Dynamic range
Also known as: DR, stops of dynamic range, latitude
The span between the darkest and brightest detail a camera can record in one frame, measured in stops. More range keeps both bright sky and dark shade.
Updated
What it means
Real scenes often contain far more contrast than a camera can capture. Dynamic range describes how many stops of brightness a sensor can hold at once before the brightest parts turn pure white or the darkest parts sink into flat black. Each stop is a doubling of light, so a few extra stops make a big visible difference.
Action sports are a tough test. A skier in a dark jacket against sunlit snow, a surfer under a bright sky, or a rider moving from forest shade into a clearing all push a small sensor to its limit. The camera has to choose what to protect, and whatever falls outside its range is lost.
How it works in practice
Manufacturers stretch dynamic range in several ways: log profiles and flat color record a compressed curve with more highlight room, HDR video modes merge exposures or use special sensors, and 10-bit recording keeps the gradients smooth when you expand the image later in grading.
In practice you protect the part of the scene that matters. For snow and sky, expose so that the bright areas keep texture and accept darker shadows. For a rider in shade, let the background go bright. Watching a histogram or zebras while filming shows when you are about to lose detail.
What to watch out for
Wider range in the file is not wider range on screen. Log footage looks gray and flat until it is graded, and if nobody grades it, the result looks worse than a standard profile. Use log only if you or your editing tool will actually convert it.
Pushing a narrow-range file too hard in the edit reveals noise in lifted shadows and banding in skies. Getting Exposure close to right while filming beats any rescue later, especially with 8-bit footage from older cameras. When a scene simply has too much contrast, change the angle or wait for softer light rather than hoping the file can hold it all.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip does not apply color grades or convert log footage. If you film in a flat or log profile, convert it to a normal look before upload, so the highlight shows the colors you want.