OK, Next Question: Exposure Bracketing

[boojum]

I see that my new, to me, M-9 will do exposure bracketing. I have used this on my Sony A7M II in difficult indoor settings where only natural light was possible. I like it and it is all done in camera and produces the final, melded image. The M-9 is not quite as courteous. I have to assume it is done in post. So, those of you in the know, how is it done?

Thanks

 

[Bill Clark]

Sorry, I’m not familiar with the M9.

But, for me, the type of photography I did, photographing people, I never did exposure bracketing. I understand it but chose not to use it. No time to do it with what I did.

Why not get it correct with one exposure? I made all of my in camera photos using RAW capture. Canon equipment.

I suppose there could be situations where it could be used but I never set things up because of proper pre-planning, where that would be necessary.

For me, I considered it essential to not have blown out areas of a photograph but I do see it a lot. Citing two examples: white sky and, another, good exposure foreground with blown out background.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I used it on my M9 when I first got it but it seemed that the center exposure was always just as good as the blended one. I do try to under expose just a bit, saving highlights. All this said, I tend to shoot landscapes the most.

 

[Beemermark]

Shoot in manual and then change the aperture one stop under, normal, one stop over

 

[Rob-F]

I think exposure bracketing is even more important with film than with digital. You can salvage a digital exposure that's off a bit. It's harder with film. (Well, there's always Tri-X, as Tom A liked to remind us.)

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I see posts like this once in a while. Where OP just doesn't want to do RTFM.
I do. But only for something I need.
Leica M9 manual is available on-line.
I have hard copy and also purchased M9 book written in English rather what translated from German.
I never used bracketing. Nor on film not on digital. Usually bracketing means series of exposures under differ exposure settings.
I highly doubt Leica would have any CPU capacity to handle HDR in camera where multiple exposures are combined.
Leica is about been primitive. Would it be heavy centred metering or third party and limited TTL flash.
With M9 and even with M10 best way to determine tricky exposure is test shot, mobile phone metering app. Or just S16. Even for indoors.

Due to spot like metering M9 do it well with 50 and narrower lenses.
From 35 and wider it finds its way to use brighter spot for exposure. Even if it is tiny spot at the corner of the frame.

 

[boojum]

I see posts like this once in a while. Where OP just doesn't want to do RTFM.
I do. But only for something I need.
Leica M9 manual is available on-line.
I have hard copy and also purchased M9 book written in English rather what translated from German.
I never used bracketing. Nor on film not on digital. Usually bracketing means series of exposures under differ exposure settings.
I highly doubt Leica would have any CPU capacity to handle HDR in camera where multiple exposures are combined.
Leica is about been primitive. Would it be heavy centred metering or third party and limited TTL flash.
With M9 and even with M10 best way to determine tricky exposure is test shot, mobile phone metering app. Or just S16. Even for indoors.

Due to spot like metering M9 do it well with 50 and narrower lenses.
From 35 and wider it finds its way to use brighter spot for exposure. Even if it is tiny spot at the corner of the frame.

Perhaps my English skills are getting rusty. I thought I had made it clear in my original post that I already had the three bracketed images. Because the camera does not combine, or meld, them I was asking how it is done in post.

Here is the original post:

"I see that my new, to me, M-9 will do exposure bracketing. I have used this on my Sony A7M II in difficult indoor settings where only natural light was possible. I like it and it is all done in camera and produces the final, melded image. The M-9 is not quite as courteous. I have to assume it is done in post. So, those of you in the know, how is it done?"

Maybe I was vague. Maybe my English is shaky and getting vague. Forgive me. I'll brush up on my English language skills. And yes, I did read the manual:

"Setting the function
1. In the image parameters menu (see p. 103/119),
select Bracketing (4.2.5) and there
2. set whether you want to switch the function on
or off.
3. In the main menu (see p. 102/119), now select
Bracketing setup (4.1.9),
4. select No. of exposures, Sequence, and/or
EV increments in the sub*menu, and then
5. the desired values and options in the respective
sub*menues."

I did all this. I have the images. I like bracketing in some circumstances for the broader dynamic range. How are they combined in post processing?

And no, manually setting the exposure is not the way I want to go. It takes too long and the subject may have changed in the period when I am fiddling with the exposure settings. Bracketing is an automatic, built-in function. Why ignore it?

Thank you.

 

[Freakscene]

Your message made sense to me. There is a good guide here: https://www.fotographee.com/digital-photo-blending-beginners-guide/

RFFer dourbalistar has a thread here: https://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171323&highlight=trichrome showing trichromes, which are essentially the same thing but shot as colour separations (i.e. one frame for red, blue and green instead of -1, 0 and +1). The same method would work - dourbalistar posted this set of instructions: http://archive.brhfl.com/ph.brhfl.com/2012/09/07/gimp-trichromes/

I have done this manually with microscope images and it made me very, very glad of Zeiss Zen which does it automatically but only works on Zeiss proprietary format .CZI files.

Marty

 

[boojum]

Your message made sense to me. There is a good guide here: https://www.fotographee.com/digital-photo-blending-beginners-guide/

RFFer dourbalistar has a thread here: https://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171323&highlight=trichrome showing trichromes, which are essentially the same thing but shot as colour separations (i.e. one frame for red, blue and green instead of -1, 0 and +1). The same method would work - dourbalistar posted this set of instructions: http://archive.brhfl.com/ph.brhfl.com/2012/09/07/gimp-trichromes/

I have done this manually with microscope images and it made me very, very glad of Zeiss Zen which does it automatically but only works on Zeiss proprietary format .CZI files.


Marty

Thank you very much. I will pursue the links tomorrow. It's bedtime here now.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,


I think the problem was that you asked about exposure "bracketing" and not "blending" but it's easily done, so do not worry about it. We've all done it at some time or the other.


Regards, David

 

[Ko.Fe.]

If you are asking about software, processing. Here is subforum for it:
https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=107

Sony has average metering. It is more advanced for HDR you are after.
M9 could only measure spot in the middle. It acts even less accurate with wide lenses. In tricky situations it will give three exposures with less accurate results.
In HDR you have to measure at least two different light levels and expose accordingly.
To do this with M9 you need to point the middle of the framelines to the light area and make a note. Once all key light sources are measured this way and notes are taken you have to take exposures matching those lights levels manually.
And then post process it in HDR software. Maybe new versions of common software have it as well.

I'm not wasting my time for it with digital M. I have Canon RP for it, which has light metering cells across all sensor. It does it in camera.

Putting M on tripod is like using racing horse as draft horse.

Perhaps my English skills are getting rusty. I thought I had made it clear in my original post that I already had the three bracketed images. Because the camera does not combine, or meld, them I was asking how it is done in post.

Here is the original post:

"I see that my new, to me, M-9 will do exposure bracketing. I have used this on my Sony A7M II in difficult indoor settings where only natural light was possible. I like it and it is all done in camera and produces the final, melded image. The M-9 is not quite as courteous. I have to assume it is done in post. So, those of you in the know, how is it done?"

Maybe I was vague. Maybe my English is shaky and getting vague. Forgive me. I'll brush up on my English language skills. And yes, I did read the manual:

"Setting the function
1. In the image parameters menu (see p. 103/119),
select Bracketing (4.2.5) and there
2. set whether you want to switch the function on
or off.
3. In the main menu (see p. 102/119), now select
Bracketing setup (4.1.9),
4. select No. of exposures, Sequence, and/or
EV increments in the sub*menu, and then
5. the desired values and options in the respective
sub*menues."

I did all this. I have the images. I like bracketing in some circumstances for the broader dynamic range. How are they combined in post processing?

And no, manually setting the exposure is not the way I want to go. It takes too long and the subject may have changed in the period when I am fiddling with the exposure settings. Bracketing is an automatic, built-in function. Why ignore it?

Thank you.