Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II review – Dynamic range
Image: Those faced with challenging lighting conditions may want to use the camera’s HDR mode. This helps to produce images with a wider dynamic range – most noticeable in shadow areas
The dynamic range readout from the sensor is incredibly good, falling only slightly short of the 12EV value we associate with cameras that allow a high level of detail to be preserved from the darkest and lightest areas in an image. This impressive range drops off slightly beyond ISO 400 to a value of 10.19EV, but it remains a respectable result given that it’s up there with readouts from cameras with larger APS-C-sized sensors such as the Canon EOS 1200D.
As expected, the dynamic range decreases as the sensitivity is increased and a readout of 6.22EV was attained at the maximum ISO 12,800 setting – fractionally behind the result you could expect from an entry-level DSLR. For those who would like to shoot images with an even wider dynamic range, an HDR mode is also available from the creative modes. We found it rather frustrating, though, having to wait until the task bar disappeared off the screen before the mode could be changed using the lens control ring nearest the body.
