AJ Murch

First, while this is my first post, I have enjoyed this forum for a while now and have been extremely impressed with the time, professionalism, and patience its members have in helping all of us become better photographers!! Kudos and thanks!!

Now onto my dilemma:

I have a Nikon D90 and I just finished a class in HDR photography. While the instructor discussed manual bracketing, I personally do not want to have to touch the camera when taking a series of images for HDR processing. My D90, like most Nikons in the mid-range and below, seem to limit the auto bracket set to 3 exposures (with 2 EV max between shots). OK for HDR, but at times not optimal. I was hoping to find a way to remotely control my D90 with my iPad 2 (or any remote cable) so that I can manually bracket by controlling the shutter speeds remotely. I am not aware of any remote cable for the D90 that will allow me to adjust shutter speeds and the only iPad controller I found is "onOne"'s software which requires you to have your camera tethered to a computer also (with WiFi to communicate with your iPad).

So, is anyone aware of any way I can remotely control my D90 (adjust shutter speed remotely) without having to lug a computer around? While I personally wish I could find a cable to do this, I would be OK with a method of using my iPad since I usually will have that with me also. I want to attempt HDR photography while I vacation this spring in Europe, but I am trying to limit the gear I will be lugging with me.

Thanks for any and all advice!!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I think you're over-thinking this. I do lots of HDR with a D7000 and a tripod. Period. Whatever software you use to combine the photos should have no trouble aligning the photos in case there is camera movement.

I'll take lots of photos, using both extremes of exposure and then choose maybe four or five to combine using Photomatix Pro. I use the EV feature to vary exposure. Unless you're hand-holding, movement should not be a problem.

AJ Murch

Jerry, thanks for your advice. I have only taken HDR exposures as part of this class and the instructor didn't have a good answer for how much movement HDR software packages such as Photomatix could contend with (before the image was overly affected).

Since I would like to take more exposures than my camera will allow on auto-bracket set, that means making adjustments and jostling the camera. Also, since I will be traveling, I do not want to lug and/or pay for the type of tripod that is "rock solid" and heavy. I will not be able to see the final product until I get home and process it.

I wish that there was a cable shutter release that allowed for these kind of adjustments for the D90, but I guess it does not exist. Then again, I might be "overthinking" this also:)

Thanks again for your comment!

Mark Bski Loc: A sleepy little island not far from Seattle

Here ya go. This is what I use with my D-90. It needs to be in front of the camera when you use it and sometimes seems a bit sluggish, but for $15 it's a bargain. I love mine. If five bucks makes a difference, there is one with an Amazon name tag on it.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-ML-L3-Wireless-Remote-Control/dp/B00007EDZG/ref=pd_cp_p_0

Paul L Loc: Chicago Il

Hope this is what you nNikon MC-DC2 Remote Release Cord for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
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AJ Murch

Thanks. I actually have both of these. I bought the MC-DC2 to keep myself from having to be in front of the camera (as with the Ml-L3). However, neither of these allows for adjustment of the shutter speed without physically touching the camera.

I think I might have been of the opinion that the HDR software needed the camera to remain "exactly" in the same position for each shot. Jerry, in reading into his response, manually brackets his HDR shots (which would require manually adjusting the shutter speed or EV setting). So a little movement as you adjust your shutter speed might not be as big a deal as I had thought.

I need to go out there and just try it and see how much movement I can get away with when using my travel tripod. You'd think Nikon would increase the number of frames the auto-bracket set would take (beyond 3) without having to go to their top of the line full-frame cameras. Oh well.....

PHFoto Loc: Idaho

Howdeee, Here is link to remote control with laptop, It says it works with D90 with issues. Check it out and see if it does what you want. It's free. It works with D5100. http://www.diyphotobits.com/download-diyphotobitscom-camera-control/