Bracketing??!! Not doing what I expected.

Kinte Taylor

New member
So I tried to use bracketing yesterday and it did not work as i expected on my D800E. I had the bracketing set at 7F @ 1 stop increments. In the menu (e5) its set to AE & Flash. Menu e6 is set to Flash/Speed and e7 is set to Under >MTR>over. I was expecting to get a perfect exposure, 3 under and 3 over in 1 stop increments. What i am getting is a perfect exposure, and 6 over in 1 stop increments. What am I doing wrong? Help please.
 

egosbar

Senior Member
its in settings on the d7100 that you can set be the same on the 800, taking exposure with under and over either side , id say your setting would be expose then overexpose the next six stops , might be wrong as i dont have a 800

oops just re read your post and your saying that is what youve done

make sure its set on whatever your shooting at in that menu , ie shutter priority , aperture priority , maybe that is the problem
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
I had the bracketing set at 7F @ 1 stop increments. In the menu (e5) its set to AE & Flash. Menu e6 is set to Flash/Speed and e7 is set to Under >MTR>over. I was expecting to get a perfect exposure, 3 under and 3 over in 1 stop increments.

A cynical view perhaps, but why mess with all that extra stuff? All we actually want is one good picture. What good is six poor pictures and hopefully one good one? At least, it seems like wishful hoping.

Bracketing was a procedure used with film sometimes, simply because film did not allow seeing the results while we were at the scene. But with digital, we simply just look at the result we got, and if not satisfactory, we simply do what we see it needs done. Actually learning to take a good picture is much more direct and to the point. :) A more useful skill. Try it, it works really well.

I do cheat a little, and use Raw, which allows substantial push later when and if actually necessary.
 

Kinte Taylor

New member
egosbar I am shooting in manual mode
WayneF this is for HDR, and thank you I know how to take a good photo. Just because I am new to this board, does not mean I am new to photography. In fact, I am a photography teacher.
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
WayneF this is for HDR, and thank you I know how to take a good photo. Just because I am new to this board, does not mean I am new to photography. In fact, I am a photography teacher.

You did not mention HDR before. The D800 manual, page 176, says of HDR "It can not be used to record NEF (RAW) images. Movie recording, flash lighting, bracketing, multiple exposure, and time-lapse photography can not be used while HDR is in effect"
 

Kinte Taylor

New member
You did not mention HDR before. The D800 manual, page 176, says of HDR "It can not be used to record NEF (RAW) images. Movie recording, flash lighting, bracketing, multiple exposure, and time-lapse photography can not be used while HDR is in effect"

I do not do any processing of images in camera, all my image processing is done via Adobe CC products, or Photomatix pro. I simply want to set my bracketing so I take 7 shots -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 without having to manually change my shutter speed to get the one stop exposure differences.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
A cynical view perhaps, but why mess with all that extra stuff? All we actually want is one good picture..........


Because sometimes, in the real world, the dynamic range of the scene exceeds what your camera is capable of recording. So bracketing and HDR is a common solution to this issue.
 

Felisek

Senior Member
OK, maybe there are useful cases. Still, seven manual exposures seems easier than messing with the menus. :)

Not when you have moving objects, like clouds, in your picture. In such case you want all your exposures to be taken as quickly as possible. This is when a bracketing burst becomes useful.

Not sure about the D800, but it cannot be too different from my D7100. I use the bracketing button at the front with the command and sub-command dials to set the bracketing increment and number of shots. And then use bracketing burst, which I assigned to one of the front buttons.

If D800 is different in this respect, then sorry...
 

Vixen

Senior Member
Not when you have moving objects, like clouds, in your picture. In such case you want all your exposures to be taken as quickly as possible. This is when a bracketing burst becomes useful.

Not sure about the D800, but it cannot be too different from my D7100. I use the bracketing button at the front with the command and sub-command dials to set the bracketing increment and number of shots. And then use bracketing burst, which I assigned to one of the front buttons.

If D800 is different in this respect, then sorry...

With your D7100, once you set it to do bracketing, if you set it to timer on the release mode dial it will just take all the exposures for you. Just an alternative to assigning a button and something you may not have known ;) One of the most favourite parts of the D7100 for me who does LOTS of HDR shots :D
 

Geoffc

Senior Member
egosbar I am shooting in manual mode
WayneF this is for HDR, and thank you I know how to take a good photo. Just because I am new to this board, does not mean I am new to photography. In fact, I am a photography teacher.

If you're shooting in manual mode bracketing does nothing as you set and lock everything. Put it in A mode and you will get seven shots at the same aperture with varying shutter speeds.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

egosbar

Senior Member
i was just about to say the above , are you sure it works in manual , i dont know why it wouldnt but could explain

one perfect shot yes is what we are all after but in high contrast scenes bracketing and using layer masks too select areas that are exposed correctly to form one perfect image is sometimes needed , at least thats what i do , i do prefer to get the best straight out of the camera but a short bracket is very handy and for weddings id think essential , you cant get these shots again so if in doubt why not bracket too make sure
 

SteveH

Senior Member
If you are using Lightroom for your post processing, take one RAW shot, and create your under and over exposed versions as virtual copies in LR. This eliminates and slight movement too, especially when shooting hand held.
 

Kinte Taylor

New member
If you're shooting in manual mode bracketing does nothing as you set and lock everything. Put it in A mode and you will get seven shots at the same aperture with varying shutter speeds.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Ok manual may be my issue, I will try aperture priority mode, thanks.
 

Kinte Taylor

New member
If you are using Lightroom for your post processing, take one RAW shot, and create your under and over exposed versions as virtual copies in LR. This eliminates and slight movement too, especially when shooting hand held.

Ive done that in the past, i try and shoot all frames in camera instead of doing that type of processing in LR or PS. The newer software does a great job of elimination ghosts. Thanks.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
If you are using Lightroom for your post processing, take one RAW shot, and create your under and over exposed versions as virtual copies in LR. This eliminates and slight movement too, especially when shooting hand held.


That does NOT magically increase the dynamic range of the camera. If it's pure black or white in the frame, it will still be pure black or white in the adjusted frames. You will not be able to pull out any details in either with this method. If the shadows are not pure black and the highlights are not completely blown out, then using this method is a waste of time as you then have the details in those areas that can be extracted with proper PP technique.
 

Kinte Taylor

New member
If you're shooting in manual mode bracketing does nothing as you set and lock everything. Put it in A mode and you will get seven shots at the same aperture with varying shutter speeds.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Still no go, just did a test in aperture priority mode
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Are you trying to do HDR bracketing with flash?
I do my bracketing in Aperture mode and while pressing on the bracket button, I adjust the number of frames and the exposure variations with the two command wheels. Is that what you've tried, or were you going through some menu?
 

T-Man

Senior Member
Hi, Kinte -- I do this a lot (except I use 5 shots instead of 7). Right off the top of my head, have you checked to make sure your default EV is set to "0?" If by chance you accidentally moved your EV to +3, your camera will treat the "+3" image as your MTR and you'll get the situation you describe. When I get home, I will check my menu settings to see what mine are set at and get back to you.
 
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