of the video, explaining not only how we see but also how well. Spoiler: the human eye is 576 megapixels — but really only about seven megapixels matter. [YouTube]