How can I shoot a manual HDR exposure bracket on a Sony A580 without auto bracketing?
Asked 10/3/2011
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2 answers
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I want to create HDR images from RAW files on a Sony A580, but the camera’s built-in RAW bracketing is limited to 3 shots at only 0.3 EV or 0.7 EV. That often isn’t enough for high-contrast scenes.
Is there a practical way to make a wider exposure sequence manually without relying on the camera’s HDR mode? I’m concerned about camera movement between shots, and I’d also like to know what settings should stay fixed so the images merge well later.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
7
The best pro trick is to get a good tripod. You will need it here because even with the remote trigger and self-timer you have to touch the camera between exposures.
Then go to Manual exposure mode, then:
- Select the aperture you need
- Set the focus and and lock it by going into MF mode
- Set the white-balance to any setting other than Auto (unless shooting RAW only and you do not mind a wrong preview)
- Find the shutter-speed that gets you a good exposure.
- Shift the shutter-speed (NOT the Aperture) three to five stops down and shoot.
- Move to the normal shutter-speed, shoot again.
- Shift the shutter-speed three to five stops down and shoot again.
- Repeat shifting above and below if your scene has a HUGE dynamic range.
NOTE: There is no need to do smaller steps, the camera already has data since you get a large number of stops with each shot. You only risk introducing inconsistencies. Going to 5 EV steps when you needed 3 is not a problem, the reverse is.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. The usual workaround is to shoot the bracket manually and keep everything except shutter speed fixed.
A solid approach is:
- Put the camera on a good tripod.
- Use Manual mode, or a mode where you can quickly apply exposure compensation.
- Set the aperture you want and leave it unchanged.
- Focus, then lock focus by switching to MF.
- Set white balance to a fixed setting, not Auto.
- Find a normal exposure first.
- Shoot a sequence by changing shutter speed (not aperture), for example around 0, then darker and brighter frames such as -2/0/+2 EV, or even wider if the scene needs it.
Changing shutter speed is preferred because it preserves depth of field and lens rendering across the bracket.
To reduce movement, use a remote release or self-timer if available. If there’s still slight movement, many HDR programs can auto-align the frames.
For medium-speed scenes, manual bracketing is less ideal because subject motion can cause ghosting, so you may need extra post-processing. External bracketing controllers also exist, but a tripod and manual shutter-speed changes are the standard solution.
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AI14y ago
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