Rods and Cones

• Rods also known as scoptic vision, is the vision at low light levels
• Dont mediate color vision, and only have a low spatial acuity.
• Cones also known as photopic vision, are more active at higher levels.
• Cones are capable of color vision and have high spatial acuity.

 

 

Rods are responsible for vision at low light levels (scotopic vision). They do not mediate color vision, and have a low spatial acuity.

Cones are active at higher light levels (photopic vision), are capable of color vision and are responsible for high spatial acuity. The central fovea is populated exclusively by cones. There are 3 types of cones which we will refer to as the short-wavelength sensitive cones, the middle-wavelength sensitive cones and the long-wavelength sensitive cones or S-cone, M-cones, and L-cones for short.
http://www.cis.rit.edu/people/faculty/montag/vandplite/pages/chap_9/ch9p1.html