Adaptive Logarithmic Mapping For Displaying High Contrast Scenes

We propose a fast, high quality tone mapping technique to display high contrast images on devices with limited dynamic range of luminance values. The method is based on logarithmic compression of luminance values, imitating the human response to light. A bias power function is introduced to adaptively vary logarithmic bases, resulting in good preservation of details and contrast. To improve contrast in dark areas, changes to the gamma correction procedure are proposed. Our adaptive logarithmic mapping technique is capable of producing perceptually tuned images with high dynamic content and works at interactive speeds. We demonstrate a successful application of our technique to a high dynamic range video player which enables to adjust optimal viewing conditions for any kind of display while taking into account the user preferences concerning brightness, contrast compression, and detail reproduction