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Differentiation of Aspect Ratio by The Human Eye
It is rare to run across a topic that doesn't seem to be
well covered by a 30 minute google search. In the absence
of a good reference, I figured I'd make something up. The
following is my effort - feel free to cite this page in
learned journals of all varieties, but it is completely unsubstantiated.
As fellow POTM nerds give me references, I'll include links below.
How many "different" pictures do you perceive below?
| A. 140/100 | B. 140/125 | C. 140/75 | D. 140/110 |
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| E. 139/101 | F. 175/100 | G. 105/100 | H. 154/100 |
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What's The Problem?
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Simply stated: how much can we vary the aspect ratio of a "picture" and
not have the difference "noticed"?
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What's NOT The Problem?
| Let us leave aside the vagaries of "how"
the original 500 by 700 pixel scan
is presented on the screen or printout you are now reading;
| | Let us also leave aside the "content" of this somewhat familiar
picture and whether other content would be perceived differently;
| | Let us additionally not waste time on the notion that it is easier
to "notice" the differences between two picures that are side-by-side
than it is to assess whether a stand-alone picture looks peculiar;
| | Let us further leave aside whether vertical or horizontal presentations
might have different answers;
| | Let us finally omit discussion of whether or not very tall or
very wide pictures might yield different results.
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What's the Answer?
Having eliminated all parameters except the person doing the observing,
and since I'm the person doing the observing, I can say with absolute
authority that I
WOULD
notice the difference in a familiar picture if the
height or width were varied by 25% (as in B, C, F, G above).
Further, I conclude that I
WOULD NOT
notice changes of 1% in the height and/or width (as in E above).
And finally, I suspect that changes of 10% (as in D and H above)
MAY
be noticed depending on a variety of things we are ignoring.
I thus declare myself to be the authority - at least for purposes
of the GLOSSY POTM - and limit the aspect ratio to a 2% change for
purposes of the GLOSSY POTM.
=Fred (a.k.a. The omnipotent POTM-MASTER)
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