tainkc Loc: Kansas City

I am new to the Ugly Hedgehog and I am enjoying it tremendously. I have noticed a lot of conversation and picture posts pertaining to HDR composition. A year ago when I decided to step up from a point and shoot, I was looking at a Nikon, Canon, and a Sony. I was at Wolf Camera and I was able to try out all 3 similar cameras. The Sony 12mp Alpha 500 L had a built in HDR mode. I tried it out and I was simply amazed. It takes a high contrast and low contrast picture at the same time and blends them together. It works great in low light conditions or where a flash is not allowed. It works well with landscapes and portraits as well. The closest in camera HDR mode I found to the Sony was an Olympus model that cost right at $3000.00 My Sony was only $540.00 Yesterday, I upgraded to the Sony 580 L which is 16mp and takes 3 contrasting photos and puts them together into 1 frame. This ought to be better yet! Here are examples of what I am talking about. I took these about a week ago using a 200mm kit lens. I just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in for what it's worth.

f 5.6, 400/sec, ISO 200 no HDR


f 5.6, 100/sec. ISO 200 with HDR

chapjohn Loc: Tigard, Oregon

Welcome Tainkc. Good pictures to show the difference between HDR and not. I agree that Sony has done it correctly by having this feature built into the camera. The A500 is a great camera for the reasons you mentioned and more. I have not seen the A580 in action yet, but I understand it is another super camera. I am not going to by one, I have two A500's and find that they meet needs.

FoxManDan Loc: Nebraska

Nice illustration and insight.

Thanks

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

2 500's? cool. The reason I am getting the 580 is because of a weird accident. Sony repaired it and the 3 Sony lenses I had at no charge. They did not have to do this. It was in the hospital for a long time. I missed my daughters graduation, my first pro shoot, and a vacation. Fortunately, I had a Fuji S4000 and a borrowed Nikon D50s for back up. But they are not my Sony. Now it acts a little funky but it still works well as you can see. And since Sony went way out of their way to help me, I am sticking with Sony.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

By the way, have you ever noticed that the 500 takes better pix than the 550?

Big Nickel Loc: New Hampshire

I see some ghosting in the second photo if you look at the leaves at the top middle.

I use Photomatix 4.0 on my PC, and what I like is it aligns the three images and askes if you see any ghosting.
if so you circle the areas and click a button to fix the ghosting before you keep going

chapjohn Loc: Tigard, Oregon

I have not used the A550, but I was not sold on it for extra features (14 mp, 7 pics a minute in burst) when the A500 was the same camera with 12 mp and 5 pics a minute. It seems that they tried to push the technology of the A500 to the extreme with the A550 and lost something to so that.

DonW Loc: Naples,FL & Cape Cod,MA

______________
Couple of questions... Does anyone know if Canon has a similar feature built into any of their hi-end DLSRs... like the 5DMk2; the 7D or even the 50D?

Secondly, what other software (if any) o/t photomatrix can perform the equivalent PProcessing? TIA, Don

Yooper Loc: U.P. Michigan

I have the 5D MkII, and it does not have internal HDR processing, nor do any Canon cameras, as far as I know. I use Nik HDR Efex Pro for my HDR processing, and find it is very user friendly and can produce realistic HDR images, which I prefer. I posted the HDR image below previously, and have now added the best image I can get out of the single normal exposure using Lightroom 3 without spending an extreme amount of time with adjustment brushes, etc. I did add a gradient filter to the sky and a tone curve, adjust blacks, whites, etc.

Image Capture Details:

5D MkII, Canon 24-105L, 24mm, f/22, 8 sec, ISO 100, 0 EV

HDR image shutter speeds: 2,8 and 30 sec.

Approaching Storm, single image


Approaching Storm, HDR

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

I think that your HDR picture is outstanding. Post editing gives one a lot more control obviously just like the Big Nickel is pointing out. If I were to use a tripod for my HDR shots, ghosting would not be a problem. I have Photoshop CS5 and it too, has an HDR editor. I think that having this function available in camera helps take out some of the guess work. If I would have caught the ghosting in the leaves, I could have fixed it up in photoshop. Good eye, Big Nickel.

Yooper Loc: U.P. Michigan

Thank you. Having the camera on a tripod would definitely improve your results, whether done in camera or during post processing, and is something I would highly recommend. If I had that option in-camera, I would probably not use it, as I prefer to control the effects. If anyone is interested, Outdoor Photographer did a review and comparison of the major HDR programs, and the author processed the same images with each. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. Here is where to find the review:

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gear/more-gear/short-reports/hdr-software-roundup-and-review.html

tsamori

I bought a sony this year, entry level, and I love it. I didn't know what HDR was all about so that never played into my decision, but I think it will when the time comes to upgrade. beautifull pictures. Great examples of why you may want to have HDR in your camera.

DonW Loc: Naples,FL & Cape Cod,MA

______
Wow..thanks! This article is great.. Thanks for sharing ;)

Yooper Loc: U.P. Michigan

You are welcome, Don. I know when I'm considering something, it is helpful to see a comparison of my options by someone who knows what they are talking about.