Crash_of_43
Senior Member
I want to shoot some old turn of the Century buildings and motorcycles at bike nights in the HDR range .....will my NIKON D-3200 do that ? and IF so please tell me how to seek the settings too...Thank You
Shooting HDR with a D-3200 is that possible?
- Thread starter Crash_of_43
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Crash_of_43
Senior Member
Describe the " then merge them IN post processing " ! Thanks
You'll need to take your multiple exposures, then use something like the Lightroom or Photoshop "HDR Merge" to create the final image. Best way to accomplish this with the D3200 is to shoot from a tripod, so that you can keep the images aligned well. If I recall correctly, Lightroom will align them the best it can before merging.
Do a minimum of 3 exposures, one normal exposure and 2 more ± 2 stops. It is even better to do 5 exposures, one normal exposure and two ± 1 stop and two ±2 stops. Photoshop has an HDR function but it is rather limited and the results can look pretty weird depending on the subject matter. If you are going to continue to do any more HDR, look into a program like Photomatix. It is what I use and it can produce some pretty striking images if you are into HDR
When doing HDR it is critical that you use a tripod to keep things in perfect register and your subject must be static
When doing HDR it is critical that you use a tripod to keep things in perfect register and your subject must be static
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Bob Blaylock
Senior Member
The D3200 doesn't have any intrinsic HDR capabilities. You need to manually produce a set of images at different exposure levels, and then use an external software program to produce an HDR image therefrom.
The software that I use for this purpose is Geodesic High-Dynamic-Range Photography Tool (hereafter referred to as “GeoHDR” for short)—which is free from Microsoft's web site. It requires the 64-bit version of Windows 7 or higher.
I will let you in on a bit of a secret.
Others will tell you that you need to take three separate pictures, at different exposure settings; and since the D3200 does not have any automated bracketing, you'll have to do it all manually. Some times, this may be true, anyway, depending on how much dynamic range there is in the scene that you're photographing.
The secret is that the D3200's sensor has a much wider dynamic range than can be reproduced in .JPG files, and that the “raw” .NEF files contain this full dynamic range. There may be some program out there that can produce a decent HDR image directly from a single .NEF file, but I haven't found it.
GeoHDR, unfortunately, won't read .NEF files. As far as I know, it will only accept .JPG files as input.
But in the camera, you can produce .JPG files at different exposure values, from a single .NEF file.
Make sure you have your “Image Quality” set to either “NEF (RAW)” or to “NEF (RAW) + JPEG fine”, so that when you take a picture, a .NEF file will be produced, containing the full dynamic range of the sensor.
After you've taken a picture that you want to HDR, go to the “NEF (RAW) processing” feature. Set the exposure compensation as low as you need to to make sure that no highlight details are lost. You can go down as much as two stops. Tweak other settings therein to your liking, and EXEcute that process.
Do the “NEF (RAW) processing” thing again, this time producing an image exposed somewhere in the middle.
Do it a third time, producing an image with the exposure boosted as high as you need to make sure that nothing is lost in the shadows.
Now, from having taken just one picture, you have the three .JPG files to feed into GeoHDR; containing, between them, more dynamic range than can be contained in one .JPG file.
Crash_of_43
Senior Member
Thanks for the info about what a HDR file is and how to shoot them for post processing ! Thanks all who has greatly helped me ! "Crash in Kansas".
Microsoft has put out some decent photo programs for us to use, and at a really good price.
Between this, and ICE I don't think you can really go too far wrong when making Panoramas and HDR photos. BTW, that's a neat trick with making the multiple exposures out of the RAW file. More proof of why I love this forum.Just-Clayton
Senior Member
to get by to make a hdr photo with, I would shoot one good raw picture. I use corel to split photo to 3 shots and then hdr merge. download corel x7 trial and give it a shot.
Just spent a little bit of time tonight doing just this, since you asked. The original photo was shot with my D3200 in Oct of 2013, at Red Rock Canyon. I developed this picture straight from the .NEF file.
View attachment _DSC0155.jpg
Next, I followed Bob's advice, and made additional "exposures" of the RAW file in Lightroom. For this demonstration, I went -1 and +1 on the exposure. I then merged the three files together, using Lightrooms HDR Merge, and the Microsoft Geodesic HDR program.
LightRoom HDR Merge:
Microsoft Geodesic HDR:
No additional processing was made in either HDR program, the only thing I did have to do was shrink the MS GeoHDR file, as it was around 14 meg.
I hope this was helpful to somebody!
Tom
Yes I have tried it and it is not HDR. HDR means High Dynamic Range. If you want that over the top wacky "HDR" look then yes, you can do it with one image. However you are only going to pull as much DR out of the single shot as it had to begin with. . You can slice your single NEF file into 10 different exposures, you're still not going to increase the dynamic range of the single shot.
If you want a true High Dynamic Range shot then you are going to need at least 2 different exposed images . Preferably 3 or more.
You can manually bracket your shots on the D3200. You need a tripod, but most importantly, make sure you change nothing between shots except exposure compensation (shutter speed).
Make sure you keep the same focus point as well. I have done many 3 exposure shots on my D3100 without any problems.
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Bob Blaylock
Senior Member
I suppose we can quibble over the exact definition of “High Dynamic Range”, and whether what I described qualifies.
The fact remains, and the point remains, that a .NEF from a D3200 contains quite a bit more dynamic range than the D3200 seems to be capable of outputting in a .JPG; and by using the method that I describe, I have consistently been able to take a picture of a scene containing a wide dynamic range, and to produce a final result in which details are preserved in the highlights and the shadows that are lost in any .JPG that I can get directly from the camera. To me, this is the defining purpose of HDR—to avoid losing details in the shadows or the highlights, that are lost in a picture produced by normal means. I do not much care for “that over the top wacky "HDR" look”, and do not ever normally have the intent of producing it.
HDR is a method of "squeezing" a large DR into 8 bits (256 levels of brightness) for both visualising and printing. As modern sensors have a DR of between 12EV and 15EV it may not be necessary to use HDR techniques, but just process the RAW file.
JPEG is 8 bits, while D3xxx RAW contains 12EV of DR. While converting to jpeg mostly the lower 4 bits are either thrown away or last 5/6 bits cramped, hence the shadows are never clear and the highlights may look blown. If you take the 12(or where available) bits and use RAW software you can map the 12/14 bits to 8 bits as you want. Linear mapping will show more shadows than jpeg, non linear you can boost shadows and suppress highlights to your heart's content.
In short if your scene has less than 12EV DR, you can use the RAW file to get the "HDR". For FX sensors the DR is 13EV. If the scene has more than 12/13EV DR then you need more shots to cover the range. If 8EV is useful DR of the camera and the scene is 16EV, you can do with two shots (three would be better). For very high DR - deep shadows and bright tropical sunlight the DR may cross 20EV, then you need more shots to cover the range.
JPEG is 8 bits, while D3xxx RAW contains 12EV of DR. While converting to jpeg mostly the lower 4 bits are either thrown away or last 5/6 bits cramped, hence the shadows are never clear and the highlights may look blown. If you take the 12(or where available) bits and use RAW software you can map the 12/14 bits to 8 bits as you want. Linear mapping will show more shadows than jpeg, non linear you can boost shadows and suppress highlights to your heart's content.
In short if your scene has less than 12EV DR, you can use the RAW file to get the "HDR". For FX sensors the DR is 13EV. If the scene has more than 12/13EV DR then you need more shots to cover the range. If 8EV is useful DR of the camera and the scene is 16EV, you can do with two shots (three would be better). For very high DR - deep shadows and bright tropical sunlight the DR may cross 20EV, then you need more shots to cover the range.
Uh-oh, we don't want a new religious war, do we?
I hereby declare that you're all correct. It's OK to want that ZOWIE HDR look, and for that I'm guessing it's smart to bracket. Using a nice Canon point-and shoot I've done both scripted bracketing and manual, and manual is really not that hard, even handheld. (Yay, autoalignment!)
But the high dynamic range of the D3200 sensor seems to open up possibilities beyond normal tonal adjustment. And who doesn't want that?
Max RAW DR seems to test at 13.2-13.3, impressive compared with Nikons that are not that much older. The tests also show that tails off fast as ISO goes up. Best to stick with 100, maybe 200 max.
I'd like to try both methods on the same scene but probably can't get to that until the weekend.
I hereby declare that you're all correct. It's OK to want that ZOWIE HDR look, and for that I'm guessing it's smart to bracket. Using a nice Canon point-and shoot I've done both scripted bracketing and manual, and manual is really not that hard, even handheld. (Yay, autoalignment!)
But the high dynamic range of the D3200 sensor seems to open up possibilities beyond normal tonal adjustment. And who doesn't want that?
Max RAW DR seems to test at 13.2-13.3, impressive compared with Nikons that are not that much older. The tests also show that tails off fast as ISO goes up. Best to stick with 100, maybe 200 max.
I'd like to try both methods on the same scene but probably can't get to that until the weekend.
Bob Blaylock
Senior Member
Here's the proof.
First, a picture as my D3200 created it as a .JPG, and next, an HDR image created from just that one same shot, using the method that I described above.
In the first image, you can see that there is detail lost in the highlights, near the upper right of the structure, and there is also detail lost in the shadows to the lower right, under the bush. The .JPG generated by the camera just didn't reproduce enough dynamic range to preserve all that detail. But the .NEF file did contain all that detail, and by the method which I described, it was possible to create a .JPG that preserved all of it. Is this not the very definition and purpose of HDR photography?
