02-03-2013, 01:42 PM
[quote name='Reinier' timestamp='1359885192' post='21719']
I used to shoot with slide film (Fuji Sensia II 100, Velvia Velvia 100), but when I bought my first Dslr (first the 40D and sold it to buy a 2-hand 5D 3 years ago) I was pleasantly suprised by the higher tonal range. Because of the higher DR I was able to take photographs which I wasn't with slide film, because it would have been to dark.
Just recently I was photographing mute swans here on a man-made lake. Although the sun isn't as powerful as in the spring or summer, the white feathers in combination with the dark water was not easy to get a right exposure. In theory you can't get the right exposure, because when you want to see detail in the feathers, you get in trouble with the water, which will become to dark.
So, I am interested in more dynamic range.
[/quote]
Every camera will do the same thing, exposure wise. The all have very similar tonal curves.
The standard tonal curves give between 8 and 9 stops of DR, if I remember correctly. You can lower the contrast way down in the camera/RAW converter, to give a bigger DR tonal curve (upto 9-10 stops I think).
RAW does contain more headroom, and you can take "advantage" of that when you know how. The 5D mk II has about 12 stops DR (at low ISO settings) hidden in its RAW depths. To get that out you need to know what you are doing. Just linearly showing 12 stops DR gives a VERY flat, unattractive image. Same goes for for instance a D800, which has a DR at base ISO of about 14 stops, due to lower read noise. 14 stops "lineary" will give a super flat, super unattractive image. So, you have to find a way that matches what you are after to harness extended DR.
I have read several times on forums that with the camera tonal curves and exposure metering, Canon files tends to have more headroom to recover highlights, while Nikon files have more room in the shadows. What truth lies in there I do not know, as it is not a hobby of mine to plough through the depths of RAW files from different cameras.
The 5D mk II will give you quite some room at lower ISO settings to get a wider DR compressed into the smaller DR of screen view and print. A camera like the D800 gives you even more room at lower ISO settings.
Personally, I tend to never need that, not with with white swans and geese on dark waters either. Unless I shoot in JPEG with a contrasty tonal curve, obviously. But I happen to find contrasty images attractive. Your personal views may differ.
I used to shoot with slide film (Fuji Sensia II 100, Velvia Velvia 100), but when I bought my first Dslr (first the 40D and sold it to buy a 2-hand 5D 3 years ago) I was pleasantly suprised by the higher tonal range. Because of the higher DR I was able to take photographs which I wasn't with slide film, because it would have been to dark.
Just recently I was photographing mute swans here on a man-made lake. Although the sun isn't as powerful as in the spring or summer, the white feathers in combination with the dark water was not easy to get a right exposure. In theory you can't get the right exposure, because when you want to see detail in the feathers, you get in trouble with the water, which will become to dark.
So, I am interested in more dynamic range.
[/quote]
Every camera will do the same thing, exposure wise. The all have very similar tonal curves.
The standard tonal curves give between 8 and 9 stops of DR, if I remember correctly. You can lower the contrast way down in the camera/RAW converter, to give a bigger DR tonal curve (upto 9-10 stops I think).
RAW does contain more headroom, and you can take "advantage" of that when you know how. The 5D mk II has about 12 stops DR (at low ISO settings) hidden in its RAW depths. To get that out you need to know what you are doing. Just linearly showing 12 stops DR gives a VERY flat, unattractive image. Same goes for for instance a D800, which has a DR at base ISO of about 14 stops, due to lower read noise. 14 stops "lineary" will give a super flat, super unattractive image. So, you have to find a way that matches what you are after to harness extended DR.
I have read several times on forums that with the camera tonal curves and exposure metering, Canon files tends to have more headroom to recover highlights, while Nikon files have more room in the shadows. What truth lies in there I do not know, as it is not a hobby of mine to plough through the depths of RAW files from different cameras.
The 5D mk II will give you quite some room at lower ISO settings to get a wider DR compressed into the smaller DR of screen view and print. A camera like the D800 gives you even more room at lower ISO settings.
Personally, I tend to never need that, not with with white swans and geese on dark waters either. Unless I shoot in JPEG with a contrasty tonal curve, obviously. But I happen to find contrasty images attractive. Your personal views may differ.