HDR Manual Mode

How can I or would it be possible to shoot HDR in Manual mode without touching the camera? I always use remote(tethered) switch. Camera 5D and 40D. Thanks.

Can you attach your camera to a laptop? If so Canon has a remote shoot program that lets you set you shots on the laptop and fire the camera from the lap top.

I must be missing something? I have a T1i and in manual mode I can still bracket exposures and trigger the camera by remote. Are you using more then 3 exposures?

Bolter303 wrote in post #11620172
Can you attach your camera to a laptop? If so Canon has a remote shoot program that lets you set you shots on the laptop and fire the camera from the lap top.

Yes I know that, but it's quite difficult to carry your laptop if you're in the field/outside

bailey239 wrote in post #11620497
I must be missing something? I have a T1i and in manual mode I can still bracket exposures and trigger the camera by remote. Are you using more then 3 exposures?

Are you shooting in M (manual) mode?

eaglesnest wrote in post #11622219
Are you shooting in M (manual) mode?

Yes, I can do it in manual mode, It's not my normal shooting mode most the time so before i posted I tested to insure it works.

I'm not sure what the confusion is here. Run it in manual and set up your bracketing plus and minus whatever you want the spacing to be. Also set any exposure comp adjustment to bias one way or the other, or better yet, just offset the manual setting so the top or bottom of your bracket is whichever way you want it.

Gary McDuffie wrote in post #11623779
I'm not sure what the confusion is here. Run it in manual and set up your bracketing plus and minus whatever you want the spacing to be. Also set any exposure comp adjustment to bias one way or the other, or better yet, just offset the manual setting so the top or bottom of your bracket is whichever way you want it.

Thanks Gary, sometimes the way we think is too complicated.

Manual mode simply permits one to adjust, manually, ISO, aperture and shutter speed. There is no need for exposure compensation - just set the exposure. If you choose to use AEB, then pick your exposure bracket spacing (1 EV, for example). Use the timer and set the drive mode to multiple shots (burst mode). On most canon cameras, this combination will permit you to press the shutter release halfway to focus - do this and then set the lens to manual to keep the focus at this point. - then press the shutter release all the way and the timer will countdown and the camera will fire THREE shots without any more intervention.

For a true HDR scene, you will likely need more than three images spaced 2EV apart. In this case, you will need to roll your shutter speed to the next base exposure and then repeat the above. Of course, the range of exposures necessary to cover the DR of your scene depends upon the DR of the scene - you should spot meter various parts of your scene, at the ISO and aperture you intend to use, to get an idea of the shutter speed range required to capture the scene's DR fully. Then you can figure out how many AEB brackets you need and what the base exposure of each AEB bracket is.

For example, you are shooting a scene at ISO 200 and f/11 that meters at 1 sec in the shadows and 1/500 sec in the highlight detail. If you want to capture this scene in 1EV intervals, you need to shoot images at the following shutter speeds:

1, 0.5, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500

That is, you need 10 images. If you can afford to drop an image off of either end (say the 1/500 exposure here), then you end up with nine images, or 3 AEB brackets with +/- 1EV interval.

So, you would dial in 0.5 sec with AEB +/- 1 with burst mode and timer and let the camera fire your first three exposures (1, 0.5, 1/4).

Then roll your shutter speed to 1/15 and fire off the next three shots (1/8, 1/15, 1/30)
Then roll the shutter speed to 1/125 and fire away (1/60, 1/125, 1/250).

You would have touched the camera three times. Also, remember to fix your white balance if you intend to shoot JPEGs. Also, if there is a lot of movement in the scene (wind blowing trees, etc.) then consider that, for removal of ghosting, you are going to need a good midtone exposure that is shot at a sufficiently high shutter speed to freeze the action - that is, you don't want to have your good anti-ghosting midtone image to have motion blur in it. So, consider adjusting your ISO so that you get the midtone exposures in your range at shutter speeds that can freeze the action and give you a good image to work with for ghost removal.

Kirk

Are you asking if you can bracket photos in M mode AND use a cable release to fire them off? The answer is YES.

Nice and complete, Kirt. Thanks for stating it even better.

WOW kirkt,
I feel like I better be writing this down! Great info and wording!! thanks a bunch!