2. D850 Online Manual
3. Image Enhancement
4. Preserving Detail in Highlights and Shadows

• Active D-Lighting
• High Dynamic Range (HDR)

Active D-Lighting

Active D-Lighting preserves details in highlights and shadows, creating photographs with natural contrast. Use for high contrast scenes, for example when photographing brightly lit outdoor scenery through a door or window or taking pictures of shaded subjects on a sunny day. It is most effective when used with matrix metering (0 Metering).

To use Active D-Lighting:

1. Select Active D-Lighting.

   Highlight Active D-Lighting in the photo shooting menu and press 2.

   

2. Choose an option.

   Highlight the desired option and press J. If Y Auto is selected, the camera will automatically adjust Active D-Lighting according to shooting conditions (in exposure mode M, however, Y Auto is equivalent to Q Normal).

   

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

Used with high-contrast subjects, High Dynamic Range (HDR) preserves details in highlights and shadows by combining two shots taken at different exposures. HDR is most effective when used with matrix metering (0 Metering; with spot or center-weighted metering and a non-CPU lens, an exposure differential of Auto is equivalent to about 2 EV). It cannot be combined with some camera features, including NEF (RAW) recording, flash lighting (0 Optional Flash Units), bracketing (0 Bracketing), multiple exposure, focus shift, time lapse, and shutter speeds of A and %.

1. Select HDR (high dynamic range).

   Highlight HDR (high dynamic range) in the photo shooting menu and press 2.

   

2. Select a mode.

   Highlight HDR mode and press 2.

   

   Highlight one of the following and press J.

   • To take a series of HDR photographs, select 0 On (series). HDR shooting will continue until you select Off for HDR mode.
   • To take one HDR photograph, select On (single photo). Normal shooting will resume automatically after you have created a single HDR photograph.
   • To exit without creating additional HDR photographs, select Off.

   

   If On (series) or On (single photo) is selected, a y icon will be displayed in the control panel.

   

3. Choose the exposure differential.

   To choose the difference in exposure between the two shots, highlight Exposure differential and press 2.

   

   Exposure differential options will be displayed. Highlight an option and press J. Choose higher values for high-contrast subjects, but note that choosing a value higher than required may not produce the desired results; if Auto is selected, the camera will automatically adjust exposure to suit the scene.

   

4. Choose the amount of smoothing.

   To choose how much the boundaries between the two images are smoothed, highlight Smoothing and press 2.

   

   Smoothing options will be displayed. Highlight an option and press J. Higher values produce a smoother composite image. Uneven shading may be visible with some subjects.

   

5. Frame a photograph, focus, and shoot.

   The camera takes two exposures when the shutter-release button is pressed all the way down. “l y” will flash in the control panel and l u in the viewfinder while the images are combined; no photographs can be taken until recording is complete. Regardless of the option currently selected for release mode, only one photograph will be taken each time the shutter-release button is pressed.

   

   

   If On (series) is selected, HDR will only turn off when Off is selected for HDR mode; if On (single photo) is selected, HDR turns off automatically after the photograph is taken. The y icon clears from the display when HDR shooting ends.