Patent ID: 6888552

Claim:
A high dynamic range image editing system for editing a high dynamic range image file having pixels spanning a first range of light intensity levels, each intensity level being expressed as a floating point number having a mantissa portion and an exponent portion, on an image editing system that only displays differences in the light intensity levels of pixels within a second range of light intensity levels that is less than the first range of light intensity levels, comprising: a) a scaling control operable by the user that allows the user to enter one of several scaling factors; b) a scaler in communication with said scaling control configured to create a scaled version of the image file that has pixel intensity levels that are scaled from their original values in accordance with the entry made by the user on said scaling control; c) a display configured to display the scaled version of the image file; and d) an image editing system configured to edit the image by editing the mantissa portion and the exponent portion of each of the intensity levels of the pixels in the high dynamic range image file and configured to cause the scaled version and its display by the display to be updated with the edits that are made to the high dynamic range image file substantially concurrent with the edits that are made to the high dynamic range image file.