Camera or eye: Which sees better? - Michael Mauser

Explore the similarities and differences between how your eyes see and how a video camera “sees.”
--
Your eyes don’t always capture the world exactly as a video camera would. But the eyes are remarkably efficient organs, the result of hundreds of millions of years of coevolution with our brains. Michael Mauser outlines the similarities and differences between your eye and a video camera.
Lesson by Michael Mauser, animation by Nick Hilditch.
Support Our Non-Profit Mission
----------------------------------------------
Support us on Patreon: bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Check out our merch: bit.ly/TEDEDShop
----------------------------------------------
Connect With Us
----------------------------------------------
Sign up for our newsletter: bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Follow us on Facebook: bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram
----------------------------------------------
Keep Learning
----------------------------------------------
View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/eye-vs-came...
Dig deeper with additional resources: ed.ted.com/lessons/eye-vs-cam...
----------------------------------------------

[@StylishGirl79]

Is it just me, but I didn't see colors in the rings 😐

[@rrgeada]

same

[@tourniqut]

same here

[@madhughneasai7106]

Me too.

[@jaberjbaar]

Me too

[@sooooooooDark]

i rewatched it...cuz i didnt see shit either and i...think...i saw red on the very edge of the disc there where it goes to the surrounding tealish color 3:40 doesnt "jiggle" tho...no matter how hard i try to see anything lol

[@Nguyenzander]

Me: **doesn’t see the color of the disks at the start** Me: Maybe I am a camera

[@evek5019]

Zander Nguyen Actually it’s just the video. If it was in real life you would see colours

[@changeeyecolor3891]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@sparkgrid]

😂😂😂

[@YoungTheFish]

That meaty squishy sound effect...

[@WolfyTheJolteon]

YoungTheFish It makes me sick lol

[@monochromeart7311]

It reminds me of the tentacle monsters

[@brianjodwischat8759]

THE TREEE ATE THE PERSON

[@Rzkytron]

Eye understand now

[@thespecialkindofdoritoz8750]

Eye see what you did buddy..... heeehhey!

[@matthewjames7513]

Cone on now guys. Lens not encourage people to start making witty puns in the comment section

[@SatanistSin]

Matthew James I can't picture this catching on. You shouldn't focus on telling people to f-stop.

[@creator-link]

SatanistSin i have no pun Who Want Some PopCornia

[@applejack77778]

+Rzkytron Eye don't care.

[@igorrrrrrrr]

I didn't see any colors

[@btonyh5878]

+ConradCBB Me, too. I was so confused.

[@adityavirendra7630]

I understand your pain.....

[@shanesmith4530]

Same. Are we perhaps androids

[@adityavirendra7630]

Hahaha

[@marcelbaybus5627]

Same

[@TOA65]

I paused the video at 4:23 to check if it really was a still image :')

[@sim61642]

Jordi Ortolá Ankum why are they moving?

[@ruli6871]

sim61642 🥝🍞🍒🌶🌶🥝🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🥝🥝🌶🌦🥞🥞🌦🌦😡😠😠😣😱😑😑🤡🤠😖😎😎🤓😎😒🤓😝🙂😂🙂🙂🙃😗😗😝😎😞😔👽☠️👿🤖👏🏾🙌🏾😾👈🏿

[@ruli6871]

sim61642 bo

[@niamsx]

Jordi Ortolá A

[@niamsx]

Jordi Ortolá Ankum ii

[@lucaslayton3974]

So, the cliffhanger... I assume you'll be covering illusionary man-eating trees in a future video?

[@miha2342]

I'm not seeing any colours in the disk... Tried twice. It did however appear as if the disk was getting in a kind of octagon shape.

[@silkthyme]

I didn't see colors either!

[@ethansnyder8779]

Me neither!

[@maksym.koshovyi]

miha2342 I made a disk kind of this myself at home and on that disk I've seen the colors, but i cannot see any colors (except black and white =) ) on this disk too...

[@MsMattness]

I think that it either has to be real life, or the videos has to have higher framerate for it to work. I saw one of these once when I was younger

[@KazeTdr]

Me too and i was scared that its just me..haha

[@Leonis1989]

Quick question. When fully artificial eyes become commercially available to the impaired, does that mean it'll need to have these evolutionary imperfections (e.g. The blind spot) so our brains can understand what it's seeing?

[@apopompi]

Amazing question! I want to say no, because to our brains it's only electric signals, so maybe our brains will only "learn" to see this way.

[@obsideonyx7604]

MRoost Rash I agree, the brain is known for being flexible and working with the sensory input it's given no matter how alien it seems.

[@RickyC0626]

+Leonis1989 The brain will adapt to whatever you throw at it. For example, the first glasses ever created was an upside down image of the world. After a few days, the brain adapted to it and flipped the image right side up.

[@marios1861]

Ricky Chon that happened only once

[@dhatrikaranam]

Leonis1989 the blind spot is the spot where the optic nerve is connected to our eye. it's not an imperfection to be honest. its a part of the system.

[@joshuachhakchhuak1097]

i got an ad on contact lenses before this lol

[@MrVanillaCaramel]

One thing the eye does much better than a camera is see a featured dark object against a bright background.

[@Ayaforshort]

MrVanillaCaramel Like trees at sunset :)

[@Henvag]

Aamir Kumar Depends if your eyes are fully functional

[@lukasmihara]

There is this thing called HDR though

[@brunolance2551]

Wtf... A camera is nowhere near the details of the human eye.

[@captainsquids2792]

@@Henvag that was assumed

[@juliocesarpereira4325]

One thing this video should have also pointed out is the fact that our eyes have Dynamic Range far superior to that of a camera. It means that they can deal with extreme contrast. Cameras have to use features such as HDR which is basically stacking shots with different expositions, choose the ones that best capture very bright and dark images, merge them so we can have both in the same picture.

[@Gallzatron]

Jesus christ, I know we're talking anatomy here, but do you have to use that churning sound effect for fucking EVERYTHING?!?!

[@YB--iy8nh]

Benjamin Dover

[@liamdye3504]

At the beginning of the video, when he showed the disk, I only saw black and white. So my eyes were not playing tricks on me.

[@evek5019]

Liam Dye Actually it’s just the video. If it was in real life you would see colours

[@AnastasiaSilvi]

This video somehow has a scary vibe to it lol I don't know why I'm weird

[@ShawnRavenfire]

It's definitely the music.

[@bellazonna6510]

+Shawn Ravenfire Or the squishy sound during the transition (Man that made me uncomfortable..).

[@jillfanning749]

They added mysterious, subtlety unsettling music in the background.

[@Hanguyen-mg1ue]

AnastasiaSilvi j

[@Dispatern]

Definitely the music and sounds. Don't like it either.

[@snacksy7754]

nice vid, but the sound effect. gives me the creeps!

[@areebshafinaqash3640]

Yes

[@changeeyecolor3891]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@ShawnRavenfire]

I didn't see any colors. I even went back and tried it in both small screen and full screen.

[@AnkurDagar]

HDR capability. LOL

[@evek5019]

Shawn Ravenfire Actually it’s just the video. If it was in real life you would see colours

[@Charchan-hi2hg]

For people who doesn't see any color from the disk at the start, it's deep purple/ navy blue. The colors show on the 3 smallest rings only, not the white part. Keep your eyes on the center while it's spinning and you'll see it. You're welcome!

[@quantumrift11]

I tried it but I still can't see colors. No matter, some optical illusions work for one person and don't for another. The wall of leaves was really waving around all over the place for me lol. And the one image with the circle in the center just looks like it's blinking and pulsing and all kinds of things.

[@ZFM0]

i saw it, slightly.

[@-Muzikalite-]

It's all about dynamic range. The dynamic range of our eyes is 18, while that of a cinema camera is 15. the most advanced phone camera is only 9.

[@vogeline_]

Wth is dynamic range? Cen you eat it?

[@piratesofphysics4100]

​@@vogeline_dynamic range is your dad

[@SuperMichael996]

3:31 I can keep my vision stationary sometimes. so now i know that "receptors don't respond to static images". I got scared sometimes because I was gazing at a precise point and started to see that everything fades out... and 'ocasional trembly' vision is normal

[@gn6691]

Exactly like if you focus on a object for a long period of time it disappears as our eyes become stationary.

[@ellyngl]

I thought they were gonna talk about how the moon looks different from when I look at it vs when I try to take a pic of it

[@naberekmek]

Thanks a lot for this video! I have been wondering since forever why I was not able to see stars or faint lights when I looked directly at them. And I asked this to an eye and doctor he didn't know. I thought I had a blind spot right at the center of my eye.

[@user-ci2lg1lw5b]

눈과 카메라의 차이점을 배웠습니다. 가장 인상 깊었던 것은 초점을 맞추기 위한 방법이 다르다는 것이었습니다. 카메라는 초점을 맞추기 위해 렌즈가 움직이지만 눈은 모양을 바꾸었습니다. 유익한 시간이 되었습니다. 감사합니다.

[@TheYoutubeFreak]

I was waiting for this comparison for my whole life.

[@yafa8]

your eyes.exe has stopped responding.

[@dxkaiyuan4177]

3:33 so you're saying that our eyes actually have IBIS thats intentionally shaking the image but the brain uses electronic image stabilization to correct it

[@yashas9974]

state of the art stabilization :O

[@albertvaldez2669]

This is eye opening!

[@ThanhaoCong]

One thing the video didn't mention. I still wonder why things we see by our eyes have higher color dynamic range than by cameras? In camera nowadays often have HDR mode which helps us create photos that look more like "reality".

[@LittleSolarSystemOfficial]

Thành Đào Công The HDR feature in cameras condense multiple different exposure photos into one, making the photo not overexposed yet also not underexposed. I've always wondered about that too, why our eyes do a great job at making the images we see largely perceptible and of varying exposure. I think it's probably due to the processing the brain does to a certain extent. Obviously there are times where that function fails like in a very dark box in a brightly lit room and vice versa, but my guess is the brain.

[@HillOrStream]

There are ways the eye is superior too, like a much better dynamic range (HDR processing aside).

[@iamthinking2252_]

HillOrStream Rolling shutter effect too?

[@-Muzikalite-]

The dynamic range of our eyes is 18, while that of a cinema camera is 15. the most advanced phone camera is only 9.

[@SuicideBunny6]

I always found it weird when I close one eye, I see the world in a slightly redder hue, and when I close the other it’s a slightly bluer hue. Anyone noticed?

[@holy_shushcabin3716]

Yes! Though I’d describe it as one eye seeing warmer colors, while the other sees cooler colors. I’ve learned to ignore it.

[@not0mnis36]

Why did I never notice this you got me winking

[@exodeusovercharge4462]

I had noticed it but couldn't explain it using words.

[@ailurophile4341]

The sound in the beginning and the end is making me feel good.

[@markharoldmorados1973]

Ohhh how happy am i that you guys made this video

[@indigodeluxe]

Don't forget: the eye can perceive colors on the screen faster than a camera.

[@soulsofgamingtamil8112]

4:23 if you concentrate at one point it won't move

[@tanikaradia]

Pro Bro 😎

[@magnumfang]

They showed this video in our class today !

[@Bumble_Bri]

I didn’t see any color in the spinning disc at the start...... what does that mean?

[@dullie999]

i can make my eye's blur why?

[@Hermann493]

ItsFormalCraft XD me too xD

[@SirDog]

+Hermann493 same

[@NotoLumen]

ItsFormalCraft XD Same here

[@hasnain9654]

ItsFormalCraft XD one eye is blur commonly but this is not good thing actually. I have same in my right eye

[@scptime1188]

Most people can. The muscles in your eyes can change the shape of your lenses, which makes your vision blurry.

[@varunmaurya4100]

I couldn't see any colors on the disk

[@rrvillareal2011]

your color blind

[@evek5019]

Varun Maurya Actually it’s just the video. If it was in real life you would see colours

[@evek5019]

Romer Villareal this has nothing to do with colour blind

[@cheeks5005]

Thanks TED-Ed you really helped me out on my science quiz, Top kek , Big love 💯

[@super-eth8478]

How did the quiz go ?? Lol

[@red.rose.08]

This is cool eye effects... I paused at 4:26 and the yellow leaves are still moving. Cool!

[@drmotya661]

I can't see other colors in the ring even I tried it multiple times🙁🙁🙁🙁

[@evek5019]

Dr MOTYA Actually it’s just the video. If it was in real life you would see colours

[@someonethatlikesstuffeksde4530]

4:25 BOI Why is this moving

[@user-sm8jd3po8b]

for real it isnt moving XD its ur eye and i know u know dat

[@tgmtf5963]

How would you it's not moving bruh?

[@ominous_stranger]

It is?

[@omgIoIwtf]

if you guys wanna “see” your blind spot close your left eye (you can close either and use the corresponding hand but w/e) and extend your right arm directly in front of you with a thumbs up gesture. now fixate you’re vision on something directly in front of you, don’t follow your thumb, start moving your arm slowly to the right about 45°. you’ll notice your thumb will disappear from your vision, while it reappears if you move your arm a degree to the left or right, or open your left eye.

[@moiquiregardevideo]

Amazing collection of facts about human vision

[@Mackeye_]

in the beginning I thought he was actually going to hypnotize me lol

[@caseinnitrate5515]

I didn't see any colours... something wrong with my eyes???

[@caovuonglam]

Nah u fine

[@evek5019]

King Casper Actually it’s just the video. If it was in real life you would see colours

[@hsaqib8995]

Thank you for sharing :)

[@Noooaahh]

In order for that disc to show colors i think they have to get 60fps video?

[@muffintobyd3968]

my eyes aren't playing tricks on me

[@sana-rx3nm]

the video fails to mention that our eyes have remarkable capability in mantaining the colors in what we see

[@justicemorethanword501]

Wow😮it's amazing,especially at 4:23 !! How did they design this image 🤔

[@manaralyami6572]

This is the most amazing video

[@TheJuancho134]

Ummm, I might have a problem because none of the images move. I mean, none of the images that are supposed to move because of my eyes jiggling

[@evek5019]

Juan Cocaña instead of looking at the b&w checked box that’s supposed to be moving, look at the broken tv background (???) it will most likely jiggle when it’s not in complete focus

[@hayleyteale5224]

i never saw the colours in the rings

[@nicolelee8472]

He said you MAYBE you can see it!! It wasn't confirmed plus MOST of the times you can't do these things on a Mobile or iPad or something!! Because it doesn't work!!

[@QuartzOfficial]

@@nicolelee8472 good lord man calm down

[@Ruby-lf1yx]

@@QuartzOfficial man did you tell a guy who commented that 3 years ago to calm down

[@evek5019]

Hayley Teale Actually it’s just the video. If it was in real life you would see colours

[@Tastyfood151]

wow it was very good keep up the good work.

[@KiriRose]

honesly i was about wondering how dose the camera looks and the eye looks thanks TED-ed! :D

[@fienevandijk7224]

4:23 can stop the image with my brain lol

[@realone563]

SAME ROFL

[@EliStettner]

It moves if you move where you are looking

[@UsernameNULL755]

but the human eye is the proof we are a product of an intelligent higher being! right?

[@sp00k1es]

Yes, go look at any of my other comments for some of the reasons.

[@BoxOfCurryos]

It's the product of evolution. Not God. It doesn't exist.

[@hisham031170]

+Shketri Yes, so obvious.

[@randy4443]

Shketri you are right.

[@wilder_adventures]

Amazing how after comparison with a camera, you would still think it is pure chance. Even if our eyes were worse than cameras (remember you judge the quality of a video or a photo taken by a camera to how closely it can duplicate what you can see with your eyes!), the probabilities involved to go from a single cell which then randomly mutates to the eye are so high above the universal probability bound, it is mathematically impossible. This isn't even taking in to account the multiple coordinated mutations that would have to happen simultaneously in order for the eye to arise by chance. I'm sorry, but claiming chance is not consistent with how we spot design and intelligence in everyday life.

[@kimberlycuizon2766]

I love this one.

[@margotkafka9762]

can i see that other video of the lesson for another day now?

[@forregom]

0:44 Wait, does anyone else hear the Vsauce music?

[@xx_shitposter_xx7512]

i didnt see any colors there

[@evek5019]

GrassOnMan Actually it’s just the video. If it was in real life you would see colours

[@DarkAt98]

Hi, it is best to know everything. And I need one clarification .i want to know how many calenders present today and previous and how the came to that months.

[@vimalalwaysrocks]

Since this is a youtube video, I still cannot tell if the leaves are a moving video or a still picture.. So much fun with our brains

[@nathanschreffler1415]

Thanks millions of years of evolution for these wonderfully DESIGNED eyes. (Sarcasm) why can't we look at awesomely designed things and thank the designer. Who would look at a camera and think no one designed it? Who would think a camera just came about by natural processes?

[@abdullah3739]

That's also my question

[@SecureLemons]

pretty fucking dank, also kinda creepy but just a little

[@phigenek]

The optical illusions in this are driving me crazy!

[@craigburdes3177]

I didn't see the colour, but my optometrist said I have 20:15 vision, so does that affect it?

[@DongHaiSTUDIO]

Creepy Music 🌚

[@MarcelloSevero]

Isn't this Vsauce music?

[@nathaniel-brookes]

Lord Marcellus From his video: Is the Earth flat

[@nathaniel-brookes]

​@@adriantcullysover4640 They are versions of the same song by Matt Hill: www.audionetwork.com/browse/m/track/spooked_1116. This video features the 3rd version, whereas Vsauce's features the 1st with drums.

[@kyuhyunkyuhyun8325]

best channel on KZbin 😍😍

[@AlfonsoGeneroso]

I love this channel since the day I knew about TED, and I still enjoy how they make me feel wonder as a child. I am 30 now, and they prove every now and then how much I unknow and how much many I want to know. I would like to collaborate in any mean, can we send you pizza or come to clean for free? Seriously people, anything.

[@1888joel]

36

[@AlfonsoGeneroso]

@@1888joel 36 what? Apples? Candy? I guess it's my age now, but really strange comment after 6 years.

[@jay-bj9pq]

*I had to watch this In my science class .-.* ...And now it’s homework to watch it again 🙄🙃

[@chikkachinijohannady]

The disc illusion and the jiggle illusion didn't work for me at all... am i the only one? =/

[@marlonyo]

***** need to speed up the video in the setting then it shows

[@annettebarcroft]

not just you

[@maitreyeenabar1754]

Not even me

[@ajiwardhana]

Its gray color

[@Rhnvrma]

what is status of your eye now

[@tanikaradia]

EVERYONE'S SAYING THAT THEY AREN'T ABLE TO SEE COLOURS IN THE FIRST ILLUSION!!! But, When you watch this video in fast motion (even at 1.25), you will notice reddish-brown colour. Even after that, when you turn that speed option to Normal, you can still see colours!! THIS IS ALSO MAYBE FAULT OF OUR EYES 👀 OR BRAIN 🧠

[@Gramr98]

In this video I learned more than in one week of school.

[@BoxOfCurryos]

I'd take a prosthetic eye over a human eye any day. Hell if we could advance prosthetics and genetic engineering enough I'd replace my entire body with efficient machines. It's about being Superior.

[@marios1861]

BoxOfCurryos read the book man machine to see what can go wrong with that mentality

[@KathaaSagar]

The other thing is the horizontal span with both the eyes.. 16:9 is better than 4:3 for this purpose.. And VR is trying to increase the range by fitting over it.

[@michaelkearney2294]

If you don't see the colors on the disk just increase the video to 2X

[@kabirkhan456]

No receptors for dim light at the very centre. Damn this answers so many questions !!!

[@navneetkumaryadav7280]

Thank you!!

[@maahil1961]

The animation was so great,I almost forgot to listen

[@AnkitKumar4u]

Thanks for the info. But what's with the scarry music in the background?

[@anatoliy333]

They did not mention regional light sensitivity. If you look through the window to sunny street you continue to percept detail inside the room which have much smaller amount of light. No one camera can do this.

[@tipgame2108]

Hey, i love all these vidéo of animations. I would like to know which logiciel i Can use to create the same style of vidéo, if someone Can help me ...😊

[@blueflyuniversity1528]

This well explains why special force training tells trainees to look at target's fringe at night. That helps eyes to catch more signal than staring directly at target.

[@JustTheHighlights]

I finally understand what 3:49 is talking about. The animation for that confused me.

[@Adamxviii]

How do we know the difference practically if we see the photograph with our EYES?

[@armistice4574]

Please make a video on how to improve your eyesight and remove spectacles....please!

[@Groaznic]

"The nerves stop transmitting a stationary image" -- this one little glossed-over detail. This. I'd be extremely interested in reading about how much is known on the communication protocol used by the eye. Surely it's not a TV-like scanline with constant FPS, since they dropped this bomb (stops transmitting if the frame is identical). Anyone knows any resource on this?

[@Markus9705]

We already know how the eye codes for images and send them to the brain. extremetech. com/extreme/110031-a-bionic-prosthetic-eye-that-speaks-the-language-of-your-brain

[@Markus9705]

Did you see my comment above with the link? ^^

[@Groaznic]

TheLeftLibertarianAtheist Oh my god! It's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks man, I would fucking kiss you! And I know 5 minutes later I'll even regret writing this XD

[@Markus9705]

***** I love you too. :)

[@AssClappicus]

great video

[@meb6140]

Wait so we’re supposed to see less color on the outer region of our vision ? (3:00) or am I the only one that see colors even if the image is blurry ?

[@ronaldjensen9919]

You're not the only one.

[@shrutibhoir5831]

The background music is so eerie

[@KashimoKazuya]

thankx,i got so much from this

[@nidhipatelyt5283]

Man, I always knew a camera picks up things better then my eyes

[@snaps4kappu]

No need to buy various lenses for long range or short range images. No focus issues or blur shots or bokeh shots or multiple exposures. No folder, tagging or disc space issues because I've already forgotten half of what I've seen. Not bad. I thank you eye.

[@moniquejhoienyllaxina290]

Focus on the center of the disk.... You are getting sleepy * immediately looks away* Am I the only one who did this? Just me? Ok....

[@decimatorgraphics]

Nah same

[@tanishaagarwal6713]

Am I the only one who found the blinking of the eye sound sooo creepy? It gave me the shivers

[@saigonmonopoly1105]

Some times we feel a certain mood cause of the color sourround us right?

[@manvardhan6982]

that joy that was to be found in watching stationary leaves creepy me out when i pause the video at 4:27