The depth-of-field of the human eye from objective and subjective measurements

Abstract

The depth-of-field (DOF) measured through psychophysical methods seems to depend on the target’s characteristics. We use objective and subjective methods to determine the DOF of the eye for different pupil diameters and wavelengths in three subjects. Variation of image quality with focus is evaluated with a double-pass technique. Objective DOF is defined as the dioptric range for which the image quality does not change appreciably, based on optical criteria. Subjective DOF is based on the accuracy of focusing a point source. Additional DOFs are obtained by simulation from experimental wavefront aberration data from the same subjects. Objective and subjective measurements of DOF are only slightly affected by pupil size, wavelength and spectral composition. Comparison of DOF from double-pass and wavefront aberration data allows us to evaluate the role of ocular aberrations and Stiles–Crawford effect.