A Simple, Effective System for Automated Capture of High Dynamic Range Images

In recent years, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI) has become a topic of intense research interest in the fields of computer vision, computer graphics, and commercial visualization. Yet, despite the inherent limitations of traditional low dynamic range imaging (LDRI) and the emerging need for HDRI in many applications, existing systems for HDR image capture still remain proprietary, expensive, or manually-guided. All of these factors limit the availability of effective HDRI tools, thereby restricting studies which could otherwise benefit from this technology. To help alleviate this problem, we introduce a system and method for automated capture of high-quality, high-range images using commercially-available digital cameras. We report results comparing acquisition time, image resolution, and dynamic range and show these factors to compare very favorably both to traditional manual capture methods and to specialized HDRI systems developed commercially.