Dynamic Range Really isn't as important as you are lead to believe.

mpgxsvcd wrote:

You gave a good explanation as to why HDR won't work in that situation. Now can you give a good reason for how less than a stop extra Dynamic range is going to correct for a scene that contains more than a stop extra dynamic range?

If you can get the scene with a single exposure then yes HDR is probably not necessary. However, my guess is that it wouldn't matter which camera you used in that situation because the differences in sensor dynamic range within the same class of camera really is not that much different.

Sure. If you are comparing a JPG image from a compact sensor camera to a Full frame there is going to be a huge difference in dynamic range. However, if you are comparing like camera models then the difference really isn't that great.

Look at this DXOmark comparison between the EP1, GH2, and EM5. Each one adds about 1 stop of DR. That really isn't a lot and it would be extremely rare when the GH2 would clip but the EM5 wouldn't.

I am not saying that extra DR is a bad thing. However, it is rarely a truly useful thing that completely resolves the issue that the scene has too much dynamic range. It may eleminate clipping in a portion of the scene. However, it is very rare that the difference completely eliminates all clipping.