The complete range of of lighting from total darkness to maximum saturation that a sensor or film is capable of capturing without extreme measures such as graduated neutral density filters or HDR.
24
votes
9answers
2k views
Why don't cameras capture dynamic range as our eyes do?
When sitting in a room with no lights on, and I look out the window, I can easily see the interior of the room even if I focus on a tree outside.
Why can a camera not capture a similar image to what ...
24
votes
6answers
2k views
When should I use graduated ND filters and when should I use HDR processing?
I'd really like to stop blowing out the sky and/or underexposing the ground in my pictures. The traditional solution would be to use graduated ND filters, but taking multiple exposures and applying ...
23
votes
2answers
1k views
How does exposure fusion work?
I understand that "exposure fusion" is a method for combining different exposures into a single image. How exactly does it work, and how is it related to HDR?
22
votes
5answers
1k views
How to cope with high contrast?
Many times (especially around midday), we encounter lighting situations where the contrast of the scene is too high to capture with a camera. What can we do to create a useful picture in such ...
20
votes
4answers
1k views
How to photograph a room showing both room & view out a window?
I sometimes find I want to photograph a room showing the view outside the window. This is tricky — either you adjust the shutter speed so that the the window is so bright you can see no detail, or ...
19
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the Black Card Technique?
I have found interested comments on 500px: Non-HDR-processed / Non-GND/ND-filtered / non-blended● Black Card Technique and group on Flickr.
Could somebody explain how to and cons and pros of this ...
17
votes
6answers
3k views
How many stops can a digital camera capture?
How many stops can a digital camera capture?
I wondering if some one know, or have measure, the stops also for the negative or positive film, the human eyes, the monitor, the television, etc...
...
15
votes
5answers
2k views
How can I handle two extremely different brightnesses in the same picture?
I am the fresh owner of my first DSLR (a Canon EOS 600D, as far as I know called Rebel T3i in the USA). I'm a total newbie, and the camera is a lot smarter than me most of the time. But I'm trying to ...
15
votes
8answers
3k views
What is the best way to handle overexposed sky in post-processing?
I'm new at photography and I have taken some pictures where the subjects in the foreground are exposed correctly but the sky is very overexposed. What is the best way to handle it in post production?
...
15
votes
4answers
4k views
How does the dynamic range of the human eye compare to that of digital cameras?
According to DxO tests, cameras have 10 to 12 stops of dynamic range. Is that correct? Noise can completely screw some lowers values (easily resulting in loss of some stops).
Also Norman Koren says ...
15
votes
5answers
4k views
What is dynamic range and how is it important in photography?
I haven't seen an explanation on this site, and I think it is a good question to have here. Wikipedia says that the dynamic range is the "ratio between the largest and smallest possible values of a ...
15
votes
3answers
987 views
How can dynamic-range be larger than sensor bit-depth?
Found something that confused me and so I thought the crowd here can probably answer this one since its camera-related and technical at the same time.
How can dynamic-range be larger than sensor ...
14
votes
2answers
576 views
When comparing sensor dynamic range, what are those numbers based on?
Dynamic range EV's are bandied about all the time and I get the feeling that a) they're not on the same 'scale' and b) they're misleading in what they're indicating so I'm hoping somebody can clarify.
...
13
votes
5answers
1k views
Is there a difference in dynamic range between film and digital?
Is there a difference in dynamic range between film and digital?
12
votes
3answers
3k views
Is 14-bit RAW better than 12-bit RAW?
A regular JPEG image has only 8 bits to store information about the tone of each pixel. When storing the image in RAW format (for example, DNG), we can store tone using more bits per pixel, which ...
11
votes
3answers
927 views
How can I take a sun backlight portrait like these examples?
How can I take a photo like the ones below? The problem is that my photos (taken with a bridge, Sony H2) will get blown up at the highlights. Is it because I'm using a weak camera? Is it because I'm ...
11
votes
5answers
953 views
How do I effectively photograph when the sun is in the frame?
I have been trying to get a good shot out of direct sunlight but my shots just turn out dark, even if I set my shutter speed to the 1000-4000 range at ISO 200. Another odd thing is that even if my ...
11
votes
4answers
389 views
If my histogram shows nothing at the ends of the scale, does it mean the dynamic range of my camera isn't reached?
If my histogram spikes in the middle and evens out pretty much evenly but not completely to the ends (0 & 255), does this just mean that my scene doesn't have the deep shadows or brightest ...
9
votes
6answers
412 views
Why can't digital camera sensors expose each photosite individually?
Why is it impossible for camera sensors to function the way the human eye can?
What I mean is, why does a certain portion of the image have to be over/underexposed if we compensate for dark and light ...
9
votes
3answers
375 views
Is there a dynamic-range reduction device (preferably passive, optical)?
When processing sound, one can use a Compressor to reduce the dynamic (DR) range of the signal. In photography, we often run into the problem of scenes with DR larger than the sensor's capture ...
9
votes
1answer
698 views
How does Adaptive Dynamic Range work?
What does Adaptive Dynamic Range do to a photograph? How does it do its job? How does it affect the results? When should it be used?
Nikon calls this "Active D-Lighting"; discussion of other systems ...
9
votes
0answers
333 views
How do I avoid a dark subject when there's bright sunlight from windows? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you avoid a dim portrait with a bright background and no external flash?
I recently shot some photos at a friend's wedding. The location was lovely with lots of ...
8
votes
2answers
539 views
What is DRI? And how does it differ from HDR?
I recently came across the term DRI meaning Dynamic Range Increase.
What exactly is it and how does it differ from HDR or High Dynamic Range (or is it the same thing just different terminology?
8
votes
4answers
180 views
How did film photographers deal with issues around dynamic range?
HDR and multiple exposure blending seems very popular these days. I wonder, what did film photographers do to solve dynamic range issues?
For example, I know GND filters were common (and still are), ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the dynamic range comparison between SLR, DSLR, and point & shoot?
I'm a little curious on how different is the dynamic range in each kind of camera.
I know the DR of the human eyes is quit high. But, how different is the DR in SLR, DSLR and P&S cameras? Or is ...
8
votes
2answers
282 views
Is there always a way to capture all the light ranges to get good HDR images?
Let me explain the question. I've been making a lot of HDR photos, most of them in places where the difference between darker and lighter zones is no to big, and the transition from one zone to other ...
7
votes
4answers
480 views
How can I get the right exposure when parts of the scene are in the shade and others are in the sun?
Have a look at these snaps. On the first one the church has the right exposure but the tree is too dark. On the other hand in the second one the tree is perfect but the church is too bright.
Is there ...
7
votes
5answers
672 views
How to avoid dark window when shooting from inside
I am shooting a window with heavy sun light on it. When I get far enough from the window, the yellow curtain does not become too dark and is somehow visible (the second image). But as I get closer to ...
7
votes
3answers
246 views
Why does a bigger sensor have better dynamic range?
I already understand all the theory behind how a bigger sensor leads to better control of depth of field, and lower noise. But I've yet to find a place that can explain why a bigger sensor gives you a ...
6
votes
3answers
341 views
What can I do to maximize dynamic range while shooting?
There are several ways to increase dynamic range in post-processing, but what should I do while shooting to maximize the dynamic range of a picture? I know that shooting in Raw and trying to use all ...
6
votes
2answers
253 views
Can telephoto lenses cause the background to be darker than the foreground in the same light?
I took this photograph yesterday afternoon at around 5:15pm EDT, about two hours before sunset:
The sky, in my perception, was bright, and my little subject is standing in the same lighting as the ...
6
votes
1answer
594 views
Can I combine two photos to get a good image of a non-full moon?
Is there a good combo of longer exposure and shorter exposure that I can use to get two photos of the moon that I can then combine to show the sun-lit side and the earth-lit side together so I have ...
6
votes
2answers
102 views
How do objects in the dark come up when post processing?
I took one shot of oil lamps. Partial metering mode was used and I focused on the bright yellow light, as expected the image was captured with only the light and its immediate surroundings visible.
...
5
votes
6answers
343 views
A Good “Flexible” Default Setting For Shooting Highly Dynamic Subjects
I know this is quite vague and that some of you might say the setting depends on how much lighting the place has. However, I want to know what "default" settings I can use for shooting pageants, float ...
5
votes
1answer
233 views
Can Canon Log Gamma be useful for photography?
The newest Canon cameras have a feature called Canon Log Gamma. I specifically became interested in its usefulness for still photography when I read that it captures:
12 stops of dynamic range, ...
5
votes
2answers
810 views
How much has dynamic range improved since the EOS 20D?
I've owned the 20D since 2004 and my main criticism is it's dynamic range compared to print film (which I preferred to slide film because of difficulties shooting dark/light scenes).
Can anyone tell ...
5
votes
1answer
133 views
Are there any general rules to prepare a picture for print?
Today I went to the photo shop to print some pictures. Before that, I checked them and they seemed ok. (Not under/overexposed, good contrast). However, when I got them printed, some of them were ...
4
votes
4answers
319 views
How do I take a photo of people before a bright window?
How would you take a photo of people who are posing in front of a window? Ideally both the people and the background should be visible.
I usually get either the background being overlighted or the ...
4
votes
3answers
902 views
Where to get a dynamic-range test chart?
Where can I get a good chart to measure dynamic range?
This would probably be a plastic or cardboard which would show stripes of different reflectance in small increments, preferably 1/4 EV or ...
4
votes
3answers
754 views
Does a high ISO generally result in bad dynamic range and less accurate color?
I have a Pentax K-x. I've had it set on "auto ISO up to 6400" for a while now, and I'm starting to wonder if this is making my images worse. Honestly I don't trust myself to tell.
Does a high ISO ...
4
votes
3answers
301 views
What does the under/overexposure warning mean in image editing software?
We all know exposure warnings that a digital camera offers: If shows which parts are so bright or dark that there's no more distinction towards even brighter or darker areas possible. Meaning that ...
4
votes
2answers
443 views
How does one best deal with shaded faces in bright sunlight?
When photographing people in bright sunlight, parts of faces are often shaded by hats or by their own contours. This creates highly-contrasted faces, and either a very bright background or very dark ...
4
votes
2answers
238 views
What does the term “saturation luminance” mean in the definition of dynamic range?
The concept behind the dynamic range definition given by ISO 15739 is based on the ratio of the maximum luminance that receives a unique coded representation （the "saturation" luminance) to the lowest ...
4
votes
2answers
395 views
What is the best practice in using LR/Enfuse?
I have Lightroom 4 and have downloaded LR/Enfuse for Mac.
I have checked out the information on using Enfuse but with my endeavours are not that happy with the results. That is I was expecting a ...
4
votes
1answer
323 views
what's the relation between sensor size and image quality (noise, dynamic range)?
I'm reading this description on sensor size:
Digital compact cameras have substantially smaller sensors offering a
similar number of pixels. As a consequence, the pixels are much
smaller, ...
4
votes
2answers
618 views
How to set exposure for photographing a high-contrast subject?
I have a dog that is notoriously difficult to get good photographs of. This is because he has a dark facial mask, some lighter tones on his face and particularly sides, and nearly white legs. So ...
3
votes
4answers
523 views
Does using a different lens affect the dynamic range for HDR post-processing?
I am a bit new to HDR photography and lately I have been trying to carry out the post-processing with Photomatrix. After many trails and errors, I am still unable to get the effect that many other HDR ...
3
votes
1answer
253 views
How do you photograph sand dunes?
In 2010 I was lucky enough to visit Death Valley. While we were there we went to the sand dunes.
I took this shot
Its not how I remembered the scene, It seems as if a lot of the detail has been ...
3
votes
4answers
384 views
How critical is it to expose raw images correctly?
I have been thinking about the Zone System and its goal of maximising image quality given the limitations of film sensitivity and the necessity to choose specific developing parameters.
Clearly you ...
3
votes
2answers
153 views
Is the dynamic range affected by exposure time?
For a given scene, if I take 2 similar shots:
short exposure time (maybe using higher aperture, higher ISO...)
long exposure time (lower aperture or ISO)
The goal is to have the shots with the ...
