Since my Fujifilm X-T30 arrived last week, I have been trying out all of the different new features, and over the coming days I will be sharing with you my findings. Today I will discuss D-Range Priority. This new feature first appeared on the X-H1, then the X-T3, and now the X-T30. I’m sure it will be included in all future X-Trans cameras, such as the X-Pro3 and X100V, which might be released before the end of the year. I wasn’t sure exactly what D-Range Priority is, how it works, or how to best use it, so I was eager to try it out. And I made some interesting discoveries.
The manual doesn’t give a lot of information on what exactly D-Range Priority is, except that it reduces contrast when activated. When you select D-Range Priority, you no longer have control of the Dynamic Range (DR) setting, Highlight and Shadow. You get what you get, which is a lower-contrast image. There are three D-Range Priority options: Weak, Strong and Auto (as well as Off). I’m not sure exactly how this might effect RAW, as (thanks to Fujifilm’s excellent camera-made JPEGs) I haven’t post-processed a RAW file in over a year (with the exception of using the in-camera RAW conversion to reprocess some images). For the JPEG shooter, D-Range Priority applies a flat curve to help control blown highlights and blocked shadows in high-contrast scenes.
D-Range Priority Strong
The best way to think about D-Range Priority is an extension of the Dynamic Range settings. You have DR100, DR200, DR400, and now D-Range Priority Weak and D-Range Priority Strong. D-Range Priority Auto selects either Weak, Strong or Off, whatever the camera thinks it should be. I haven’t tried Auto, so I can’t comment on how well it does or doesn’t work. The only times that you’d want to use D-Range Priority are those rare circumstances when DR400 isn’t enough, and you need to squeeze a little more dynamic range out of the camera (again, this is for JPEGs, as you could make these same adjustments yourself from an underexposed RAW file in software).
The first D-Range Priority test that I conducted can be seen below. I captured a scene with a little bit of contrast in it and applied the two D-Range Priority options. As you can see, the DR100 version could use a little boost in the shadows, but D-Range Priority Weak is slightly too flat and D-Range Priority Strong is much too flat. This is a case where using DR200, or simply adjusting Shadow down a notch, probably would have been sufficient.
DR100
D-Range Priority Weak
D-Range Priority Strong
I did another test, this time with a higher contrast scene. This is a case where you might actually benefit from D-Range Priority. The first image shows what DR400 looks like (Pro NEG Hi, with Highlight and Shadow at 0), the second shows DR400 with Shadow and Highlight at -2, the third shows D-Range Priority Weak, and the last image shows D-Range Priority Strong. You might notice that D-Range Priority Weak has only subtly less contrast than DR400 with Shadow and Highlight set to -2. There’s a clear difference between using DR400 and D-Range Priority Strong, but you can almost achieve D-Range Priority Weak by using DR400 and setting Shadow and Highlight to -2. I can’t imagine you’ll encounter all that many situations where DR400 isn’t enough, but you might and Fujifilm has given you the option to go beyond it when you need to.
DR400
DR400 with -2 Shadow & -2 Highlight
D-Range Priority Weak
D-Range Priority Strong
I wondered what exactly the camera is doing when I select D-Range Priority. As I said, the DR setting, Shadow and Highlight are no longer adjustable when D-Range Priority has been activated. I didn’t find the answer, but I do have a theory. I believe that Fujifilm programmed a very flat tone curve that it applies to D-Range Priority images. It’s the same curve whether you use the Weak or Strong option. For D-Range Priority Weak I believe that it is applying this flat curve to a DR200 setting, and for D-Range Priority Strong it is applying the same curve to a DR400 setting. There’s no option to adjust Shadow or Highlight because the curve has already been set. That’s what I think is going on, but I have no proof. It’s just a theory.
Whatever the technical mumbo-jumbo might be, the practical aspect of D-Range Priority is that in very high contrast scenes, this setting might help you achieve the look that you want in-camera. I did one final test, where I used some very normal settings and made an image that’s not particularly good, and I also used D-Range Priority to create a more usable (but perhaps still not very good) image of the same high contrast scene. This is the type of situation where this new option is beneficial. It’s not something that I suspect anyone will use every day, but it’s good to know that it’s there when you need it, however infrequent that might be.
“Normal Settings”
D-Range Priority Weak
Click here to buy the Fujifilm X-T30 at Amazon.
See also:
Fujifilm X-T30 – New Feature: Eterna Film Simulation
Fujifilm X-T30 – New Feature: B&W Toning
Fujifilm X-T30 – New Feature: Color Chrome Effect
Well that’s a feature I’d never use! I got sucked in for a while and have been checking out the price (not too awful) but this helps with reeling in the GAS thanks 🙂
It’s not a feature that will get a lot of use, that’s for sure!
Ritchie, I am considering purchasing a second Fuji. I love my Fuji X-T2, but with the XFX16-55mm F2.8 attached, the camera isn’t portable enough to be an everyday shooter.
Last summer, I rented an X100F, and since then I have been smitten with the camera. I can’t get it out of my head! I think the X100F might be just the right camera to take with me when I visit family or my wife and I go into Philadelphia or New York City for an event, or while I am around my neighbourhood doing errands. In other words, the X100F could be my “daily life” camera, while the X-T2 is better for intentional shooting (projects).
Or would an X-T20 be a better fit? I’m not sure. Fuji has created too many good choices. Thoughts?
I love the X100F as a daily camera. If you can live with the “one lens” philosophy, this is the one to get. If you need to change lenses sometimes, obviously the X-T20 or X-T30 is the better choice. Since you have an interchangeable lens option, I would nudge you towards the X100F.
Nice topic
I was playing also with those settings the other day but it seems that is a one button changes all very quick but with a “magic” or “inexplicable” way of things
I still prefer the adjusting of Highlights and Shadows to get the right picture as I find that this Drange works getting rid of the settings
Would love to test out JPEG vs Raw with this settings as I shoot JPEG+RAW always
Yes, I agree! And since you can pretty much achieve “D-Range Priority Weak” using DR400 and adjusting Shadow and Highlight, the only real addition is the Strong option, which is often too strong. Still, every once in a blue moon this might be useful.
i like the results of “weak”, but i was wondering of there’s a way to manually set for something a tad weaker? i shoot my artwork and weak solves a few problems when areas are either too dark or too bleached. but it would be great if i could get a recipe for a weaker version of weak.
specifically i think the darks are a tad too open. can i manually reset “weak” to that my darks are a little darker
Try DR400 and -1 Highlight & Shadow.
what is the most absolutely objective, unbiased, natural, interpretation of true color of all the recipes for shooting artwork? i’ve been shooting at the t30 default which has been all wrong. i am now going to try pro neg std with a -1 saturation
ps…..i shoot my artwork with a polarizer setup to eliminate glare but as i understand it polarizers add saturaion and contrast. true?
That is true, although it’s not a huge amount. Probably the color blue is most affected.
That’s got to be tricky. All of the film simulations have a color palette that’s not completely neutral (since they’re based on films). Pro Neg Std and Eterna are your best bets. As for the specific settings, a lot probably depends on the light you are shooting in.
I am new to Fujifilm but have some background in computer graphics. I would **expect** Dynamic Range Priority to be associated with how **raw** images are created – that shutter speed, apperture and ISO are chosen by the camera such that the sensor captures maximum information. I may be wrong, but if am, what is the feature on Fuji that does that.
I am new to Fujifilm but have some background in computer graphics. I would **suspect** that Dynamic Range Priority is something that is intended to affect **raw** images. Camera sets exposure, shutter and ISO so that the sensor captures maximum amount of data.
If this is not so, please help: how does one achieve the above on Fuji.
You are partially right: the camera chooses an ISO for maximizing dynamic range. On X-Trans III cameras maximum dynamic range starts at ISO 800, on X-Trans IV it is ISO 640, and on X-Trans V it is ISO 500. D Range Priority is for JPEGs, but (like the DR options) with regards to RAW it forces the camera into an ISO that has a greater dynamic range, but it is up to the photographer to adjust the sliders and/or curves to maximize the dynamic range when RAW editing—when using it with JPEGs, the camera is doing the work for you. I hope this all makes sense.
Here are a couple other articles on this subject:
https://fujixweekly.com/2021/09/12/fujifilm-frontier-scanners-dynamic-range-priority/
https://fujixweekly.com/2020/06/05/fujifilm-x100v-new-feature-hdr/