Experimental method for measuring color appearance shifts in high-dynamic-range luminance conditions

Area of Science:

• Color science
• Visual perception
• Experimental psychology

Background:

• High-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging presents challenges for accurate color reproduction.
• Understanding color appearance shifts under varying luminance is crucial for HDR display calibration and visual comfort.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally determine and quantify color appearance shifts under HDR luminance conditions.
• To investigate perceptual hue and chroma changes in surface colors when transitioning from low to high luminance environments.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a dual-booth setup with variable luminance to create HDR conditions.
• Employed color appearance matching to quantify perceptual color shifts.
• Measured shifts for red, green, yellow, and blue surface color samples across nine subjects.

Main Results:

• Observed significant perceptual hue shifts towards blue for red and green samples (2.5–3.9 and 5.0–6.9 CIELAB units, respectively).
• Noted a general decrease in chroma for most samples when luminance increased from 100 cd/m² to 4700 cd/m².
• Demonstrated measurable color appearance changes directly attributable to high luminance levels.

Conclusions:

• Color appearance is significantly altered by high-dynamic-range luminance.
• The observed hue shifts and chroma decreases necessitate adjustments in color management for HDR applications.
• This study provides quantitative data on perceptual color shifts, essential for developing accurate HDR color models.