How To Process Canon RAW Files to Match the Dynamic Range of Sony Sensors

Thanks Albert

Roger Clark posted an interesting, technical yet easy to follow guide on how to process Canon RAW files to obtain a dynamic range that matches Sony or Nikon sensors.

Clark writes:

Canon raw data typically have an offset of 2048 in the 14-bit data range in the raw file, with a maximum of around 15,000. That means the offset is about 15% of the data range. In other words, the offset is less than 3 stops down from maximum signal! Managing this offset is critical to showing the full dynamic range of the sensor. Many examples shown on the internet fail to manage this offset properly and conclude that Canon has poor dynamic range. Further, as raw processing proceeds in the RGB data, the relative offsets can be changed, leaving ugly color casts in shadows at the low end of the intensity range.

Don’t get scared by the tech stuff in the quote. The article explains why RAW image data coming from a Canon sensor has more dynamic range than most people think, and how to properly process the RAW files to maximise the dynamic range.

Clark’s article is a step by step guide to the proper processing of Canon RAW files using Adobe Camera Raw 8.7 for first settings and then Photoshop’s shadow/highlight and levels tools to fully exploit the RAW file’s dynamic range. Canon EOS 6D RAW files are used as example in the article, and there are screenshots of the process.

You can follow the discussion about this topic going to DPReview’s forum.