Scene & sensor dynamic range

In a perfect world, a camera would be able to capture the full dynamic range of a scene without clipping any highlight or shadow details. With our digital cameras, in some situations where the dynamic range of a scene is quite high, that is quite difficult to achieve.

A good DSLR nowadays has a dynamic range of 10 or 11 stops. This means that a single frame can capture image details of highlights and shadows 10 or 11 stops apart, before any clipping or data loss occurs.

Highlight clipping is usually more obvious and troublesome than shadow clipping. An ideal exposure would have the highlight areas fade slowly and gradually in a way that there is no bold abrupt loss of image details. In digital photography, this is referred to as roll off. Of course if you shoot RAW, there are procedures you can apply to achieve extra roll off. But sometimes if the sensor pixels have been subjected to so much light, they reach their maximum capacity, and that would be it. They would turn completely white that no image details can be restored, and you can do nothing about it. This might also introduce random color fringes at times because of the different exposure points at which each color channel (Red, Green, and Blue) clips info. Of course in-camera processing can sometimes help a lot in these situations, but there’s only so much they can do and that just differs from one model to another.

The dynamic range of a scene depends on two factors: light falling on it, and light reflected off it. Of these two, falling light determines, for the most part, the dynamic range of a scene. Since different surfaces, although reflect varying amounts of light, the differences are not really great.

However light falling on a scene can very much affect its dynamic range. Direct harsh light can create very bright areas and very deep shadows, while soft diffused light creates soft shadows and evenly lit areas.

The position of the light source also plays a big role in the scene’s dynamic range. Choosing to include the light source in the frame by shooting into it for instance creates a higher dynamic range than shooting away from it. Having light and dark surfaces together in the same scene also produces a high dynamic range, while having similarly toned subjects lowers it .

Shooting into the light – higher dynamic range (photo by Kyle Kruchok)

Shooting into the light – higher dynamic range (photo by Christolakis)

Shooting into the light – higher dynamic range (photo by Fadzly @ Shutterhack)

Shooting into the light – higher dynamic range (photo by WarzauWynn)

Shooting away from the light – lower dynamic range (photo by Alex Dunphy)

Shooting away from the light – lower dynamic range (photo by ecstaticist)

Light & dark tones – higher dynamic range (photo by Giorgio___)

Light & dark tones – higher dynamic range (photo by Sippanont Samchai)

Similar tones – lower dynamic range (photo by Big Max Power (BMP))

Thick atmosphere such as smoke, dust, fog, or mist lowers the dynamic range so the way you compose or frame your scene, whether to include or exclude much of that, has a high impact on the dynamic range.

Thick atmosphere – lower dynamic range (photo by Andrea Costa Photography)

Thick atmosphere – lower dynamic range (photo by ecstaticist)

Thick atmosphere – lower dynamic range (photo by Voyageur Solitaire-mladjenovic_n)

Thick atmosphere – lower dynamic range (photo by AHMED)