We’ve all done it you know, when you snap a shot and haven’t checked your exposure, when the result you get is just a black image. Well, with the K-5, this isn’t necessarily a lost shot. In fact, the result can be quite interesting!
DxOMark just published their review of the Pentax k-5 sensor. The outcome of their tests placed the Sensor in a three way tie for fourth place with only medium format and full frame sensors ahead of it. The outcome was so good that DxOMark made this statement: “No need for suspense: this new 16.3 MP sensor is simply the best APS-C we have tested so far, sometimes able to compete even with very high-end full-frame cameras.” In particular, this applies to dynamic range and that is the crux of my post because dynamic range, which the K-5 is currently holding title as the best in the world, is how you can sometimes recover the “oops” I mentioned.
So, here’s the RAW image with ACR defaults (shot at f/4.5, ISO 80, and 1/200s shutter):
Now, this is with:
Exposure: +4.00
Recovery: 0
Fill Light: 0
Blacks: 5
Exposure: +4.00
Recovery: 0
Fill Light: 0
Blacks: 0
Exposure: +4.00
Recovery: 0
Fill Light: 100
Blacks: 0
Now with some noise reduction and sharpening:
Obviously I could do some more with the image, since it has been recovered, but I think the outcome speaks for itself. Other shots I took today in the same light were ISO 16000. This was ISO 80, meaning the exposure was almost 8 full stops off of what it should have been. That, folks, is wicked dynamic range.
