Canon has filed a new patent in the name of photography. The latest published Canon patent application (USPTO Appl. No. 12/630,594) reveals a method for altering exposure values at pixel level, which would allow Canon to construct a camera that captures a much wider dynamic range with a solitary image, unlike previously which requires photographers to capture the same subject in multiple exposure levels and then photoshopped.

The extensive patent application spells out a process whereby the camera captures a preface image with usual exposure values and then evaluates the exposure level across the intact image. After creating an exposure map of the scene, the camera amends the exposure amount at the pixel level for the primary HDR image capture.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, preliminary image capturing is performed using the image capturing unit, and the exposure time is assigned to each pixel based on the result of the preliminary image capturing. Image capturing can thus be performed with a wide dynamic range without a loss of highlight detail and a loss of shadow detail.

Well hopefully Canon will be swift in getting this into the market. Things will get pretty interesting, since Sony Alpha has a few models that is capable of capturing HDR photos, by taking few photos with different exposure and combining them, just like photo editing software. With Canon’s new patent coming out, it will be able to produce better HDR photos.

Wiki:
- In 3D Computer Graphics, high dynamic range rendering (HDRR or HDR Rendering), also known as high dynamic range lighting, is the rendering of computer graphics scenes by using lighting calculations done in a larger dynamic range. This allows preservation of details that may be lost due to limiting contrast ratios.

Below is an example of photos with different exposure:

[Photography Bay via Gizmodo]