"Practical" is a relative value. Many of the most highly revered photographs in history are black-and-white and actually feature very limited "dynamic range". Subject, composition, timing are generally all far more powerful qualities for photographs. But because they're not salable or quantifiable they're not promotionally touted and wouldn't hit home with the legions of technically-oriented buyers representing the "target market", many of whom spend much more time typing than photographing.
Ranting preamble aside ;-) .... yes, the Canon cameras have made some strides that are welcome. But the situation you portray -- dark shadows in bright scenes -- is actually not the primary daily practical advantage of increased dynamic range sensors. Being able to preserve chrominance details is more practical advantage, at least to me, than wrestling with high contrast ratio scenes. I benefit much more by being able to record, say, five tones of blue in one scene than five tones of gray. That's where these cameras have really made progress.
One last observation. During the past years RAW image files have become de rigeur for the dedicated amateur photographer. "No RAW, no sale" has become their chant. That's generally a fitting perspective for higher-end cameras. But it can sometimes be counterproductive mindless dogma with lower-end cameras, as I've recently learned. A great percentage of the developmental expense for lower echelon cameras is devoted toward in-camera image processing. Programming teams beaver-away in the wee hours week after week writing signal processing algorithms to preserve detail, manage noise, record accurate color, and, yes, resurrect details from black graveyards and blown fields. Nobody knows a camera's sensor better than the folks working INSIDE that camera. But most of the benefits of that knowledge are discarded when you select a RAW image. I recently discovered this with my Leica D-Lux 4 (Panasonic LX3), and then again with my Canon G10.
I realize that there will be plenty of readers who will roll their eyes when reading this. But I encourage them to experiment for themselves, secretly if they must. I think some may be rather shocked to discover that pre-cooked image meals can be quite good, perhaps even better than home cooked. And remember, all that counts is the final print and there's no such thing as a 16-bit print (unless you're referring to its price).
