Gammakõverat

Gammakõverat, often translated as gamma curve or gamma correction, is a crucial concept in image processing and computer graphics. It refers to the non-linear relationship between the pixel values in a digital image and the actual luminance or intensity of the light they represent. Essentially, it's a way to adjust the brightness and contrast of an image.

Human eyes perceive brightness on a non-linear scale. This means that a linear increase in light intensity does not correspond to a linear increase in perceived brightness. Gammakõverat compensates for this by adjusting the image's tonal range. A gamma value greater than 1.0 will typically brighten the image, particularly in the darker areas, while a gamma value less than 1.0 will darken the image, making the mid-tones and highlights less distinct.

This adjustment is particularly important when transferring images between different devices, such as a camera sensor, a monitor, and a printer. Each of these devices has its own response curve. Applying gammakõverat ensures that an image displayed on a screen or printed on paper closely resembles the original scene or the creator's intent. For example, monitors often have a default gamma of around 2.2, while cameras might capture images with a different gamma. Adjusting the gamma in post-processing allows for consistent and accurate color reproduction. Without gammakõverat, images might appear too dark or too washed out on different displays.