A New Psychophysical Method for Determining the Photopic Spectral-luminosity Function of the Human Eye

Using an 8 mm pupil, 2AFC-method, and 2 x 2 deg2 grating at 2 c/deg we measured contrast sensitivity as a function of integrated radiance for a series of interference filters with peak wavelengths at 400-700 nm. Irrespective of the radiance level, contrast sensitivity was highest when wavelength was at and around 550 nm. It decreased towards longer and shorter wavelengths, reflecting the variation of the probability of quantal catch with light wavelength. When contrast sensitivity functions plotted in double logarithmic coordinates were shifted horizontally by multiplying the integrated radiances of each filter by an appropriate scaling factor, the functions superimposed onto a single curve. Contrast sensitivity at lower levels of relative radiance (R) increased in proportion to square root of R, obeying DeVries-Rose law, but at higher levels contrast sensitivity was constant, obeying Weber's law. Scaling factors plotted as a function of wavelength provided an estimate of V(lambda) quite similar to the standard 2 deg photopic spectral-luminosity function of CIE 1924.