Settings for D80 to make HDR pictures

I have been trying for 2 hours to set my D80 so I can make a HDR photo. I have gone over the instructions and

they say to set the exposure -2. (-2, 0, 2) I just can seem to comprehend these instructions. An the manual,

forget it. I usually don't have a problem with instructions. Can someone please explain how to do this in simple to

understand step by step instructions. . I am using CS3 to map these shots together,I don't a have problem with it.

 

Thanks

<p>Use the camera in whatever automated mode gets you a generally OK exposure. Note the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture that the camera's meter has used.<br /><br />Then, put the camera in MANUAL exposure mode. Make sure that auto ISO is off, too.<br /><br />The manually set the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture to the same values that got you the proper eposure. You should get the same exposure, with the same results.<br /><br />Now that you're in manual mode, you can adjust the shutter speed or the apeture up or down a couple of stops on either side of that exposure. Say you've got a shutter speed of 1/250th. One stop longer would be 1/125th, and two stops brighter would be 1/60th. Going the other way, you'd adjust your shutter to 1/500th, and 1/1000th.<br /><br />If you'd rather leave the shutter speed alone, just adjust aperture. Say your normal exposure is at f/8. Your brighter settings would be to open up one stop to f/5.6, and two stops to f/4. To go darker, you'd stop down to f/11, and two stops down to f/16.<br /><br />Once you use the camera in manual mode, you can take simple, direct control over what it's doing.</p>

<p>There is a button on the left hand side, below the flash button. Press it and hold it, it will show OF and it may start with 0.3. Rotate the command dial to the right. It will change to 3f. That will take three frames, one under, one normal, and one over. Rotate the subcommand dial, and that will change the stop difference, 0.3, 0.7, 1.0 ,1.3, 1.7, 2.0 stops are the settings for the spacing. <br>

Rotate the command dial to the left and the settings are -2f and +2f. -2 takes an underexposed and a normal exposure, while +2 takes a normal exposure and overexposed.<br>

The display in the LCD screen is: +<n>-<br>

When you take the first exposure (under) it chages to +<n<br>

When you take the second exposure (normal) it changes to +<<br>

And returns to +<n>- after the third exposure<br>

You do have to press the shutter button for each exposure, and the Display in the LCD screen on Top will show which of the Images it has taken Under, normal and then over, but I think that can be changed with the custom functions. <br>

To cancel the braketing, Hold the BKT button again, and rotate the command dial to 0f.<br>

There is an advantage to using this setting on the camera, you do not have as much time in between the exposures, but you lose the flexibity as you only have 3 frames of width. To get 5 or 7 or more frames, you have to use the technique by matt, But I find if I am just taking some quick shots, the above is fine. But I am not really heavy into HDR. </p>

<p>You can also use your camera's bracketing feature which will take care of the exposure issues for you.</p>

<p>The n in the display examples above is actually a solid box, guess that does not transfer form Word when you paste....</p>

<p>Try bracketing in 1-stop increments. Sometimes I find the two-stop increments too much for certain scenes. I set my D2H to auto-bracket five shots, each one stop apart. Some scenes look better with one-stop increments. I prefer a very natural, realistic look with only a bit more headroom in the highlights and a little more detail in the shadows, something comparable to what I'd get with a graduated density filter. For the full-blown tonemapped look of an illustration or painting, tho', you'll want wider steps.</p>

<p>A few guides suggest deleting the extra frames if you bracket five or seven photos to get three shots at the desired increments but I'd suggest experimenting first to be sure you're getting the desired results with two-stop bracketing before discarding the other shots.</p>

<p>Quote: "If you'd rather leave the shutter speed alone, just adjust aperture. Say your normal exposure is at f/8. Your brighter settings would be to open up one stop to f/5.6, and two stops to f/4. To go darker, you'd stop down to f/11, and two stops down to f/16."<br>

This can't be used for hdr, because of the difference in DOF.</p>

<p>It's usually better to vary the shutter speed rather than the aperture so depth of field will be the same in all exposures. That said, I've done it by varying aperture with an essentially two-dimensional subject (a building facade), and it worked OK.</p>

<p>You want to bracket the exposures +/- 2 EV from what the meter is reading as a 'normal' exposure. Your Nikon DSLR will automatically bracket the exposures for you, but you have to tell it how much EV difference you want, and how many shots to bracket.</p>

<p>AFAIK, Nikon DSLRs only do automatic exposure bracketing (AEB) in steps up to +/- 1EV (my D200 is this way), and you want +/- 2 EV. So you have to set the camera to take at least 5 shots at +/- 1 EV. Depending on how you have the bracketing order set in the camera's bracketing menu, once you're in AEB mode, the camera should take the next 5 shots thus: Normal (what the meter reads), then +1 EV, +2 EV, -1 EV, -2 EV, for a total of five shots. When you download the shots, pick the 'normal' one, the +2 EV (the lightest), and the -2 EV (the darkest) shots, and forget the other two shots. Put the three 'keeper' shots into PS to make your HDR image.</p>

<p>To get ready to shoot auto-bracketed exposures, you'll want the camera to be in Aperture Priority mode. If you use Auto-ISO, turn it off. The camera will then vary the shutter speed to vary the exposures. You want the same aperture (f-stop) on each frame or the depth-of-field (DOF) will vary, and the HDR image will look like poo. Once you achieve proper focus, you may want to turn auto-focusing off, in case a bug or bird flies into the frame and changes the focus. That will also make your HDR look like poo. Remember, the only thing that can change is the shutter speed.</p>

<p>The alternative to using AEB is adjusting the shutter speed manually, but to do that you have to fiddle with the camera, and that can cause the camera to move. You want the camera not to move (or to move as little as possible) or the images will be out of register (out of alignment) with each other, and the HDR will look bad. There is some leeway with this in letting the software align the images, but not all that much before it affects the image, especially with wide-angle lenses. You are shooting from a tripod and using a shutter release, right?</p>

<p>Re-read the 'exposure bracketing' part of your camera's manual and just play with the camera until you can get it to bracket your exposures. Don't worry - it'll sink in.</p>

<p>In recommending exploration of the manual mode, I suppose I was trying to slip in a little basic exposure info, since it sounded like the larger concepts of exposure were sketchy. I still recommend doing this manually, to actually better understand what the camera is actually doing. Once you've personally seen how changing the variables of the exposure impact the results, then it makes sense to put the cruise control bracketing to work for you.</p>

<p>Since the camera has to be dead still for each shot, it is best to use a tripod with camera bracketing and a remote exposure release. </p>

Success Gentlemen, I finally figured it out. After reading the post over and over the light went on. It must be old age, I am using a tripod, remote release and CS3. It was just the camera setting that wouldn't sink in. Thanks to all of you for your help, I knew I could count on pn members to help.

<p> You need to open all three images that you want to merge. Here is a link on the tutorial.<br /> http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tutorials/colin/hdr-photoshop-cs3-tutorial.html<br /> a video version<br />