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Mesopic lightness, brightness, and brightness contrast

¹Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Perception & Psychophysics

|October 1, 1993

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Brightness contrast is reduced at lower light levels (mesopic vision) compared to brighter conditions (photopic vision). This study shows that while surface lightness remains relatively stable, brightness contrast significantly decreases in dim environments.

Area of Science:

Vision science
Perceptual psychology
Image processing

Background:

Luminance contrast perception differs between photopic and mesopic vision.
Surface lightness may be affected by reduced luminance levels.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how lightness, brightness, and brightness contrast change under varying low luminance conditions.
To assess the relationship between luminance contrast and brightness contrast at mesopic levels.

Main Methods:

Utilized CRT simulations of achromatic paper patchworks.
Measured lightness, brightness, and brightness contrast.
Employed a lightness constancy paradigm with fixed and varied illuminance levels (0.12, 1.2, or 12 cd/m2).

Main Results:

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Constant brightness contrast demanded higher luminance contrast at lower mean luminances.
Failures in lightness constancy were observed at the lowest luminances but were less pronounced than brightness contrast loss.
Brightness contrast significantly decreased in low-luminance regions.

Conclusions:

Brightness contrast diminishes substantially in mesopic conditions, even when surface lightness remains largely constant.
Findings have implications for imaging systems that operate across both photopic and mesopic luminance ranges.