Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 review – Dynamic range
Micro four thirds sensors can often struggle to capture the same range of tones when compared to larger APS-C units, so it is encouraging to see that rather than being tempted to increase the pixel density of the sensor, Panasonic has instead worked on the efficiency of the chip to deliver an improved dynamic range over previous models.
Real-world images from the GX7 appear to capture a wider range of tones than I’ve seen from previous models. This was particularly noticeable in relatively high-contrast scenes, where more highlight and shadow detail was retained. Even in JPEG files adjusted in Adobe Camera Raw, it was possible to recover detail in extremely bright areas.
As with pretty much every DSLR or compact system camera now, the GX7 also features options for increased dynamic range and HDR modes: iDynamic, High Dynamic Creative, and HDR. The GX7’s iDynamic mode offers low, standard and high settings as well as either auto or off. Shooting in the high mode, there’s slightly improved dynamic range in both the shadows and highlights, though it’s not as pronounced as some rivals.
Images: The GX7’s iDynamic mode has coped well wth this high-contrast scene, and while some detail in the highlights has been clipped, this can be recovered in the raw files
