Highlight Tone Priority - Final Word? (T2i)

S

scottieb

New member
Hi all.

In doing a lot of reading, watching, and searching I've heard a decent amount of differing opinions on this so I'm curious if a conclusion has been made. Back when the 5DmkII came out, guys like Stu M and Philip Bloom said that one should turn Highlight Tone Priority ON if you plan to color grade. I forget their reasoning, but they had a reason that made sense.

Recently, though, I've been reading most people here and at other DSLR forums say that it is best to turn HTP OFF as well as all other such "auto" settings. Yet, when I go to Stu or PBloom I don't see anything that says THEY have changed their opinion.

Obviously those 2 guys don't trump an entire community of users, but they ARE well-known, early adopters who get get great results, so their advice clearly has merit...

So - consensus? And does it change depending on camera model (ie I've heard the t2i can give more noise than the 5D and 7D, so perhaps it is a fine choice on one but not the other)?

Thanks!
 
HTP isn't an 'auto' function. Auto Lighting Optimizer is, auto-iso is, but HTP isn't. HTP is, effectively, a "different" gamma curve. That's all it really is. It lowers the exposure in the highlights, and gains up the darks. You preserve the highlights at the expense of noisier shadows. It is neither good nor bad, it is what it is, a choice to be made depending on the shooting scenario you find yourself in.
 
Barry_Green said:
It lowers the exposure in the highlights, and gains up the darks. You preserve the highlights at the expense of noisier shadows. It is neither good nor bad, it is what it is, a choice to be made depending on the shooting scenario you find yourself in.
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Whoa. Thanks for clearing that up in such a short and sweet explanation. I'll have it on outdoors when the sun is out. I'll have it off indoors. Cool.
 
Try it and see if you like it. Technically it lowers the ISO, which is how it lowers the highlights, and then it applies 6dB of gain on the lower half of the curve to bring the shadows back up to what they would have been under a normal ISO.

If you're having trouble holding shadows and detail outside a window, it might be time to try HTP. I wouldn't by default use it for everything, but it's another option that Canon provides, and like any specific tool, it'll be good in some ways and not appropriate in others.
 
Indeed thanks, Barry.

This explains a lot. I'd been (for a while) going by Stu's advice (I took a course on DSLR's shortly after 5D came out and that was his advice - nevermind that I'm using the t2i... heh) and using HTP by default.

Anyway yeah I was noticing a lot of shadow noise in daylight footage at 200ISO and this would certainly explain why. Will definitely stop using it as a default though. Are there any specific situations where you've found it to be helpful?

Curious as to why some advice was simply to use HTP though... maybe just a simplicity thing? Or maybe the noise isn't as 'bad' on the 5D?
 
I sold my Canon off so I don't really have recommendations; best to ask the Canon users here. On principal, I would consider using it if you're trying to get an outdoors shot and the sky is blowing out and you can't hold highlights, and it's more important to you to hold on to those highlights even if it means some grain in the shadows.
 
Barry_Green said:
I sold my Canon off so I don't really have recommendations; best to ask the Canon users here. On principal, I would consider using it if you're trying to get an outdoors shot and the sky is blowing out and you can't hold highlights, and it's more important to you to hold on to those highlights even if it means some grain in the shadows.
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Once again Barry, thank you.


Your title should read "Super Mod" under your name, no disrespect to the other mods but you are the biggest asset imo to this website!
 
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