A plurality of images of a scene may be captured. Each image of the plurality of images may be captured using a different total exposure time (TET). The images in the plurality of images may be downsampled. A pixel value histogram based on pixel values of the downsampled images may be constructed. The pixel value histogram may be compared to one or more reference pixel value histograms. A payload TET may be determined based on comparing the pixel value histogram to the one or more reference pixel value histograms.