RED's Dragon sensor - 20 stop dynamic range

marcio_napoli wrote:

Allow me to present an opposite point of view.

I'm a sucker for high DR sensors. To exemplify, it was the number 1 reason I bought a Fuji S3 in 2012.

Yes, this old and unique CCD still is unmatched in the highlights range, to the point no other sensor can even come close.

I also have a digital back, which has a pretty considerable DR too.

Oh, yes, I'm a Nikon shooter. I'm also considering the D800 later this year.

So, I'm a sucker for DR.

But I'll the first one to admit that excessive DR can ruin the beauty of a shot.

Hang out in the Nikon forum, and you'll see a bunch of examples of how too much shadow lifting leads to a very unnatural, unrealistic result.

The images are beyond "flat", they're strange, and not comparable at all to our eye's DR.

Even though I love DR, an image MUST have contrast.

It's important a bit of blow highlights here and there, and deep black shadows.

That subtle clipping on both highlights and shadows will lead to a better image, not the opposite aprouch.

So Canon may have less DR right now, but, isn't it enough for most artistic and real world cases (except extreme technical photography)?

I think so.

More than that leads to flat an unnatural images. Look in the Nikon camp...

And yes, I'm a Nikon shooter.

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Marcio Napoli

www.marcionapoli.com