Highlight Tone Priority
Highlight Tone Priority is designed to improve or maintain highlight detail by extending the range between 18 percent middle gray to the maximum highlight tones, effectively increasing the dynamic range to reduce blown, or detail-less highlights. In addition, the gradation between grays and highlights is finer. Using Highlight Tone Priority, however, limits the ISO range from 200 to 1600 and can increase noise in the shadow areas.
Highlight Tone Priority helps ensure that the image sensor pixel wells do not fill, or saturate, blowing out highlight details. Also with the 14-bit analog/digital conversion, the camera sets a tone curve that is relatively flat at the top in the highlight area to compress highlight data. The tradeoff, however, is a more abrupt move from deep shadows to black, which increases shadow noise. The result is an increase in dynamic range, the range of highlight to shadow tones as measured in f-stops in a scene, disregarding, of course, the potential for increased shadow noise.
Highlight Tone Priority is turned off by default. You can turn on Highlight Tone Priority by following these steps:
1. Set the Mode dial to a Creative Zone mode such as P, Tv. Av, M, or A-DEP.
2. Press the Menu button, and then press the right cross key until the Set-up 3 (yellow) menu is displayed.
3. If necessary, press the up cross key to highlight Custom Functions (C.Fn), and then press the Set button. The Custom Functions screen appears.
4. Press the right or left cross key until the number "5" is displayed in the box at the top right of the screen, and then press the Set button. The Custom Function option control is activated and the option that is currently in effect is highlighted.
5. Press the down cross key to highlight 1: Enable, and then press the Set button. This turns on Highlight Tone Priority in Creative Zone shooting modes. Lightly press the Shutter button to return to shooting.
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