Paul, if you adjust the files for maximum dynamic range, the K-5 will have more dynamic range and less contrast than the K-7. Neither file will be usable in that state. As a practical matter more dynamic range moves the choice about what to blow from exposure to post.
-Adam On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 3:01 PM, paul stenquist <[email protected]> wrote: > I see no real difference in contrast levels between K-5 and K-7 raw files. > And how flat or contrasty the final image might be can be controlled > completely in conversion. It's not an issue. I shot most of yesterday's > images in shade with no flash fill, so they were inherently somewhat flatter > than what I might generally produce. However, when the sun stepped in, > contrast levels were quite high. For example: > http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=11910635 > On Nov 7, 2010, at 2:31 PM, Jack Davis wrote: > >> Don't know if the lack of contrast you reference is so significant as to be >> obvious in casually examining prints, but I have noted, in what relatively >> few K-5 images I've viewed, contrast has appeared somewhat low and the >> image, of course, a bit "flat".(?) >> >> Jack >> >> --- On Sun, 11/7/10, Adam Maas <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> From: Adam Maas <[email protected]> >>> Subject: Re: On K-5 dynamic range. Somewhat tangential question. >>> To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> >>> Date: Sunday, November 7, 2010, 10:18 AM >>> On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 12:46 PM, >>> Boris Liberman <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>>> Hmmm, so a camera with so many bits of RAW can do what >>> then? Discern >>>> 2^so many shades, right? >>> >>> Exactly. >>> >>>> And the dynamic range is about when it goes >>>> to saturation either to pure black and pure white. >>> >>> Pure white and indistinguishable from noise (not pure >>> black). The >>> noise floor determines the actual dynamic range's low end. >>> >>>> Ok, so tell me >>>> then, the wise people of PDML, is there a way looking >>> at the same >>>> picture shot with K-7 and K-5 to tell them apart? Or >>> better yet, how >>>> do I /see/ that one camera has wider DR than the other >>> and that more >>>> BPS in RAW are more beneficial than less BPS in RAW in >>> real life. And >>>> how all that translates to actual print? >>> >>> The bit depth of the RAW files shows up in subtle >>> gradations of colour >>> and in shadow noise. You get more subtle colour/tone >>> resolution and >>> less shadow noise with a higher bit depth ADC than with >>> less (the >>> shadow noise improvement is due to exactly how ADC's work >>> with linear >>> imaging sensors, you lose luminance resolution at low >>> luminance >>> values. Digital delivers superb resolution of bright tones >>> and poor >>> resolution of dark tones). In the real world, shadow noise >>> is the >>> easiest to see, especially on a camera which can shoot in >>> both 12 and >>> 14 bit modes like many Nikons. >>> >>> More dynamic range allows you to make less trade offs in >>> exposure at >>> shooting time. The more DR you have, the more you can hold >>> detail in >>> both the highlights and the shadows at the same time. The >>> downside is >>> the self-same image will be lower contrast when rendered >>> and you >>> usually have to make those trade offs in post instead. >>> >>> >>> -Adam >>> >>> -- >>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> [email protected] >>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link >>> directly above and follow the directions. >>> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- M. Adam Maas http://www.mawz.ca Explorations of the City Around Us. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
