Dynamic range
In the standard shooting mode, the XF1’s dynamic range is relatively pedestrian. It is in using the dynamic range modes that the camera begins to excel. First, these modes boost the dynamic range by 100%, 200% or 400%, depending on the selected ISO setting. For example, 400% is not available at ISO 100 or 200. For scenes of high contrast, it is certainly worth using the 200% setting, because some of the highlight detail is brought back and the end results remain realistic.
For lovers of punchy images, however, the 400% can go a little too far, producing that HDR-type effect where shadows are brightened, highlights are darkened and the overall exposure is a little flat. To achieve the dynamic range boost automatically, the D-Range Priority mode in the EXR menu behaves in a similar manner to the manual dynamic range modes, although it only produces 6-million-pixel images.
