shoot twice

Was I the only person in the world that was taught that the only dumb question was the one that someone was afraid to ask.


Anywho,
The "answer" to my question is pretty in depth and quite heady with the calculations. A photography site kind-of-sort-of answered some of my question. But unfortunately it's something I think I would need to devote some time to researching to really understand it.


source : http://warrenmars.com/photography/te...perception.htm
Here's an excerpt :

We know that the human eye requires a contrast ratio of 1000:1 for full dynamic experience, so any display device capable of this should do the proper job and afford us no chance to cheat further, but the question of display contrast specs is a vexed one as one can discover by searching the net.

One has to be very careful of believing manufacturer's specifications, since it is in their interest to inflate their values to achieve greater sales, and recently those figures have gone through the roof! There are various ways to boost one's figures without completely lying so it is best to use the figures of a respected 3rd party. As of early 2009, typical contrast ratios from quality display devices were as follows:

LCD monitors - 1,000:1
Plasma monitor - 5,0000:1
Printed page - 500:1
Projected image - 500:1

As you can see, cinema and prints are less demanding, and we can reduce the required capture dynamic range to suit, however, computer and TV monitors offer no such out, their contrast ratio matches that of the human eye. We are stuck with our minimum of 1 million photons per hot pixel.
Your Monitor

As a matter of interest I include some test images to show how your monitor handles the contrast gamut. Firstly have a look at the 10 step strip. This goes from intensity 0 to 255 in steps of 10, (the last step is 16). On my monitor at least, the dynamic range is heightened in the centre of the range and lowered at the extremes. I am struggling to see a transition between the 2 darkest patches and can't make out the transition between the bright patches at all. This could be a limitation of my monitor, or it could be set up incorrectly (although I am very particular about my monitor setup), or perhaps it means that the gamma curve of the screen or the graphic application isn't quite matched to the human eye, probably deliberately so, since we are used to looking at mid-tone things.

If you can see 256 levels from black to bright green on your monitor, then not only is your monitor exceptional, but your eyes are super-human! 256 levels is what you get if you go up the green scale in steps of 1. I have provided a section of the 1 step strip from the middle of the range. Note however, what I have said above about dynamic range being heightened in the centre of the range and lowered at the extremes, so that even if you can make out the 1 steps, it doesn't necessarily mean you are really capable of 256 separate levels of green. "

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"A slightly exposed shoulder emerging from a long silk nightgown packs more sex than two bodies naked in bed." - Bette Davis

I'm a shooter and I do business in private and I only take CASH.
PS I'm impossible to troll.