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

_sem_ wrote:

They certainly are different. But the shadows end shows similar issues as the highlights end if you push it high enough, in addition to the noise and the quantisation (relatively "sparse" coverage of the data, due to the relatively linear nature of the sensor but highly nonlinear human perception).

Zero in the raw file is not complete darkness, merely the edge of ideal sensor sensitivity range (in the absence of noise). You can have images with a spike in the raw histogram near zero (not as clear as at the HL edge due to noise). For instance, in case of blue sky at low exposure, so that that goes very dark towards an edge, you can locate bands where the R and G channels reach the zero (clipped plus some noise) region, while B remains obviously positive. If your raw converter lets you push this area so high that it becomes visible, you can notice the edge where you get the fake almost clean blue (save the noise). But at such amplification you may also spot bands due to quantisation. You can use the eyedropper tool to tell which is which, and to distinguish form the effects of lousy 6-bit laptop displays (possibly emphasized by display calibration software); some raw converters also have clipping mask tools for both highlights and shadows.