Evan Richards Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 So lets say I'm an individual who doesn't have much of a budget (I am and I don't) for expensive testing equiptment etc. Is there a fairly accurate way to measure the dynamic range of a camera? I did a little googling and wasn't too satisfied with the answers. I feel like there might be some way to do it by exposing a gray card properly and then exposing up and down to see when it blows out or loses detail...but I'm no expert at all. It SEEMS like there might be some kind of low tech solution like that and I just want to make sure I'm not missing it. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Rodin Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 You got it right - you do an over/under exposure test on a neutral gray object. Better use a grayscale chip chart though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted June 12, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted June 12, 2017 Put a white card and a black card on each side of an 18% gray card -- under and overexpose in whatever increments you want until you can't see a difference between the white and gray card at the overexposed end and between the gray and black card at the underexposed end. Make sure you shoot at whatever is the widest dynamic range recording format the camera offers (raw, log, cine gamma, hypergamma, etc.) but also test it in the narrower Rec.709 display gamma range just for comparison. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Richards Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 Put a white card and a black card on each side of an 18% gray card -- under and overexpose in whatever increments you want until you can't see a difference between the white and gray card at the overexposed end and between the gray and black card at the underexposed end. Make sure you shoot at whatever is the widest dynamic range recording format the camera offers (raw, log, cine gamma, hypergamma, etc.) but also test it in the narrower Rec.709 display gamma range just for comparison. Awesome! Thanks for you expertise David! Will give it a shot. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Richards Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 You got it right - you do an over/under exposure test on a neutral gray object. Better use a grayscale chip chart though. That's a good thought. Will give it a shot! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Richards Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 (edited) Put a white card and a black card on each side of an 18% gray card -- under and overexpose in whatever increments you want until you can't see a difference between the white and gray card at the overexposed end and between the gray and black card at the underexposed end. Make sure you shoot at whatever is the widest dynamic range recording format the camera offers (raw, log, cine gamma, hypergamma, etc.) but also test it in the narrower Rec.709 display gamma range just for comparison. And I suppose the more flatly and evenly your cards are lit the more accurate your test will be. Edited June 12, 2017 by Evan Richards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted June 12, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted June 12, 2017 The black card should be as black as possible, some people create a recessed box lined in black velvet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E Clark Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 I use a combination of 18% grey card, Black 'velvety' cloth, white lacy cloth, and a color chart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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