Does using a different lens affect the dynamic range for HDR post-processing?

Question

I am a bit new to HDR photography and lately I have been trying to carry out the post-processing with Photomatrix. After many trails and errors, I am still unable to get the effect that many other HDR pictures usually have.

Picture Setup:

Canon DSLR 550D: 18- 55 mm lens, three pictures at different exposures (-2,0,+2) - JPEG format - Evaluative mode, 2 sec continous shooting.

Post-processing software:

Photomatrix 4.1.4.

I have three parts to my question:

1) Would using a different lens (50 mm) affect the dynamic range of the photograph and help me in post-processing?

2) If the above is No, is it always related to the proper tone-mapping of the picture to produce the HDR effect?

3) I usually have a cloudy climate around the place I live, should I change any camera settings in order to take a proper picture first with the above settings to get the desired HDR effect?

Asked by Nerds.Dont.Swear

Answer

• 1) No, the lens has very little influence on the dynamic range captured, except in exceptional circumstances, for academic interest only, see this question:

  Is it possible for a lens to produce too much contrast?

• 2) Yes, the look people attribute to HDR is the result of converting a high dynamic range image to a low dynamic range image suitable for viewing. This step is usually achieved by tonemapping. Merging images to HDR is straightforward, there is usually one possible result. Tonemappig is difficult and requires aesthetic decisions to be made. See:

  What is tone mapping? How does it relate to HDR?

• 3) It depends on what your goals are. Often in overcast situations the dynamic range of the scene is not so high that you need HDR in order to capture a detailed image, if your intention is to produce an ultra detailed high contrast unreal image then you can simply apply tonemapping to a single good exposure.

Answered by Matt Grum

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