AEB setting on mavic pro

[Goldchucker]

If I set my Photo to AEB, do I first set my white balance to a custom number? Does the AEB work in conjunction with the white balance?

 

[lisadoc]

If I set my Photo to AEB, do I first set my white balance to a custom number? Does the AEB work in conjunction with the white balance?

White balance and AEB are two completely different things and are unrelated and unconnected in function.

Think of white balance (if you are truly meaning white balance, as the only "number" associated with WB is the temperature range) as an adjustment for the "temperature" or quality of light. Light looks different under fluorescent lights, outside in bright sun, or under heavy clouds, etc. The WB setting attempts to adjust for this and correct the image to reflect more what you would see with your own eyes or what you would prefer. So for cooler (blue or green) light you’ll tell the Mavic to warm things up and in warm light you’ll tell it to cool down.

AEB on the other hand is only about exposure (how much light the sensor captures) - in essence how under or over exposed the image is (not the temperature of the light). AEB is simply a bracketing of exposure - shooting either 3 or 5 shots (in the Mavic), with one shot what the camera believes is the correct exposure, one a little over exposed, one a little under-exposed, etc.

As you can see, the two concepts are basically unrelated, and they do not work in conjunction with one another.

 

[Goldchucker]

Thank you for your reply. I had a senior moment. I meant to ask about shutter speed, not white balance. If after reviewing the 3 or 5 picture series, how do i know what the exposures were the camera believed was the best? Is the picture information available? Would the shutter speed have anything to do with the exposure?

Chuck

 

[lisadoc]

If after reviewing the 3 or 5 picture series, how do i know what the exposures were the camera believed was the best?

Typically, a camera shoots what it considers to be the proper exposure first, and then the bracketed shots after that, meaning in sequence, usually the "proper" exposure shows up as the first shot.

Is the picture information available?

Yes, it's there. In any decent photo editing/viewing software, it will show the info. Even Windows will show the info by right-clicking the file and selecting "Properties".

Would the shutter speed have anything to do with the exposure?

Absolutely. You need to learn the following:
Aperture + Shutter Speed + ISO = Exposure

The Mavic has a fixed aperture, and therefore it has no way to adjust this factor. You, and the Mavic, are stuck with the fixed aperture of the lens and it cannot be adjusted to compensate for changes in light levels. The only things you can change to affect exposure then are ISO and shutter speed.

Read here to understand the interplay of these factors:
Camera Exposure: Aperture, ISO & Shutter Speed

 

[Goldchucker]

Thank you. I did some experimenting today and found out how to retrieve the SS information. Thank you so much for your help.

Chuck

 

[Goldchucker]

usually the "proper" exposure shows up as the first shot.

That is what I found to be correct. The first shot in a series of 3 looked better than the following 2.

Thank you,
Chuck

 

[Ian on the Trent]

That is what I found to be correct. The first shot in a series of 3 looked better than the following 2.

Thank you,
Chuck

Hey Gold. A bracketed shot is one that allows you to create an HDR (high dynamic range) image. Typically, one or more images are over exposed and similar number are under exposed. And one is juuuuuust right (or so said Goldilocks). What this allows you to do is merge them in programs such as Adobe Lightroom.

Taking the series of shots for an HDR is useful when trying to capture an image when there is quite a dynamic range of lighting conditions. In other words, very bright areas (such as clouds or snow covered fields) with very dark areas (such as areas in shadows or shooting towards the setting sun). In post processing, you can often tease out details in both the shadows and the highlights. Our eyes and brains allow us to do this ourselves. Cameras aren't yet that sophisticated.

You can take HDR shots manually but you'll need a very stable platform to prevent camera movement. I used to do this with an older camera of mine. Properly expose the view then, for example, take shots at -2EV, -1EV, 0, +1EV, +2EV. You can also shoot -4EV, -2EV, 0, +2EV, +4EV. Or even mix and match . . . experiment away! AEB functions simply automates this for you. You'll need to process them on your computer. HDR does this in-camera. Although I'm still learning how to best take bracketed shots with my Mavic, with my A6300 for example, the in-camera HDR is not nearly as good as one processed using Lightroom.

Not to blow my own horn too loudly, but if you look at the very first image on my website (currently beams of sunlight piercing through clouds onto a storm tossed lake and shoreline) you'll see a great example of an HDR shot. https://iandavis.photography There is no way our current cameras can record, in a single image, the bright sun and dark waters. (I shot these on my Sony A6300 in RAW. The Mavic RAW format is DNG.) I think I combined 5 shots for this particular one. 2 under exposed + 2 over exposed based on the primary shot settings.

A tip: if you aren't sure about the accuracy of the camera sensor readings take a bracketed shot and choose the best one even if you have no intention of creating an HDR image. Sometimes I will take 7 or 9 on my Sony just because.

Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB)