Jack Howard has put together a great list of top class HDR capable cameras over at Adorama’s Learning Center.  Check out the list here:   2009 HDR All-Stars

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For you iPhone addicts, check out the very interesting app that allows you to take two images and they get tonemapped in the iPhone.  The app is called TrueHDR =  http://pictional.com/TrueHDR/Videos.html

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Here is a recent shoot I did for an existing client. On this shoot I used a D3 exclusively and many of the shots required a range of -5 to +5 EV in total.
Builder Shoot (Gallery Link)

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Here is a link to a High Dynamic Range Image sequence.  It is a “tilt” sequence I shot at a local garden near a state park.  This series was shot with a D3 and each frame is actually 7 images spaced 1EV apart and then tonemapped before being placed one after the other in post.

The amount of quality lost when exporting to a web video format is horrifying, but I have no choice.  The full 1080p version has no loss of color, detail/clarity or color shifts.  That said, here is the link to the web clip:
HDR Video (link to landing page)

Here is a chart showing a few dozen cameras.  From full frame to 4/3rds.  The last column of numbers is the basis for this chart.  The benchmark.  This chart is ranking from top to bottom the cameras that can cover the largest amount of dynamic range using the camera’s default AEB settings.

The final column is displaying the total EV distance from the first shot to the last shot taken in an AEB sequence.   I’m calling it a spread, but it is the distance in EVs I’m measuring.  It is NOT a number that shows the totality of EVs captured using any other measurements.  Just the AEB distance where shots can be taken in EV jumps using the default number of frames in the AEB sequence and maximum  EV jump between shots.

To be redundant… I am ONLY calculating the distance covered in total for the EV jumps.  It is to show  the widest possible spread each camera is capable of landing exposures/shots at.

Obviously each image itself has it’s own dynamic range that it captures at that exposure. That is not being taken into account on this chart.

Now you can see why I am such a canon basher about the crippling 3 AEB of all but their most expensive offerings.  Look at how wide the 1Ds/1D series can bracket.  Canon clearly has the capability to add a higher AEB function into their cameras.  The 1Ds/1D series AEB settings are the benchmarks in the industry for default camera settings. However, canon opts to cripple every single  camera body under $5000 with only 3 AEB.  So the chart is a barbell.  Canon rules the top tier, but owns the bottom of the barrel as well.

If the 7D had been given the same AEB as the 1Ds/1D series, then it would be one of  the best HDR Capture cameras to date.  It would have been “KING HDR” for APS-C sensors.  Because at that price point with 8fps for continuous capture, High ISO performance, 18 megapixels, etc…) it would probably have been my number one recommended camera for HDR capture.  But 3 AEB at +/- 2.0EV is extremely limiting for professional HDR capture.  95% of my work falls outside of canon’s 3 AEB range.

If the order below seems a bit strange, it is because in the few situations where cameras have the same default AEB settings, I put the camera which has a sensor with a higher dynamic range just above a camera  with a sensor that has a lower dynamic range reading (see past few blog posts if this doesn’t make sense).
[ EXAMPLE: Fujifilm S5 Pro sits above the other Nikons with same AEB settings because the S5 Pro's sensor has a higher Dynamic Range reading according to DXOMark.com. ]

The columns are NAME, then number of maximum shots that can be taken in an AEB sequence, then the maximum EV step that can be taken between each frame and finally the total EV spread from the base exposure to the final exposure (this number is the distance in EV ‘JUMPS‘ the AEB sequence can cover)

EDIT – The CANON 7D in this chart shows +/-2.0EV jumps, but I recently found out that the Canon 7D is actually capable of +/-3.0EV.

A very pleasant surprise today in HDR land.  The just announced Leica M9 has very useful AEB settings.  The X1 also received AEB settings, but more limiting.

The M9 has choices of 3, 5 or 7 shots in an AEB sequence with 1/2 EV to 2.0 EV steps between shots.  That is verrrrrrrrrrrrry useful.  I never would have guessed that Leica would have thought to add AEB to their range finder M series.  Very nice indeed.

The X1 has a 3 AEB choice and up to 3.0 EV jumps.  I will say this.  If you are going to be limited to only 3 AEB.  3 EV jumps can be quite useful for some amazingly high DR scenes (mainly interiors with windows).  Generally you will only need to stretch it out to 3.0 EV if shooting an architectural interior and want to pull the windows in along with capturing detail in darker areas inside.  3.0 EV outdoors is not your typical landscape scene, but there area times where more than 2.0 EV steps will be very useful and X1 users will be glad to have the extra range.

I’ll spare you the rest of the specs of the M9 and X1 (and their price tags).  Surf on over to dpreview.com for full specs.