Sensors: Small or Large? Old or New? - The Reality of Dynamic Range in Digital Photography

Do you need a large sensor to get sufficient dynamic range? What about shooting with a 20 year old digital camera – how much dynamic range do you get?
Lots of marketing and hype surrounds the topic of dynamic range in digital photography. Time for a reality check!
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Video Content:
0:00 Introduction
0:24 Prejudices
1:24 Sensors Compared
9:23 Dynamic Range in Practice
10:42 HDR Situations
12:42 High ISO Situations
14:00 Conclusion
Corrections
3:17 Canon 5D has 12.8 MP
6:20 A9II has a bit more DR than the 5D IV (10.9 vs. 10.83)
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🎥 OM System OM-1
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#DynamicRange #DigitalPhotgraphy #SensorSize #FullFrame #MicroFourThirds #APSC #HDR #PhotographyEducation #ThomasEisl #ThomasEislPhotography

[ThomasEisl.Photography]

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[benejpocock]

You videos are so informative Thomas - I can't stop watching them and have learnt so much. Thank you.

What I'm starting to realise is that a lot of 'it' is talk. When your friend in the pub says his camera is better as it has more megapixels, a bigger sensor and more dynamic range. They've probably spent a load more money yet don't actually know how to utilise the 'better bits' (if indeed they are even 'better').

I think the M43 sensor cameras are so overlooked because a lot of people rule them out based on having 'a tiny sensor' and 'only 20MP', but from my very unscientific testing, the OM-1.2 I have on my desk alongside my Fuji X-H2 is making a really good case for showing Fuji the door. The images are equally as good, the camera has more features I'll actually use, and the system as a whole is considerably lighter and more compact. I can't think of what I don't like currently...

Thank you again and I look forward to your next videos.

[evgenipoptoshev]

Since 2016, 90 % of my photography has been done with m4/3 bodies. I never missed on dynamic range. Learning to expose properly and shoot raw is key IMO. Exposure compensation is your best friend. Even the best metering system can use help from time to time.
And let's not forget that the human eye doesn't have an unlimited DR either. In some extremely high contrast situations, having a blown highlights and/or blocked shadows looks more realistic.

[livefirecook]

I definitely agree with everything you said. Another thing to remember is that it appears manufacturers have stopped working to improve sensors. There's been no real improvement for the last 5 to 6 years (basically with the release of the D850 and Sony A7RIII). All improvements now seem to be concerned with AF, FPS, and ways to compete with dedicated video cameras. If image quality is your main concern there haven't been any improvements since that generation of sensors.

[PublicKaraokeChannel-jgbv]

I just got my OM-1 Mark II and I can say, it’s an amazing camera, it’s only 20MP but you can’t even see the difference when you compare the quality with full frame cameras.

[stephenelderphoto]

Another fascinating video Thomas. This topic is definitely something that comes up regularly. In fact, I had just finished watching a vlog from another Youtuber who stated "of course M4/3 has lower dynamic range than full frame". It was so coincidental that yours was the next video I watched. In any case, I'm very happy with my OM-1 for the whole package of features it offers. Thanks for another great presentation Thomas!

[tremaincheerful]

Another excellent and entertaining video, Thomas. Your depth of understanding and ability to explain it to others is without equal, and so appreciated.

[Richard.Cabeza]

I love your videos. the thorough investigative research that you do, video set up, sound and lighting quality and the excellent dialog delivery that goes into them. It's like watching inspector gadget teaching these facts that not very many people know. I've been binge watching many of your videos and learning a lot. I so much appreciate the effort you've put into them. I don't subscribe to many YT channels, but I have subscribed to you and will watch more and some of them over a few times. Great learning material. Thank you. The shutter simulation between scenes is a good touch.

[ThePNWRiderWA]

It’s all about using the right tool. I use for indoor and some landscape a Sony A1. For wildlife and outdoors I shoot a OM-1. There is no way I a hauling around or shooting effectively with FF and lens. The lens is massive and heavy vs the OM-1 and my 300 f4 MFT.

[olafzijnbuis]

At 09:45 you talk about a 32 to 1 lighting ratio.
You then say you need 9 stops of dynamic range.
Looks more like 5 to me: 2^5 = 32 (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32)
Or do I not fully understand it?

[RohamBroccoli]

For me, photography is an "escape route". when everyday life takes over and adult life settles down like a blanket. In this bubble I want to be, just be. Enjoy the nature, listen to the stream flowing and the birds chirping. I don't want to be technical.
Blown highlights. Crashed shadows. Soft corners. I do not care.
But that said, I'm no professional. No weight on the shoulders to "deliver". By the way, did I say that I appreciate your technical videos?
I do. Vielen Dank

[telebruce]

Thank you Thomas, a very enlightening video! I am an amateur photographer. Years ago, I started shooting slide film, and just got used to the 'small' dynamic range of that film compared to negative film. As a new photographer, I longed for a film that had the same or close to the dynamic range of the human eye. Then I could 'catch everything'! As I gained experience, I learned that having limited dynamic range is not a bad thing, one can do a lot creatively with it, capturing sun beams through a windows in a dark room for example. When I switched to digital cameras, I felt I was on familiar ground, and just started using many of the same techniques as I used with slide film. I've never had a complaint or criticism of 'low' dynamic range in my photos. I just try to get the best exposure for the mood, scene, feeling, whatever of the image I see in my head, and I'm happy with it. It's actually fun to see what I can do with the range I have. What really needs to change is the dynamic range of the monitors we use to view our digital photos with; but then, that might be another creative avenue to work with. I'm Subscribed. Looking forward to exploring other videos of yours. thanks again.

[hdn]

To be quite frank this video left me a bit confused, Thomas. At first I learnt that dynamic range is a bit like image resolution: As long as you've got enough for what you want to do everything is ok. And that dynamic range above 8 EVs isn't relevant and even a bit less isn't a problem all by itself. That sounds a lot like "the max 9.7 EVs of the sensor in my E-M1X is more than enough" just like "the 20 MP of the sensor of my E-M1X is more than enough for taking the kind of pictures I'm taking, with very humble cropping and not deliberately higher than ISO 6400 sensitivity setting" (which in a nutshell really is my point of view). And it also fits my experience for rating picture quality on my E-M1X on different ISO settings: 200/excellent/9.7EVs 1600/very good/6.9EVs 3200/good/6.1 6400/still-satisfying/5.2EVs
And ok, FF sensors (formerly known as KB 😏) give you around 2 EVs more dynamic range than MFT sensors. But now my confusion starts: Why even think about more than 8 EVs? And if dynamic range of more than 8 EVs doesn't matter anyway, why even think about using HDR?
Maybe I just got you wrong in the first part of your video and you meant it doesn't matter anyway ON PRINTS? So it will give sense to have more dynamic range for making use of it in postprocessing only? For me this would come down a lot on whether to use out-of-camera JPGs (what I admittedly like a lot) or RAW (what I just use in case I change my mind and correct a mistake or try another color profile in postprocessing), right? And for that doing HDR bracketing would also give sense if shooting with a MFT camera and needing a dynamic range of 4-6 EVs more dynamic range in post processing. Did you mean that?

Here's some additional insight I got from studying the PDR data: A few cameras have also been metered using the electronic instead of mechanical shutter. I don't know if this can be generalized from the model to the brand but while Canon cameras seem to lose a bit of their dynamic range when used with electronic shutter, Sony cameras' dynamic ranges seem to be rather invariant of shutter type. The only OM camera tested with both shutter modes (EM-1 M2) even gains a bit (=+0.7 EVs at ISO >200) of additional dynamic range when used with with electronic shutter. And Nikon? Sorry, no model metered with electronic shutter.

[garybatch]

Excellent presentation; data-based and practical! The only ones who might not like this are the manufacturers' marketing teams where it's primarily a numbers game: more is better...

[banditalley]

What a wonderfully thorough and informative video!
I used to shoot weddings on Canon 1Ds MkII - about 8.5 stops similar to the 5D. Several times I could rescue highlights and shadows to make perfect exposures from RAW even at that level. I think the dynamic range argument says more about the ability of the photographer to expose correctly than it does about what camera format you need.

[heikkivalkonen]

Thank you for a good video! Informative in many ways. However author of this video never described what stop means in cameras. As far as I know one stop in exposure or DR (dynamic range) means doubling of light, so if DR is increased from 10 to 11, DR has not increased by 10%, but by 100%! Correct me if I am wrong. These DR values are compared in this video as if they are linear values, which is not the case. If you compare presented DR’s of om-1 and Nikon d800, it shows slightly over 2 stop advantage to Nikon. Full frame sensor is four times larger in surface area than MFT sensor, so it will gather four times more light by frame, which means two stops. So these findings are exactly what we should expect! Nothing surprising here.

However is this significant in normal photography such as portrait or landscape, is completely different thing. This was addressed in this video very well! As a nature and bird photographer myself (who shoots with om-1 and A1), I think there is difference in DR and noise when shooting moving subjects in less than optimal conditions. It’s matter of preference whether you consider it to be significant enough.

Happy shooting!

[charlescamp]

Spot on! Regardless of the slight image quality increase, the large-sensor camera buys me nothing if I’ve left it home because it’s no fun to carry. I’m seriously considering a switch from full-frame to the OM1, and your insights are slowly helping me to make that decision. The best camera in the world is the one you have with you when you need it.

[noelchignell]

Well for my bird photography hobby where I prefer to shoot in very low light and/or strongly backlit situations 2 stops improvement (which is 4 times more light) is very helpful.
When I switched from a Canon 7Dii to a 5Diii and 1DX the improvement was mind blowing.
Also the high iso performance of these full frame sensors seems freakish to me after years of using only APS-c.
Bird photography is an extreme form of photography where high speed action, low light and tiny erratic subjects mean that having high performance cameras and lenses are very helpful.
I also avoid shooting wide open as it's likely to miss focus more on fast moving tiny birds so when I use my 400 f/2.8 I generally stop down to f/4 or preferably f/5.6 or even f/8 and keep the shutter speed to at least 1/400 second or preferably higher.

[Alsayid]

What about advances in auto white balance and auto focus? I have a dad era Nikon D3400, and I often do not like the off cast it produces in snaps.

[Jwitherow]

Hello Tomas I had the om1 yesterday and done a shot of a venue, and I tried the high res mod. All of the photos came out washed, the color was terrible. What did I do wrong? I also took my Nikon z8 and I did get some great phot for my client.