Thursday, 7 April 2016

canon 7d - What are good starting settings to store for exposure bracketing shots?



I started experimenting with the Custom Functions (C1,C2,C3) on my Canon 7D and I decided a useful one to have may be setting it up for exposure bracketing. So it's a quick switch if I ever need it, as opposed to going through the menu to set it up.


I realize the settings would vastly depend on the situation, but do you have any suggestions for some good all round settings to program in as a starting point?


Examples: 1 stop vs 1 1/3 vs 2 stop brackets / ISO choices / Metering mode / shooting mode and so on.



Answer



If bracketing for HDR, between 1 1/3 and 2 stops if doing 3 exposures, or 2/3 to 1 stop if doing a 5 exposure set. Depending on the situation. I do 3 exposures at 1 1/3 stops and that covers most situations (I believe that's the default on my D90)


If you aren't doing HDR, but want to bracket for safety reasons, probably +/- 2/3 of a stop.


If you are doing HDR or blending multiple images, you want a fixed aperture, so use Aperture priority or Manual. If the aperture varies you'd get images with different DOF and probably weird effects when you try to merge them.


I usually prefocus, then set to MF, metering set to Manual, and use the high setting for 4-5 frames per second and fire them off quickly. I can avoid using a tripod that way. Too much movement and most HDR programs don't do a good job in aligning and ghost removal in my experience. My self timer will take multiple shots, so I often set that to 3 shots, then I can steady the camera and let it take the shots without having to mash down the shutter release 3 times.


If on a tripod I always use the self timer trick to take the 3 exposure set.


I don't really give ISO any more thought than usual, just keep as low as I can for the situation.



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