Dynamic range and bit depth are related, but they are not the same thing.

Dynamic range is a sensor performance measure: the ratio between the brightest signal before saturation and the darkest usable signal above the noise floor, usually expressed in EV/stops. Bit depth is a recording/quantization measure: how many discrete code values the analog signal is divided into.

In an ideal linear 14-bit system with no noise, you’d expect about 14 stops as a theoretical limit. Real measurements, however, are based on criteria like where the signal-to-noise ratio falls to 1:1. Because dynamic range is derived from saturation versus noise floor—not just from the number of digital levels—it can be reported slightly above or below the nominal bit depth depending on measurement method, noise behavior, and conversion design.

So no, it doesn’t imply the camera is “skipping” exposure values. It means DXO’s measured DR is based on usable signal over noise, while bit depth describes quantization precision. A non-linear ADC could also weaken the simple “bits = stops” intuition, but the key point is that bit depth and measured dynamic range are different quantities.