hdr and nikon d200
Ξ May 20th, 2008 | → 3 Comments | ∇ Tutorials |
Well, because I recently own a Nikon d200, I take a few shots for hdr, but first search the internet to see how to setup my camera for doing this. Well, first I think is was like d50, but have a big surprise, the d200, don’t allow to make 2 stop difference between bracketing, so if on d50 I can take 3 shots (-2, 0,+2 ) exposure on a d200 I have to take at least 5 photos to have a +/- 2 difference (-2,-1,0,+1,+2). Basically this is good because we have collected more information for our pictures.
The easy way for doing this is something like this.
- press on “BKT” button, and with back dial rotate until on top menu you will see 5F
- Now you may shoot that 5 photos for your hdr . What I learn from some experienced user, is that if you have a shine day with a lot of light, you may try to make the photos from hand, and after that with a little photoshop , the hdr may became live. Learning all these tricks of the trade thrilled me, it is like discovering the secret to winning the lottery or a round of online slots. There is so much to learn with these hi-tech cameras, and it is possible to learn a lot more every day. There are so many short cuts and effects to explore.
Other advanced order about how to make photos with d200, for hdr is this:
Step 1:
Set your bracketing preferences (number of shots spanning an exposure range etc.)
For this example I’ll assume we’ve set a 5-frame bracket.
Step 2:
It’s a D200 feature that the Shooting Modes CL and CH will automatically stop at the end of a bracketed sequence whenever bracketing is ‘primed’, so rotate the Shooting Mode dial to CL (low-rate continuous firing).
Step 3:
In Custom Menu d4 – Shooting Speed, set your Continuous Low firing rate to the lowest available 1 FPS (it’s on 3 FPS by default). Hopefully this will allow the vibrations to settle as much as possible between shutter operations.
For this example, one whole bracket-sequence would take at least 5 seconds to complete.
Step 4:
In Custom Menu d5 – set Exposure Delay Mode to ON.
This gives us the 4/10ths sec mirror-up delay prior to each shutter release. Note that this will slightly stretch the time needed for each of our 5 bracketed exposures. In theory it will add 2 whole seconds to a 5-sequence bracket, so we must allow at least 7 seconds for them to complete.
(The Self-Timer option, Custom Menu c4, plays no part here.)
Step 5:
In the Shooting Menu, select “Intvl Timer Shooting” and proceed through its stages …
5a. On “Now”, press the Multi-Selector to the right (or set a Start Time if you prefer).
5b. In “Interval”, set a time in HH : MM : SS that will safely embrace our bracketing sequence, and maybe add a few seconds for comfort.
For this example, let’s give it a 6 second comfort margin, so we will see 00 : 00 : 13 in our display. (7 seconds for bracketing + 6 seconds for comfort).
5c. Press the Multi-Selector to the right, and where it says “Select Intvl*Shots”, select the number of times you wish your bracketing sequence to be repeated.
For this example I’ll assume we want 8 bracket-sequences, so I will set it to show 008 x 1 = 008
We must leave the “Shots” value at ‘1’ otherwise the D200 will abandon the bracket setting we made in Step 1 above.
Now – This is the last step before we launch our D200 on its mission.
5d. Press the Multi-Selector to the right, and move the highlight to “On”.
DO NOT press the Multi-Selector again, but instead press the “Enter” button at the bottom-left-rear of the D200.
( the last info I was found on steves-digicams.com forums and gather them together )
on November 7th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Good stuff. I would say a higher fps is needed. You don’t need to worry about vibration from shuttering. The best hdr camera’s are the camera’s with very high fps. Afterall we don’t want moving clouds and blurry movements for hdri usage.
on November 8th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Hello
Yes you have absolutely right, but if is not a sunny day, and you shoot with f11 and you have let say 1/15 shutter speed, well if you will use bkt -2 then it will be almost 1” and then the shutter speed don’t help you to much. However if is a sunny day then this is a great improvement. Also vibration appear if you use a low money tripod.
on January 4th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
This is a useful article and the technique makes use of a little known function on the semi-pro Nikon DSLRs.
I prefer to use the Phottix Nikos (http://www.phottix.net/shop/default.asp?product_id=1130) for my bracketing and long exposures. It allows me to set exposure times up to 99hrs 59 minutes and 59 seconds PER image, and I can take 99 images in a row. It keeps my hands off the camera so there is absolutely not movement. It’s very reasonably priced for an interval timer too… Of course, if I don’t have it with me, then all is not lost thanks to the built in interval timer that you have described…
By the way, I’m in no way affiliated to Phottix, I just love the Nikos and Cleon products!