Automatic exposure in computer graphics based on the minimum information loss principle

The available contrast of common display devices is much lower than image data often demand. Usually a variant of an average of the field of view is used to normalize the image. An alternative approach is introduced to define the mapping of rendered values to the displayable intensity range. The luminance range is chosen such that a minimum amount of information is lost thereby preserving the contrast ratio of all correctly displayed parts. The loss of information can be regulated by different error functions. If the loss is too large, the luminance range can be increased, but the original contrast is not presented any more. In this case the method represents an improvement of Schlick´s (1994) mapping technique. The newly introduced method can be applied on color and gray scale images, rendered in absolute or fictitious units.