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Dynamic range
How many stops the eye, cameras and screens see.
What it is
The dynamic range is the gap between the darkest and the brightest light something can see or show, with detail. It is counted in stops: one stop is twice as much light, so 10 stops is a contrast of about 1,000 : 1 and 14 stops about 16,000 : 1.
- Cameras: the range announced by each maker, measured their own way: compare with care. In practice it depends on the codec, the ISO and the log curve.
- Log (S-Log3, LogC, V-Log, C-Log…): a flat-looking recording that keeps the camera’s full range, to be graded later.
- Prints and screens show less than cameras capture: grading chooses what to keep. An HDR screen shows more than an SDR one.
- The eye, film and screens are rough guides, not measurements.
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