A hybrid curvature/tilt wave front sensor ( ) that employs both tilt measurements and curvature measurements of the wave front of a light beam ( ). The light beam ( ) is split into a first path and a second path. The light beam ( ) on the first path is directed to a tilt sensor ( ) employing a lenslet array ( ) having a plurality of lenses ( ). The lenses ( ) focus separate portions ( ) of the wave front onto a CCD ( ) that provides local intensity measurements. A computer ( ) receives electrical information of the intensity of the various beam portions ( ) and computes a tilt measurement based on this information. The light beam ( ) on the second path is directed to a curvature sensor ( ) that includes a pair of CCDs ( ) positioned at the same distance before and after the focal plane of a lens ( ). The intensity measurement of the beam ( ) at these locations is sent to the computer ( ) which performs curvature measurements on the beam wave front. Algorithms are employed to determine the phase of the wave front based on the tilt and curvature measurements.