WDR: preserve detail across bright and dark regions
Evaluate moving evidence rather than comparing a single dB figure.
Updated
Principle and limits
A high-contrast scene can contain clipped highlights and unreadable shadows. WDR processing aims to retain useful information across that range. Multiple-exposure methods combine captures with different exposures and may create artifacts around moving objects. Local tone mapping changes appearance; it cannot recover detail absent from the captured signal. Vendor dB labels are not a complete cross-product image-quality test.
Worked example
At a glazed entrance, place one test subject inside and another outside, then have a subject walk through the boundary. Compare recorded WDR-off and WDR-on clips at comparable framing and output settings. Score whether faces and clothing remain distinguishable, and look for halos, doubled edges and changing noise. A brighter interior alone is not the acceptance criterion.
Installation and acceptance
Repeat near sunrise or sunset and under artificial lighting. Check flicker, shutter behavior and analytics on the same recording profile. If no setting preserves both the exterior and interior task, change camera position, illumination or camera count. Retain the chosen profile and representative rejected cases for future changes.
Scope of the reference
The cited HDR research explains combining differently exposed photographs. It is conceptual background, not documentation of the WDR implementation, moving-object performance or dB rating of a SharPcam model.