Share your HDR cameratechnique

[Marius B]

I have been using HDR for the last year Blending exposures in Lightroom with enfuse plug-in.

Want people to share their cameratechnique here to get the best tips available.

I have been shooting in Av or M bracketing 3 shots (to sad Canon wont give us more than 3) on my 5D and 5D mkII.

First I shoot 3 shots
EV= -3/-2/-1 then EV= 0/1/2 and EV= 3/4/5 if needed. Sometimes only 3 or 6 depends on the dynamic range.


Now I have started using C1, C2 & C3 on my mkII and just switch this between shots.

Share your tips :)

Have do you set your bracketing? EV+-1 or +-2
Have do you decide have many shots you take, (histogram)?
Do you use Av or M?
Do you use Exposure comp/shutterspeed or do you use C1, C2, C3?
Any other tips?

[tmcman]

To my understanding it's key to have the aperture consistent throughout the shots. So I use aperture priority.
I've been using the 5 shot AEB on my camera, maybe one or one and a third stops apart. But sometimes a little bit of blown highlights or blocked shadows will sneak in on one end or the other. So I'm thinking about setting it to 7 shot AEB. These choices were one of the real plusses of this camera when I was deciding to get it used.

[taylor_h]

I set my camera to manual mode and meter to find out the base shutter speed to capture the highlights properly and increase the shutter speed from there until the shadows are well captured.
Based the information found in this article (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guillermoluijk.com%2F article%2Fdigitalp02%2Findex.htm&langpair=es%7Cen&hl=EN&ie=UTF-8), I know that my 400D has about 8EVs of useful DR and I'll usually use the noise-free upper 4EVs, so I will usually bracket at ±4EV at most, but most situations I'll only need ±3EV since it's uncommon for scenes to have more than 12 stops of dynamic range.

[82NoMe]

I shoot 7 shots between f/8 to f/22...photomatix/lightroom.

[jmungapen001]

Marius i'm interested in how you use C1, C2 and C3. on your mk II, (maybe I've just never played with them) do you set them to under and overexpose and use bracketing ?
thanks

[Marius B]

I have barely tried C1 - C3

But this is how I have set it up Shutterspeed from 1/8000 to 8 sec, now I am not sure I will stay with these settings. I don't know if it I need to go down to -1/0+1 instead of -2/0/+2 on the bracketing and I think I will go for slower shutterspeeds I have never used 1/8000 on sunsets.

C1
M
ISO 100
AEB -2/0/+2
MLU activated
Aperture f16
SS 2 sec
Gives me 0,5sec/2sec/8sec

C2
M
ISO 100
AEB -2/0/+2
MLU activated
Aperture f16
SS 1/30
Gives me 1/125 -1/30 - 1/8

C3
M
ISO 100
AEB -2/0/+2
MLU activated
Aperture f16
SS 1/2000
Gives me 1/8000 - 1/2000 - 1/500

[Marius B]

I shoot 7 shots between f/8 to f/22...photomatix/lightroom.


Have you tried adjusting the shutterspeed instead? By changing the aperture you are also changing the depth of field.

[TGrundvig]

Aperture priority, 6 shots usually ranging from -3 to +3. Depending on the scene, I will use LR/Enfuse, PS CS4 HDR, or Photomatix 3 Pro. It's strange, but one scene may come out great with one program and the room right next to it will not, but in another program it comes out just perfect...go figure.

[R1200GS]

I do a 7 shot bracket in RAW. -3 to +3 at 1 EV intervals. Convert them to 16 bit tiffs. Then use Photomatix to do the HDR processing.

[dpbdc]

I have barely tried C1 - C3

But this is how I have set it up Shutterspeed from 1/8000 to 8 sec, now I am not sure I will stay with these settings. I don't know if it I need to go down to -1/0+1 instead of -2/0/+2 on the bracketing and I think I will go for slower shutterspeeds I have never used 1/8000 on sunsets.

C1
M
ISO 100
AEB -2/0/+2
MLU activated
Aperture f16
SS 2 sec
Gives me 0,5sec/2sec/8sec

C2
M
ISO 100
AEB -2/0/+2
MLU activated
Aperture f16
SS 1/30
Gives me 1/125 -1/30 - 1/8

C3
M
ISO 100
AEB -2/0/+2
MLU activated
Aperture f16
SS 1/2000
Gives me 1/8000 - 1/2000 - 1/500

Have you tried adjusting the shutterspeed instead? By changing the aperture you are also changing the depth of field.

I have been using HDR for the last year Blending exposures in Lightroom with enfuse plug-in.

Want people to share their cameratechnique here to get the best tips available.

I have been shooting in Av or M bracketing 3 shots (to sad Canon wont give us more than 3) on my 5D and 5D mkII.

First I shoot 3 shots
EV= -3/-2/-1 then EV= 0/1/2 and EV= 3/4/5 if needed. Sometimes only 3 or 6 depends on the dynamic range.


Now I have started using C1, C2 & C3 on my mkII and just switch this between shots.

Share your tips :)

Have do you set your bracketing? EV+-1 or +-2
Have do you decide have many shots you take, (histogram)?
Do you use Av or M?
Do you use Exposure comp/shutterspeed or do you use C1, C2, C3?
Any other tips?


I pretty much do this, but program the C1-2-3 using the Av setting rather than M. As mentioned in some of these posts, you need a constant aperture to maintain proper DOF. Let the camera mess with shutter speed and ISO for the rest.

I'm finding that 9 exposures (-4,-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,4) is overkill in some cases though...my results sometimes look worse than (-3,0,+3)...

[S.E.V.]

I shoot in Manual mode. sometime 7 shots but mainly 5 shots -2 - +2 sometimes -3 - +3, shoot in live view to eliminate shutter vibration. Also shoot with a wired or wireless remote. I used to shoot in AV mode but then got better results in M mode. I shoot on a 1D3 so 7,5,3,2 shot bracketing options are available, on all other bodies 3shots is the max, then you have to adjust and re-shoot to get more.

[Kevin]

I shoot in Manual mode on my 5D MkII and AV mode on my 1D MkIII. A sturdy tripod and Ballhead and I can roll the shutter speed wheel two clicks to the stop and take what I need to cover the tonal range of the scene. I always start with the plus side exposure not blowing out the highlights and work my way down. Always use a remote with either MLU or Liveview (except for sunrises or sunsets) and always make sure your tripod is planted firmly whether a hard surface or sandy. I find that with my students the most common problem is not making sure your tripod legs are on their stop and that the legs are planted firmly.

[dpbdc]

I shoot in Manual mode on my 5D MkII and AV mode on my 1D MkIII. A sturdy tripod and Ballhead and I can roll the shutter speed wheel two clicks to the stop and take what I need to cover the tonal range of the scene. I always start with the plus side exposure not blowing out the highlights and work my way down. Always use a remote with either MLU or Liveview (except for sunrises or sunsets) and always make sure your tripod is planted firmly whether a hard surface or sandy. I find that with my students the most common problem is not making sure your tripod legs are on their stop and that the legs are planted firmly.

Question - Why would you not use LiveView on sunrises/sunsets? I just used it the other day (with manual focus) as I am suspecting some issues with the focusing on my 10-22...

Or are you just referring to using AF with LV?

Thanks!

[Kevin]

Question - Why would you not use LiveView on sunrises/sunsets? I just used it the other day (with manual focus) as I am suspecting some issues with the focusing on my 10-22...

Or are you just referring to using AF with LV?

Thanks!

Exposing the sensor to the sun for an extended period of time will heat your sensor and cause noise on your image(s). Using LV for a few minutes to focus is fine but leaving LV on for long periods waiting for the shot you want is the problem.