Dynamic range
Image: Taken at a sensitivity of ISO 100, the above JPEG image illustrates the amount of detail that can be resolved from shadow areas. The brighter section was adjusted to +4EV using Adobe Camera Raw
With a dynamic range of around 11.5EV, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 is just about on a par with most current DSLR cameras. However, our tests show that the contrast curve is actually linear compared to the reverse S shaped curves that we are used to seeing from other cameras. This means that in its default settings, little dynamic range correction is taking place.
That said, I found that the slight straight curve meant that blown-out highlights and shadows were kept to a minimum. In fact, I found that detail can be recovered from shadow areas by lightening JPEG images by up to +4EV in Adobe Camera Raw. Obviously, luminance noise does start to become an issue, but the images still manage to reveal otherwise hidden detail.
