Quote Originally Posted by Benjamin
<p class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: medium;"]<span>If there is
one thing that I cannot be impressed by my 50D, it&rsquo;s got to be the poor dynamic
range.
<p class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: medium;"](A Sweet Smile from Lina, 50D + 24-70/2.8L @ 32mm, F2.8, 1/60, ISO1600)
<p class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: medium;"]<span>The
portrait was taken yesterday at dinner with dim indoor light available, ISO1600
was used on my 50D along with my 24-70/2.8L wide open. The early evening light
came from the window (indirect and not strong at all) to light the right side
of her face, and the highlight blows out almost immediately&hellip;
<p class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: medium;"](Steinway @ Hart House, 50D + 24-70/2.8L @ 27mm, F2.8, 1/50, ISO640)
<p class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: medium;"]<span>The second
shot was taken with the same setup in a similar situation; I can see how fast
the highlight part of the image loses detail due to the early afternoon sunlight
direct from the window on the left. There barely is any transition between the
properly exposed part of the image and the completely blow-out highlight.
<p class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: medium;"](Guelph Church of Our Lady Immaculate, Canon 1V-HS + 16-35/2.8L II @ 16mm, F11, ISO 400, Fuji Pro 400H)
<p class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-size: medium;"]<span>I think I&rsquo;m
in a dilemma now. Digital gives me lots of convenience and the ultimate ISO I need
to shoot in dark environment (I simply cannot find an ISO3200 color film, even
if so it&rsquo;s not going to be usable&hellip. However, film&rsquo;s dynamic range and the
unique color rendition still hold me tight as a film shooter.


What an unfair comparison. Shoot a few shots on your 50D at ISO 400 and compare the dynamic range there. If you find a loss of detail at one end or the other, dial in some exposure compensation to suit.


It's like choosing your film because of its strengths and weaknesses: digital can't handle extreme brightness with detail, and the meter isn't perfect, so you may just have to learn how to help the meter. Look at Arthur Morris' bulletins and books, showing all sorts of guidelines, such as metering the sky then shooting the bird, or dialing in a certain amount of EC before even trying a shot based on the conditions.


Do realize that digital has limits. At the bright end of the spectrum, red/green/blue brightnesses get captured as values, and when they get to "100%", there's no more room for detail. None, nada, zip, zilch. It's similar to what audio people suffered through when digital recording came out - audio clipping would always sound absolutely horrible, so when converting analog to digital they had to scan the entire album to find the one loudest moment, make sure they had the "volume" low enough to not clip that moment, and then transfer the entire album without ever touching that knob. At the dark end of the spectrum, there aren't a lot of bit combinations left for much detail, but you'll probably find a fair amount of detail in the shadows if you try.