What term describes the difference between the brightest possible source and the faintest detectable source in an image?

• A. Contrast Ratio
• B. Exposure
• C. Signal-to-Noise Ratio
• D. Dynamic Range

Answer: (D)

Dynamic range is the span of luminance that an image can represent, from the brightest non-saturated source to the faintest signal that can be distinguished from noise. This measures how much detail you can keep in both highlights and shadows. A wide dynamic range means you can capture very bright areas without clipping while still showing detail in dark areas; a narrow dynamic range leads to blown-out highlights or crushed shadows. The other terms don’t describe this full capture capability: contrast ratio is about the difference between the brightest and darkest areas on a display or in a scene, exposure is the overall amount of light captured, and signal-to-noise ratio focuses on how strong the signal is relative to noise at a given level rather than the overall range from brightest to faintest detectable.