An apparatus for determining the objective refraction of a patients eye includes a transparent window and a wavefront measurement device that determines aberrations in a return beam from the patients eye after the beam passes through a corrective test lens in the apparatus. The wavefront measurement device outputs an instant display representative of the quality of vision afforded the patient through the test lens. The display can be a representation of a Snellen chart, convoluted with the optical characteristics of the patients vision, an overall quality of vision scale or the optical contrast function, all based on the wavefront measurements of the patients eye. The examiner may use the display information to conduct a refraction examination and other vision tests without the subjective response from the patient.
