How to shoot more bracketed pictures than three?

[peter_berger2]

<p>My Canon 5D Mark II can shoot only three bracketed pictures. Is there a way how to shoot five, seven or even nine bracketed pictures in a row?</p>

[peter_mckone]

<p>Good question! I would gladly give up some of the obscure features of this camera, in return for the ability to take five bracketed images. My old Rebel 350D can take three. Considering the price of the 5D, it seems reasonable to ask for more. I would be a lot more likely to install the next firmware upgrade if this feature were included!</p>

[peter_berger2]

<p>I heard there is a iPhone application for this, but I dont have iPhone :) So maybe somebody knows another solution...</p>

[paulie_smith1]

<p>Is it that difficult to turn the aperture or shutter speed dial and push a shutter four or more times in a row?</p>

 

[peter_berger2]

<p>Its not difficult, but when I'm shooting HDR I dont want to touch my camera all the time. I want to prevent moving the camera. Therefore I want to use only cable remote and shoot all bracketed exposures sequentialy...</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>This is one of the features that you have to buy a 1 series body for. In the real world if I really need to bracket and the light is very difficult I will take a quick shot and look at the histogram and adjust my bracket accordingly. If the conditions are still difficult I will shoot a wide bracket (say +/- 1 stop) and then use Camera RAW to fine tune the results. Nikon have more bracketing options lower down their range and my Panasonic G1 will do up to 7 (I think). I practice I find that I am fine with 3 and only bracket infrequently. I do however shoot RAW in situations where bracketing may help. The new RAW converters are usually fine for 1/3 of a stop and can generally cope with 2/3</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>I should add that I mean exposure bracketing I believe that the options of white balance and ISO (!) bracketing are being offered on some systems these days. Also if you are trying to use bracketing for HDR then my advice is obviously not relevant.</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Easiest method with minimal touching of the camera. Put it in Av shoot a three shot sequence but dial in exposure compensation to shift all three exposures over or under, then take another three with the compensation dialed in the other way, that gives you a six bracket sequence covering a far bigger range but only touching the camera once.</p>

<p>Alternatively there are cable release controllers and various smart phone, netbook etc apps that can do that and much more.</p>

[peter_berger2]

<p>Its a pity that Canon 5D MII can do only -2/+2 exposure compensation... My other DSLR (cheap Olympus E420) can do -5/+5 exposition compenstation, so I can do even more exposures with the trick Scott mentioned.<br /> I found this controler for HDR, but its not cheap:<br /> http://www.promotesystems.com/products/Promote-Control.html</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>Promote Systems Promote Control will do what you want. Just gotta toss a few benjamins at Amazon, hook up the wires and you'll be in like freakin' flint.</p>

<p>http://www.amazon.com/Promote-Systems-Control-Digital-Cameras/dp/B002CTLJFC</p>

<p>There are a few ipad/phone apps for that as well but last I heard depended on a wi-fi network.</p>

[charles_clark1]

<p>My Pentax K10d did 5.<br>

Still, I wouldn't trade my original 5d or my new 7D for the Pentax. When I need a wider set than 3, I do what Scott mentioned above. Once you do it a few times, it is pretty quick and easy.</p>

[peter_berger2]

<p>I know its easy, but why Canon doesnt allow more than three bracketed exposures? Where is the problem? If some specialized remote controls can solve this, it couldnt be impossible.</p>

[paulie_smith1]

<p>How about just getting a tripod that is more solid so you aren't afraid to change shutter speeds on your camera? I am used to tripods that will hold a view camera solid and more than enough to handle the lighter digital bodies from Canon.</p>

[Landrum Kelly]

<p>Look for this to be one of the features of the next version (whenever that might be). After all, Canon is going to have to do more than stuff more megapixels on a 36x24 wafer to make us want to give up what we have.</p>

<p>It is a great camera, but more bracketing would be a real plus indeed.</p>

<p>I am left wondering what else one could do to this camera (besides better weather-sealing and faster shooting and more accurate auto-focus) to make it better--while still being affordable, as if $2500 really were all that affordable for some of us.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

[ryan_maple]

<p>Yet another thing that Magic Lantern does...</p>

[a_j_tosel]

<p>Sounds like you need a better tripod.</p>

<p>Ever bracketed with a 4x5? :)</p>

[dan_south]

Get a better tripod and a custom quick release plate or L-bracket from Really Right Stuff or Kirk Photo.

 

Or buy a Nikon.

 

I thought HDR only required three exposures. Kelby claims that any more than three is a waste.

[scott_ferris]

<p>Dan,</p>

<p>Kelby is generalising, it 100% depends on the dynamic range contained within the scene. For general scenes three shots easily captures detail in the shadows and the highlights, for many situations, however, this is not enough.</p>

<p><a href="http://beforethecoffee.com/bracketing-number-of-images/">This article</a> describes when three will do, and when it won't.</p>

[peter_berger2]

<p>I think it's better to have more exposures and not need it than to need more exposures and not have it.<br /> My tripod is ok, but I'm looking for a better comfort when shooting HDR. if Magic Lantern can do more bracketed exposures, I have to try it! unfortunately I have the newest version of firmware (on my Canon 5D Mark II) and Magic Lantern doesnt work with it yet.</p>

[jaydesi]

<p>If you have a laptop, you can tether your camera to it and make all of your bracketing changes with that, never having to touch the camera at all, even to trip the shutter.</p>

<p>As to why you can only bracket 3 shots, I'm not sure. I know my 7D can only do 3, even though when shooting RAW, the buffer will hold 6 shots. Perhaps there isn't enough demand for such a feature, or they want to keep that feature for the 1-series bodies. If there are too many overlapping features, there's less of a reason for people to invest in such an expensive piece of equipment.</p>

[peter_berger2]

<p>Does anybody know how many bracketed exposures can Magic Lantern do?</p>

[Jeremy Stein]

<p>I run my 40D and 7D via a laptop computer running DSLR Pro, from Breezesys.com. I know that software will allow up to at least 7 auto-bracketed exposures, and maybe more. You can download a demo version from their website - check it out!</p>

[ryan_maple]

<p>Peter, don't remember off the top of my head (and have my DSLR at home), but I know I've done 7 before playing around... <a href="http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified/UserGuide#Shoot">http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified/UserGuide#Shoot</a></p>