Podcast subject suggestion: How many EV stops can a sensor record?

[Molix]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and love the podcasts. I especially appreciate the methodological way you take in covering a subject. It does seem to come naturally to you. I Recall the podcast on winter photography and how you went from toes to finger tips in such details. You really do go through a lot in such a short time, still leaving me with a clear understanding of the subject.

What I'd like to hear about is how many EV stops can the sensor capture, in RAW and in JPEG mode.

Does it have to do with the number of bits it can capture? 12 bits vs 14 bits for example? (and that a JPEG is represented with 8 bits?)

How many bits does it take to represent 1 EV?

And also maybe compare it to how many EV stops can the human eye see?

Thanks,

Mike.

[Marko]

Hi Molix - Thanks for joining and thanks so much for the compliments!
This is one of those depends on the camera (and other factors) answers and if i understand your question you are asking about dynamic range.
AFAIK the human eye can see about 13 stops and higher end DSLR about 6-8. It is for this exact reason that many photographers shoot early in the morning or at sunset. (when the range is lower). It is also a reason for the explosion in HDR photography. I should say that the physics of how all this is figured out is not my forte and i know that some camera makers are touting 12+ stop dynamic ranges. I don't know how they come up with this number but it is not my experience on cameras I have used. Also please know that the dynamic range of an image on a computer will be different than in a print.

Hope that helps answer your question but please let me know if it does not.

Thx!
Marko