Bracketing for HDR etc

[Citizen Flier]

For landscape still images, I often capture a range of bracketed exposures with my DSLR, which really helps with skies above wooded terrain etc. For some lazy reason I haven't done any auto bracketing with the M2P. (I typically fire off a few manual alt exposures, but that's not very efficient) Is bracketing exposures with GO 4 app pretty straightforward? Any tips on operation or features not in the minimal user guide?

I typically snap an appropriate range of exposures with the DSLR motor drive (my Canon 7DII gets 10fps) then compose in Camera Raw. Works REALLY well, as long as the images are in fairly tight registration. The M2P hovers REALLY well -except in high wind. But as it takes so long between still frame capture, I was worried about drift from image to image, even with auto bracketing enabled.

I never do in camera HDR's as that typically results in JPG files. I only shoot raw format. I create my HDR's in post, which obviously allows for much more flexibility, etc.

Thanks for any help!

 

[langcpht]

Is bracketing exposures with GO 4 app pretty straightforward? Any tips on operation or features not in the minimal user guide?

I've only used the AEB feature a small number of times, but yes, it's quite easy to do. The settings to change from single-shot to AEB and HDR are in with all the other camera/stills configurations. Don't quote me here but I'm pretty sure it only fires off 3 exposures and in 1-stop increments (-1, 0, +1).

But as it takes so long between still frame capture, I was worried about drift from image to image, even with auto bracketing enabled.

This was my issue as well. Generally speaking Adobe Camera RAW and other HDR/blending programs will stack images pretty well (like you've experienced), but there's just enough drift and slowness in the Mavic 2 system that I found it hard to blend and stack multiple exposures. Also, if you're shooting anything where a tiny bit of movement will mess your shot up it'll look blurry. Running water, wind blowing leaves/trees, people, vehicles, etcetera. It'll all kinda mess up exposure stacking. My experience with the Mavic 2's AEB was like shooting a camera handheld on 1 second intervals. Not horrible, but not nearly as solid as a tripod.

I create my HDR's in post, which obviously allows for much more flexibility, etc.

As do I, but you don't always have to be a "I SHOOT RAW" snob. Oftentimes in-camera processing is really quite nice. Give the built-in HDR processing a try and see how well it comes out, it might look better than your post-process RAW blend and might stack images better.

 

[Citizen Flier]

I've only used the AEB feature a small number of times, but yes, it's quite easy to do. The settings to change from single-shot to AEB and HDR are in with all the other camera/stills configurations. Don't quote me here but I'm pretty sure it only fires off 3 exposures and in 1-stop increments (-1, 0, +1).


This was my issue as well. Generally speaking Adobe Camera RAW and other HDR/blending programs will stack images pretty well (like you've experienced), but there's just enough drift and slowness in the Mavic 2 system that I found it hard to blend and stack multiple exposures. Also, if you're shooting anything where a tiny bit of movement will mess your shot up it'll look blurry. Running water, wind blowing leaves/trees, people, vehicles, etcetera. It'll all kinda mess up exposure stacking. My experience with the Mavic 2's AEB was like shooting a camera handheld on 1 second intervals. Not horrible, but not nearly as solid as a tripod.


As do I, but you don't always have to be a "I SHOOT RAW" snob. Oftentimes in-camera processing is really quite nice. Give the built-in HDR processing a try and see how well it comes out, it might look better than your post-process RAW blend and might stack images better.

Thanks langcpht -your tips could go into a compendium for "how to craft a proper tech forum reply".
I get what you mean about in-camera processing -which is why many smart phone pix look so good. But I can't let the camera have all the fun!
Will report back after some tests...

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

There's a cool feature in PS you can use called Auto Align Layers (in the Edit menu), which will align your images loaded into PS as layers. Here's a video of the process (which includes export if you're processing HDR outside of PS):

 

[Citizen Flier]

There's a cool feature in PS you can use called Auto Align Layers (in the Edit menu), which will align your images loaded into PS as layers. Here's a video of the process (which includes export if you're processing HDR outside of PS):

Yes, I typically use this. Even with a tripod, there are always alignment issues with lens distortion etc.

 

[langcpht]

Thanks langcpht -your tips could go into a compendium for "how to craft a proper tech forum reply".
I get what you mean about in-camera processing -which is why many smart phone pix look so good. But I can't let the camera have all the fun!
Will report back after some tests...

Hah, thanks! I've always been told that I write and speak well. I make it a point to be well-understood and I choose my words carefully. I also despise reading other replies that either don't address the problems/questions or don't have a speck of punctuation.

I totally get what you mean about "letting the camera have all the fun", though. There's always something exciting about waiting for an HDR blend to render and seeing how much more oomph there is. It sounds like we both have a strong photography and post-process background. RAW files definitely afford a lot more "wiggle room", but in the last several years, especially since smartphones cameras have gotten so advanced, in-camera jpg is really phenomenal. But of course, keep your expectations in check when dealing with a flying camera. There will absolutely be some wiggle and shake between exposures, even more so with a bit of wind. And since the Mavic doesn't have a mechanical shutter you're going to get a bit of electronic shutter lag along with whatever wireless latency is there between the aircraft and controller. Obviously, avoid lower light situations to test AEB/HDR out. The more light, the faster the shutter and the "tighter" your exposures will be.

 

[Phochief]

I’ve had a lot of success processing my HDR images using Aurora HDR software. You can use it standalone or as a Photoshop/Lightroom plugin. Does amazing things. I always shoot Raw.

 

[JoeBoy]

I do quite a lot of HDR photography and tend not to use exposure bracketing at all. A much quicker and simpler way is to set the focus function to exposure (it goes yellow instead of green) then literally touch the screen shoot, touch the screen, shoot etc for each of the brightest or darkest areas. You can shoot 5 or so pictures quite quickly and they tend to be the ones with the biggest exposure difference eg sky to mountain to foreground. I then use lightroom to create the HDR automatically and it works well.

 

[Citizen Flier]

I do quite a lot of HDR photography and tend not to use exposure bracketing at all. A much quicker and simpler way is to set the focus function to exposure (it goes yellow instead of green) then literally touch the screen shoot, touch the screen, shoot etc for each of the brightest or darkest areas. You can shoot 5 or so pictures quite quickly and they tend to be the ones with the biggest exposure difference eg sky to mountain to foreground. I then use lightroom to create the HDR automatically and it works well.

Sounds like an excellent option -thanks. Does it help with sunset skies aimed at sun? I(I often shoot landscapes the have subjects rear lit by setting sun)

And does that mean that you're on manual focus? I often shoot close to certain features like cliffs, crags, tall trees etc. So setting the focus to manual/ infinity probably wouldn't work for me.

 

[langcpht]

I do quite a lot of HDR photography and tend not to use exposure bracketing at all. A much quicker and simpler way is to set the focus function to exposure (it goes yellow instead of green) then literally touch the screen shoot, touch the screen, shoot etc for each of the brightest or darkest areas. You can shoot 5 or so pictures quite quickly and they tend to be the ones with the biggest exposure difference eg sky to mountain to foreground. I then use lightroom to create the HDR automatically and it works well.

This is an interesting way to do it. Basically you are metering for different tonalities/range within the image. Are you manually focusing when you do this, though? My concern would be that each time you touch the screen to expose for a certain area you are also changing focus between shots. Probably not a big deal if it's a very wide shot and focus might already be at infinity, but if the shot has any depth of field you might lose it as you are essentially focus-stacking.

 

[brettbrandon]

Don't quote me here but I'm pretty sure it only fires off 3 exposures and in 1-stop increments (-1, 0, +1).

I adjust the exposures manually as its AEB only gives you a total of 2.8 stops using the 5 bracket setting. I keep my exposure setting on the remotes 5 way switch so it is easy to quickly change it.
From the manual: "Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB): 3/5 bracketed frames at 0.7 EV Bias". Its too bad they did not give us an option to set the bias larger.
Personally, I find I can get about the same outcome using one raw file.

I originally chuckled at a Youtube video doing an HDR shot with 3 shots using -3, 0, +3 stops until I tried it with my DSLR and found it very effective. This was doing indoor architectual shots and haven't had a chance to try it outdoors...

 

[Citizen Flier]

Thanks for the helpful tips!

Biggest problem I find is access to the settings, if you need to change things on the fly, esp in wind. I have 3 custom settings I can snap to quickly on my DSLR. I can go from landscapes to birds in flight in an instant. Be nice to have a few custom settings buttons on the SC. The ability to reconfigure the buttons is pretty sweet though. It's pretty spectacular technology & relatively affordable for what you get. Can't believe how well it deals with wind. My sky-pod! (too bad almost my entire county is NFZ!!!)

 

[Citizen Flier]

I actually have been able to restore much of a very blown out sky in raw reader. The masking brush & gradient tool can really pull detail out of an area that looks almost blank. Shadow areas too.

The hardest part is if you have the sun on the horizon. That's where bracketing can really help. I think somehow digital cams have a hard time not posterizing the sun in sunsets. I seem to recall getting smoother results with film.

 

[JoeBoy]

Sounds like an excellent option -thanks. Does it help with sunset skies aimed at sun? I(I often shoot landscapes the have subjects rear lit by setting sun)

And does that mean that you're on manual focus? I often shoot close to certain features like cliffs, crags, tall trees etc. So setting the focus to manual/ infinity probably wouldn't work for me.

Yes very much so. I have found it is the best way to get a decent HDR shot in the circumstances.

I am also generally shooting landscapes so have the whole scene in focus. Obviously you can use manual focus to isolate one subject and the HDR for exposure will still work wonders. If you are shooting a much closer subject that you want all in focus (particularly macro) you should look at focus stacking as an option.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes very much so. I have found it is the best way to get a decent HDR shot in the circumstances.

I am also generally shooting landscapes so have the whole scene in focus. Obviously you can use manual focus to isolate one subject and the HDR for exposure will still work wonders. If you are shooting a much closer subject that you want all in focus (particularly macro) you should look at focus stacking as an option.

Would focus stacking make any sense on a drone like the Mavic 2, where the closest subject is likely still within the hyperfocal distance which includes infinity? Not too much macro drone photography, and when you are intentionally focusing on something extremely close, it would seem to me that you are usually doing so to isolate it from the background, rather than be distracted by the detail in the background that the focus stacking would preserve.

 

[JoeBoy]

Would focus stacking make any sense on a drone like the Mavic 2, where the closest subject is likely still within the hyperfocal distance which includes infinity? Not too much macro drone photography, and when you are intentionally focusing on something extremely close, you are usually doing so to isolate it from the background, rather than be distracted by the detail in the background that the focus stacking would preserve.

No sorry for the confusion. I was going over to regular photography with the DSLR. The OP brought up the focus subject and I immediately went into DSLR mode!

 

[GadgetGuy]

No sorry for the confusion. I was going over to regular photography with the DSLR. The OP brought up the focus subject and I immediately went into DSLR mode!

No problem. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Citizen Flier]

As noted, the AEB range is not very wide. 5 exposures is better than 3, but still not optimum for a wide gamut scene. Is there really no way to increase the AEB range?

I use spot metering on my DSLR, & I just read that there is a Spot Meter control in the GO 4 App -BUT- the notes I read say you need to be in AUTO MODE. Is this true? My goal is to get a VERY wide range of bracketed still image exposures to create an HDR image in post. The ability to tap a location in the SC screen & use Spot Metering to expose for that particular subject, then tap for other areas in the scene sounds perfect for HDR compositing. But does this really only work in Auto Mode? I NEVER shoot in auto mode.

And how exactly is the AEB range created -F-stop? Aperture? Shutter speed?

THnx.

 

[GadgetGuy]

As noted, the AEB range is not very wide. 5 exposures is better than 3, but still not optimum for a wide gamut scene. Is there really no way to increase the AEB range?

I use spot metering on my DSLR, & I just read that there is a Spot Meter control in the GO 4 App -BUT- the notes I read say you need to be in AUTO MODE. Is this true? My goal is to get a VERY wide range of bracketed still image exposures to create an HDR image in post. The ability to tap a location in the SC screen & use Spot Metering to expose for that particular subject, then tap for other areas in the scene sounds perfect for HDR compositing. But does this really only work in Auto Mode? I NEVER shoot in auto mode.

And how exactly is the AEB range created -F-stop? Aperture? Shutter speed?

THnx.

To capture the full dynamic range of the scene, you will need to shoot in DNG and use Auto Mode. Pick a neutral area for exposure 1 and touch the screen there, then select the darkest area for exposure 2, touching the sceen, and then touch the brightest area of the screen for exposure 3. Alternatively, use the exposure compensation dial to alter the Autoexposure by 3 stops over and 3 stops under. AEB is not very useful because for some reason DJI does not use full stops but only 0.7 stops for each bracket. The 5 bracket AEB is only -1.4 to +1.4, instead of -2 to +2. Since DNG has 2-3 stops of recovery in either direction, ideally, you want -3, 0, and +3. Three exposures, one based upon the scene average, one based on the scene highlight, and one based on the scene darkest spot should be good enough to cover the entire scene. Shutter speed is usually the variable in the different Auto Exposure compensations for stills.

 

[Citizen Flier]

To capture the full dynamic range of the scene, you will need to shoot in DNG and use Auto Mode. Pick a neutral area for exposure 1 and touch the screen there, then select the darkest area for exposure 2, touching the sceen, and then touch the brightest area of the screen for exposure 3. Alternatively, use the exposure compensation dial to alter the Autoexposure by 3 stops over and 3 stops under. AEB is not very useful because for some reason DJI does not use full stops but only 0.7 stops for each bracket. The 5 bracket AEB is only -1.4 to +1.4, instead of -2 to +2. Since DNG has 2-3 stops of recovery in either direction, ideally, you want -3, 0, and +3. Three exposures, one based upon the scene average, one based on the scene highlight, and one based on the scene darkest spot should be good enough to cover the entire scene. Shutter speed is usually the variable in the different Auto Exposure compensations for stills.

Thanks! I also read that there is a spot meter option which does the same thing, but I think it was stated that the finger touch works for EV only in that mode -not focus. Does Auto mode set focus AND exposure wth finger touch?