AEB similar to HDR?

Last weekend i was at Bushkill Falls, PA just taking some pics of the "Niagra of Pennsylvania" when i decided to try the AEB on the falls. Set it to -1 0 +1 using the tokina 12-24. Took all 3 shots but I wanted to know how I can merge all 3 together so I can have the beautifull blue skies that we had, the dark shadows but still retain the highlights if there are any.

Is the AEB similar to HDR? Or is AEB the way you would get HDR using software for it?

Did you use a tripod?

2005GLI wrote in post #3792141
Last weekend i was at Bushkill Falls, PA just taking some pics of the "Niagra of Pennsylvania" when i decided to try the AEB on the falls. Set it to -1 0 +1 using the tokina 12-24. Took all 3 shots but I wanted to know how I can merge all 3 together so I can have the beautifull blue skies that we had, the dark shadows but still retain the highlights if there are any.

Is the AEB similar to HDR? Or is AEB the way you would get HDR using software for it?

I did a similar thing about a month ago at the same place. But I shot 5 AEB frames instead of 3. If you have PSCS2 or PSCS3, you can use either to Merge to HDR your AEB frames. And if you don't have either of those versions of PS, you can use Photomatix. You can download a trial copy from hdrsoft.com if you don't have that program either.

Unfortunately i didn't use a tripod. Didn't plan on doing anykind of AEB stuff. Really just wanted to take some snap shots while there. I downloaded the photomatix software adn tried out the 3 shots i took. My god was the outcome awefull.

2005GLI wrote in post #3797805
Unfortunately i didn't use a tripod. Didn't plan on doing anykind of AEB stuff. Really just wanted to take some snap shots while there. I downloaded the photomatix software adn tried out the 3 shots i took. My god was the outcome awefull.

If you shot the AEB frames in a single burst, it really doesn't matter if you used the tripod or not. Of course, long exposures would require a tripod whether you were shooting AEB or not. I've shot a bunch of AEB frames for HDR processing without using a tripod. PSCS3 (not sure about PSCS2 since I've never used it for HDR) and Photomatix do a good job of aligning the different frames if they're not in perfect registration.

With Photomatix, you really have to play around with the different settings and modes. I found PSCS3 to be so much better when it comes to merging the frames and getting really nice looking colors. I could never do that with Photomatix. Maybe it just takes a little longer to use it correctly.

I've learned that AEB shots don't merge to HDR very nicely as compared to using full manual and changing the shutter speed only to create the images.

I haven't had any issues using the AEB bracket mode + continuous high speed shutter and as Leo pointed out handheld is possible if you can keep the speed up or use an IS lens.

The newest version of Photomatix has a lot of new features and much improved alignment in the merge.

mkuriger wrote in post #3797866
I've learned that AEB shots don't merge to HDR very nicely as compared to using full manual and changing the shutter speed only to create the images.

My camera was in manual mode when I shot the AEB frames. And it was the shutter speed that was varied, not the aperture, so I'm not sure what you mean by "AEB shots don't merge to HDR very nicely".

I'll try again tomorrow with some more AEB shots. And I'll even post the shots I took in PA and the HDR merge of them.

mkuriger wrote in post #3797866
I've learned that AEB shots don't merge to HDR very nicely as compared to using full manual and changing the shutter speed only to create the images.

AEB in Av mode should adjust the shutter speed, so you'd be fine with that. AEB in Tv mode would vary the aperture and thus the DoF - this would not be so good for HDR.