Exposure Latitude
How far an exposure can miss the ideal and still produce an acceptable image after processing.
Measured in
stops
In depth
Latitude is not the same as dynamic range: dynamic range describes the scene the medium can hold, latitude describes the error the medium forgives. Colour negative film is famously forgiving — several stops over, one stop under — while transparency film and JPEG capture are unforgiving in both directions. Modern raw files behave like negative film in reverse, tolerating underexposure far better than overexposure.
Examples in practice
Portra 400 shot at +2 EV still scans beautifully; the same error on Velvia 50 produces washed-out, unusable slides.