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<blockquote data-quote="aroy" data-source="post: 485791" data-attributes="member: 16090">HDR is a method of &quot;squeezing&quot; a large DR into 8 bits (256 levels of brightness) for both visualising and printing. As modern sensors have a DR of between 12EV and 15EV it may not be necessary to use HDR techniques, but just process the RAW file.JPEG is 8 bits, while D3xxx RAW contains 12EV of DR. While converting to jpeg mostly the lower 4 bits are either thrown away or last 5/6 bits cramped, hence the shadows are never clear and the highlights may look blown. If you take the 12(or where available) bits and use RAW software you can map the 12/14 bits to 8 bits as you want. Linear mapping will show more shadows than jpeg, non linear you can boost shadows and suppress highlights to your heart's content.&nbsp;In short if your scene has less than 12EV DR, you can use the RAW file to get the &quot;HDR&quot;. For FX sensors the DR is 13EV. If the scene has more than 12/13EV DR then you need more shots to cover the range. If 8EV is useful DR of the camera and the scene is 16EV, you can do with two shots (three would be better). For very high DR - deep shadows and bright tropical sunlight the DR may cross 20EV, then you need more shots to cover the range.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="aroy, post: 485791, member: 16090"] HDR is a method of "squeezing" a large DR into 8 bits (256 levels of brightness) for both visualising and printing. As modern sensors have a DR of between 12EV and 15EV it may not be necessary to use HDR techniques, but just process the RAW file. JPEG is 8 bits, while D3xxx RAW contains 12EV of DR. While converting to jpeg mostly the lower 4 bits are either thrown away or last 5/6 bits cramped, hence the shadows are never clear and the highlights may look blown. If you take the 12(or where available) bits and use RAW software you can map the 12/14 bits to 8 bits as you want. Linear mapping will show more shadows than jpeg, non linear you can boost shadows and suppress highlights to your heart's content. In short if your scene has less than 12EV DR, you can use the RAW file to get the "HDR". For FX sensors the DR is 13EV. If the scene has more than 12/13EV DR then you need more shots to cover the range. If 8EV is useful DR of the camera and the scene is 16EV, you can do with two shots (three would be better). For very high DR - deep shadows and bright tropical sunlight the DR may cross 20EV, then you need more shots to cover the range. [/QUOTE]

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