When do you use exposure bracketing?

[goldboughtrue]

I know what it is, so please don't explain it to me. I'm curious as to how often and in what situations you use it. I'm into landscape photography (although not many good opportunities in DFW). Do you use it just for sky? What about with filters attached? I bracketed once and it didn't turn out too well since it was handheld. Learned my lesson there.

I have a CP, ND, and a 2 stop soft GND filter.

[Naturalist]

I use the exposure bracketing when I have a shot that I do not want to miss due to variance in lighting - basically whenever there is a tricky lighting situation that may cause slight over or under exposure or if the light is changing a lot while panning or tracking animals and birds through foliage.

Sometimes things look a little better when slightly UX and other times you may think you nailed the shot and found out that the OX was as bit better yet.

I suspect a lot of people just fix it up later as they PP though.

[Radtech1]

Also, to get the source material for a tonemapped shot.

Rad

[corduroy]

Is exposure bracketing really necessary when you can always adjust the exposure in PP programs like Lightroom or Photoshop?

[Radtech1]

Is exposure bracketing really necessary when you can always adjust the exposure in PP programs like Lightroom or Photoshop?

Yes it is.
Because if you reach too far into the shadows to "bring them up" in Photoshop, the digital noise is substantially increased. And on the other end, if you are overexposed in YOUR one and only shot, no amount of Photoshop or Lightroom is going to restore blown highlights.

[corduroy]

Thanks for the info! I have only had my 30D for a few days now and edited the exposure of these images in Lightroom. I can see the noise you are talking about, especially on the desk. Although it doesn't look as drastic in this resized images. It's definately noticeable in Lightroom. Also the fact that I took these at ISO1000 doesn't help right?

I increased the exposure of this shot by 0.66
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/945/img0436edit2gx3.jpg

I increased the exposure of this shot by 1.0
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/8155/img0444ba4.jpg