Vision for a brighter future

Researchers at

are developing technologies that could improve the dynamic range and colour of images produced by digital cameras — without large increases in their price.

Compared to human vision, digital cameras have two critical limitations. The first is their dynamic range; scenes that have both bright and dark areas are said to have a high dynamic range and the dynamic range of some scenes is too large for existing cameras.

The second, usually less noticeable, limitation is the variability in object colour under different lighting conditions.

'The problem is that digital cameras are very successful, but they are not as good as they should be, and in some lighting conditions you get saturation,' said project leader Dr Steve Collins of the department of engineering. 'For instance, if you try to take a picture of someone standing in the shade on a bright day, then he or she tends to disappear. The camera misses some detail the eye can see.'