Why don’t more cameras create HDR images automatically like smartphones?
Asked 8/6/2018
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Smartphones often offer an HDR mode that captures multiple exposures and combines them automatically into one image. On many interchangeable-lens cameras, HDR is usually done by bracketing several shots and merging them later in software.
If cameras can already shoot bursts and automatically adjust exposure settings, why don’t more of them handle HDR fully in-camera? What am I missing about how this differs from smartphone HDR?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
5
Some cameras already do this. For example, some of the Sony A7 series (e.g., A7R III for certain, but I think probably all the others as well) have an HDR mode where it takes three shots in a burst, then automatically combines them into a single HDR result.
Of course, some people want the extra control they can get by taking three separate shots, then combining, tone-mapping (etc.) manually.
Originally by user603. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user603
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Some cameras do already offer this. Certain cameras, including some Sony A7 models, have an in-camera HDR mode that quickly captures multiple exposures and merges them into a single HDR image.
The main reason it isn’t universal—or always preferred—is control. Many photographers want the separate bracketed files so they can align, merge, and tone-map them manually later. That gives more flexibility over the final look than a camera’s automatic HDR processing.
So the idea is technically feasible, and in some cameras it already exists. It’s just that dedicated cameras often prioritize giving photographers the option to keep individual exposures rather than forcing an automatic combined result.
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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