# High Dynamic Range - alfred's Gemini capsule


On vacation, my DSLR took much sharper pictures compared to my spouse's iPhone, which produced "noisy" details. Yet, at a glance, her pictures were more attractive, with better exposure management and contrast. 


## Images from atop Conwy Castle, Wales, 2024
### - taken mere seconds apart
### - re-sized for SDF's 27674 byte filesize limitation


### DSLR vs. iPhone: detail of a distant sign. Winner: DSLR

=> detail-DSLR-1.jpg Nikon D3400 - cropped from 24 MP original
=> detail-DSLR-2.jpg Nikon D3400 - cropped and resized from [original resized to 12 MP]
=> detail-ip12.jpg iPhone 12 - cropped and resized from 12 MP original

### DSLR vs. iPhone: exposure / contrast - clouds. Winner: iPhone

=> hdr-none-DSLR.png Nikon D3400, thumbnail of cropped landscape photo (no HDR)
=> hdr-on-ip12.png iPhone 12, thumbnail of cropped landscape photo (with HDR)

## How? HDR. 

Her iPhone, and my old Android smartphone, use high dynamic range (HDR) by default. My "real" cameras lack HDR entirely. I could create the effect manually, but only with significant work.

HDR can be overdone, but I find the phones' auto HDR settings tastefully restrained. But now I'm truly vexed about what camera to have with me for everyday snapshots that will only ever see an appreciative glance.


=> gemlog.gmi Back to Gemlog contents

Last edited: 2026-01-22