There are a number of fundamental differences between a “normal” 50mm lens and the human visual system (HVS). Firstly, a camera extracts a rectangular image from the circular view of the lens. The HVS on the other hand is not circular, nor rectangular – if anything it has somewhat of an oval shape. This can be seen in the diagram of binocular field of vision shown in Figure 1 (from [1]). The central shaded region is the field of vision seen by both eyes, i.e. binocular (stereoscopic) vision, the white areas on both sides are the monocular crescents, seen by only by each eye, and the blackened area is not seen.

Figure 1 illustrates a second difference, the fact that normal human vision is largely binocular, i.e. uses both eyes to produce an image, whereas most cameras are monocular. Figure 2 illustrates binocular vision more clearly, comparing it to the total visual field.

The total visual field of the HVS is 190-200° horizontally, which is composed of 120° of binocular vision, and two fields of 35-40° seen by one one eye. Vertically, the visual field of view is about 130° (and the binocular field is roughly the same), comprised of 50° above the horizontal line-of-sight, and 70-80° below it. An example to illustrate binocular vision (horizontal) is shown in Figure 3.

It is actually quite challenging to provide an exact example of what a human sees – largely because trying to take the same picture would require a lens such as a fish-eye which would introduce distortions, something the HVS is capable of filtering out.

Further reading:

1. Ruch, T.C., “Chapter 21: Binocular Vision, and Central Visual Pathways”, in Neurophysiology (Ruch, T.C. et al. (eds)) p.441-464 (1965)