1.1. Basic Questions

What is dynamic range? Dynamic range (DR) is the highest overall contrast that can be found in an image.

It is often also called the contrast ratio, but this name is somewhat less defined and doesn't sound as cool. As with any ratio, it is a proportional value, such as, for example, 500:1. These numbers refer to the difference between the brightest and the darkest color values. Black doesn't count as a value; we cannot compare anything to black. Black is like zero. So 500:1 really means that the maximum contrast in an image is 500 times the smallest, just barely noticeable step in brightness.