Color Badger: A Novel Retinex-Based Local Tone Mapping Operator

In this paper a novel tone mapping operator (TMO) based on the Light Random Sprays Retinex (LRSR) algorithm is presented. TMOs convert high dynamic range (HDR) images to low dynamic range (LDR) images, which is often needed because of the display limitations of many devices. The proposed operator is a local operator, which retains the qualities of the LRSR and overcomes some of its weaknesses. The results of the execution speed and quality tests are presented and discussed and it is shown that on most of the test images the proposed operator is faster and in terms of quality as good as Durand's TMO, one of the currently best TMOs. The C++ source code of the proposed operator is available at http://www. fer.unizg.hr/ipg/resources/color_constancy/.