Can the M8 do HDR photography?

Don't laugh, but I've been playing around with HDR using bracketed Kodachrome exposures.

About the only down-side I know of to Kodachrome is the high contrast and limited dynamic range.

I don't have any "ready for prime-time" images yet, but I have been playing around with it using shots of a scene I took a few weeks back.

Before anyone throws up, I do agree that HDR is misused more than it is used effectively, and that many so-called HDR images look unrealistic, even cartoonish. That's not my intent here.
 
Ok, someone clue me in: how to do multiple exposures (of exactly the same pic) hand-held?

I am silly, but do we not have to have the same scene, angles, ... from shot to shot for HDR to work?

And once you put your leica, beica or meica - or any camera - on a tripod for a static scene, changing shutter speeds in predetermined over- underexposure settings should be a cinch in manual.

Even if the camera does not have bracketing automation. Setting up the tripod will easily be more cumbersome than over- and underexposing a couple of times.
 
uhligfd said:
I am silly, but do we not have to have the same scene, angles, ... from shot to shot for HDR to work?
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Uh-huh, you sure do. :)

There's also a problem with "ghosting" where something moves from frame to frame. Some of the cookie-cutter HDR programs supposedly correct for this.

And once you put your leica, beica or meica - or any camera - on a tripod for a static scene, changing shutter speeds in predetermined over- underexposure settings should be a cinch in manual.
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Yes, it's actually quite simple in theory, take 4-5 shots each at a different shutter speed. I took all at the same F stop so that the DOF and such would be consistent from frame to frame.

Even if the camera does not have bracketing automation. Setting up the tripod will easily be more cumbersome than over- and underexposing a couple of times.
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Tripods are a pain! My Kodachrome HDR thing will probably be a one-time only project. I probably stood out there (park, buildings in the background, lagoon in the foreground with reflections) for 1/2 hour from start to finish. I used a hand-held light meter and did over and under exposures accordingly.
 
Ronald_H said:
The 'Oh God no, it's an abominaton' attitude is to be expected from people who still live in the fifties, a.k.a Leica purists. Small wonder most of them still refuse to shoot in color.
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I must've been born when my parents were in 2nd grade in school :rolleyes:

I also didn't know that living in the fifties meant being a Leica purist. Is it fair to say that the "Oh God no, it's a Leica purist" attitude is to be expected from people who live in a Thomas Kinkade print a.k.a. Nikon refinists?
 
If your just interested in seeing what a photo would look like in HDR. I recommend a program called Dynamic Photo HDR. It allows you to create a pseudo hdr image from a single .jpg.

Both of these photos were made from a single image. Believe it or not I took them with my cellphone.:D
hdr1.jpg

hdr2.jpg


Michael
 
Jamie123 said:
No, I think what he meant was that hdr is an abomination and that the world doesn't need more of it.

May I add: Please, please, please, please don't do it!

Btw, I may be wrong but I suspect that once the number of hdr pictures in the world has reached a critical mass, it will create a black hole that will destroy the universe.
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A strange attitude to something that is basically an extension of the basic darkroom technique of burning and dodging. Why don't you want to burn all gradient filters too? The dodge/burn tool of CS3 is so lame that one often has to resort to HDR techniques. I hardly ever get any comment on it in images I post. Fortunately CS4 is a lot better, because it is time consuming.
 
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Jamie123 said:
No, I think what he meant was that hdr is an abomination and that the world doesn't need more of it.

May I add: Please, please, please, please don't do it!

Btw, I may be wrong but I suspect that once the number of hdr pictures in the world has reached a critical mass, it will create a black hole that will destroy the universe.
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I guess we're going to have to take away your PC and software, as well as your enlarger, dodging/burning tools, etc.??? I don't see the issue here.
 
mikemyers said:
One of the things I like to do with my cameras is take HDR photos. That's where you take 3, 5, or 7 shots of the same thing, bracketing the exposure. There is special software that puts the final image together, using the best parts of each of the images.

Does the M8 have bracketing? How many shots in a row can it take? Can I do this in "burst" mode?

There's no need to see the images on the LCD. Since I know I can't vary the aperture automatically, can it do this by varying the shutter speed?

If the M8 can not do it, I'll continue to use the D2h and D3 series cameras, that do this perfectly.
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Any camera with manual control can do HDR, D3 is a better camera. Many people don't know how to use HDR, even how to use tripod:)
 
HDR looks bad only if you make it look like a cartoon. It does not have to be done that way even if you resort to the programs for help.

If you have a tripod hole and can turn the shutter speed dial, you can do HDR. Just no more cartoons please.
 
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