This morning as I was going to work, the full moon was in the sky and very bright. I could clearly see the dark spots on it. I got my phone out (after stopping) and thought to get a picture, but no matter how I tried to focus the camera, it couldn’t see the moon as anything but a bright ball of light, like looking into a flashlight. Why was it so difficult for my phone to capture this image that my eye could see so clearly?
In: Technology
Your eye (and your brain) is a product of millions of years of evolution. Having a high dynamic range (being able to see both brightly lit and shadowy things at the same time) can be what allows you to both see the tiger about to jump you and the berries you need to eat.
Your phone camera is a purification of a few decades of development in which keeping costs low, file sizes manageable, and blurring at a minimum.
In short, your camera is pretty cool. But your eyes are awesome.
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