The Naked Eye vs. the Camera: How Do They Compare?

[DannyG]

While I was throwing around all the cinematography concepts in my head, I asked myself the question..."How does the naked eye compare to a camera?" Because essentially the eye is a camera, isn't it? Believe it or not, due to extenuating circumstances, the only art class I took in High School was ceramics. So I'm hoping a photography class next year will help me tap into the foreign language of cinematography. But I think the above question might help my understanding of everything better. If a filmmaker is trying to get a look of something he/she can see with their naked eye, then obviously he would be able to just point and shoot if that's all a camera needed to get that image on film/video. So basically, what differences between a human eye and a camera lens account for the need for extra lighting and equipment in order to achieve the same look on film that can be had from the naked eye without any equipment. For all I know, that might be best answered by a MD, or maybe it's too abstract of a question. But since I'm still green with regard to all concepts of light/color/photography (no pun intended :mrgreen: ), I'll take a gamble and try to make heads or tails of the answers I receive. Thanks!

 

[gwyddion]

camera vs the naked Eye

camera vs the naked Eye

One of the biggest things is the brain. We will...um...insert edit...elements before us that we would expect to be there. If you've ever had a close up look at a Matte painting you'd understand...from 6 inches away...you see a slash of black on the side of a boat...on camera you see a cannon barrel.

I'll have to look deeper into this and see if I can come up with anything else...long term memory fade

 

[Kevin_Zanit]

Well the eye (more specifically the brain, as we "see" with our brains) does not compare to the camera all that well. This is because the eye has what is essentially the world's fastest auto exposure system. This gives the illusion of extended dynamic range, thus highlights do not blow out, and shadows do not block up.

You must train to interpret what your eye sees relative to the film. A contrast viewing glass helps compress the range of highlights to shadows into a more realistic version of what the film would "see".

But for the most part this eye comes from experience.


Kevin Zanit

 

[JLNeir]

I agree with Kevin. When it comes down to it your eye is almost nothing like what you are going to get on the silver screen. I like to think of it like the camera is the converter from what my eye sees to what goes on film. I have to make sure I know how to calibrate that camera so that my eye sees what I want it to see. So all it takes is practice with the converter (i.e. camera) so that the calibration comes natural. I have noticed that after a long day or week of shooting that I start to see what the lens sees. In other words, I start to see objects being over exposed by light, I see things in small rectangular images instead of the panoramic scene that is life. It's a weird feeling, but it's fun at the same time. So, practice practice practice.

Jeff