Dynamic range
Image: The 28mm equivalent lens is very sharp from edge to edge, with a lot of detail capable of being recovered from the DNG raw files
Don’t be fooled by the appearance of images on the GR Digital IV’s live view screen. The live view preview shows that most highlights are blown out and devoid of any detail. The reviewed image isn’t much better. However, JPEG files contain more highlight detail than the screen would have you believe, and raw files even more so.
The dynamic range is good, without being superb. Ricoh has tried to squeeze as much information and detail as it can from what is now a somewhat ageing 10-million-pixel sensor.
I found that for best results, images should be underexposed and raw images edited to bring out highlight detail. At low sensitivities, the level of noise is low enough that this can be done without degrading the image too much. JPEG shooters should use the camera’s dynamic range compensation, which has weak, strong and max settings. This goes some way to helping to lift shadow areas and pull back highlights.
