Help with HDR

Glen · 10-15-2011, 07:02 PM

My K-5 has been problem free and a joy to use. One exception is the HDR feature. I'm not really big on HDR images but I can see a place for them. I've put the camera in HDR mode and used the auto adjust feature so that it will work without a tripod. The problem is the colour. I expected to see dramatic colour but I received the opposite. I've tried this in various places and the result is always the same washed out image. It seems unlikely that the software is at fault as corrupted software would likely cause other problems rather than just HDR. So it must be me, but what am I doing wrong. Below are two images. The first one uses the K-5 HDR feature and the second one was taken in raw, imported into Lightroom and exported as a Jpeg without any other changes.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
This one is HDR (the subject person's eyes are closed from blinking, not looking into the sun)

This one was taken in raw.

RallyDriver96 · 10-15-2011, 08:12 PM

One problem with your colors comes from your frames not matching up, you'll want to try some comparison photos with a tripod. I'm not familiar with the auto adjust feature, but you can tell your frames aren't lining up. Also, when you choose to do an HDR photo, the SR is disabled, so any longer exposures will possibly keep your colors from lining up and giving you that 'pop' feel you are looking for. My K7 seems to produce fairly good HDR photos, although no in-camera processing can produce great HDR images from what I've seen.

Hopefully my rambling has helped you at least a bit!
Greg

**Schraubstock** · 10-15-2011, 08:32 PM

Hi
First and foremost this is not the sort of motive HDR was designed for. Select a scenery with more static contend and one with high dynamic differences. Work (as a test) through all the different HDR settings and decide which one works best for you. Then do some more with similar dynamic ranges, develop a mental picture of the severity of the dynamic range of each test shot and its corresponding in-camera HDR setting so that next time you remember and lock in this setting quickly when confronted with a problem scenery.

I am not certain but I think you actually have to "offer" this feature a high dynamic range "challenge" to see it work properly. I have just tested my HDR on a pretty evenly lit scene and it comes out like yours, however when truly dynamically challenged the pics look fine.

Greetings

Smeggypants · 10-15-2011, 08:53 PM

The K-5's in built HDR is rubbish. It's there to add to the feature list. I wouldn't bother with it

philbaum · 10-15-2011, 09:06 PM

Originally posted by Smeggypants

The K-5's in built HDR is rubbish. It's there to add to the feature list. I wouldn't bother with it

Absolutely right, get photmatix or one of the other dozen competitors. You can then tailor your hdr to your own tastes, far more satisfying.

**Schraubstock** · 10-15-2011, 10:30 PM

Originally posted by Smeggypants

The K-5's in built HDR is rubbish. It's there to add to the feature list. I wouldn't bother with it

True

Originally posted by philbaum

Absolutely right, get photmatix or one of the other dozen competitors. You can then tailor your hdr to your own tastes, far more satisfying.

Precisely.

I never bother with the K-5 inbuild function, that's why I had a quick tryout before answering this post to see what it actually does. (Not much)

Greetings

adpo · 10-16-2011, 01:54 AM

i dont really see the point of the built in HDR anyhow, the k-5 has such amazing dynamic range that simply shooting in raw, exposing for highlights and then boosting in PP would provide just as much dynamic range as a multi-exposure jpg shot

Glen · 10-16-2011, 08:34 AM

Originally posted by adpo

i dont really see the point of the built in HDR anyhow, the k-5 has such amazing dynamic range that simply shooting in raw, exposing for highlights and then boosting in PP would provide just as much dynamic range as a multi-exposure jpg shot

Thanks for the comments. I don't have a need for the feature but since I has not heard that the built in HDR doesn't work well I thought there might be d something wrong with my K-5. It seems it is kind of a gimick. I'll stick to raw and use some other tools, and a tripod, if I want to experiment with HDR.

JeffJS · 10-16-2011, 09:30 AM

Yep. Much better off shooting RAW and doing your own thing..

Arizona Dave · 10-16-2011, 11:15 AM

You will get better results with RAW especially with the scene in your sample. If you are interested in HDR the bracketing feature of the k5 works well and Photomatix Pro can be downloaded for about $85 if you search the internet for a coupon code.
I recently started bracketing a bunch of stuff. After processing an HDR I found I could sometimes get better results from one RAW exposure.

I used to use the HDR mode of the k7 and got very few usable results even after processing in Lightroom. I haven't even used the k5 version since not much has probably changed.

lammie200 · 10-16-2011, 12:20 PM

Originally posted by Schraubstock

...
First and foremost this is not the sort of motive HDR was designed for. Select a scenery with more static content and one with high dynamic differences.

This how I think about in camera HDR +tripod. I think that hand holding is near impossible, but I would like to be proven wrong.

JeffJS · 10-16-2011, 01:18 PM

Originally posted by Arizona Dave

You will get better results with RAW especially with the scene in your sample. If you are interested in HDR the bracketing feature of the k5 works well and Photomatix Pro can be downloaded for about $85 if you search the internet for a coupon code.
I recently started bracketing a bunch of stuff. After processing an HDR I found I could sometimes get better results from one RAW exposure.

I used to use the HDR mode of the k7 and got very few usable results even after processing in Lightroom. I haven't even used the k5 version since not much has probably changed.

I think the only thing they changed is the ability to turn on an alignment feature which will align the 3 images. Any time I tried the HDR on the K7, even with a support, one frame was always misaligned. Then again, I only tried it once, I didn't care for the fact that it discards the RAW files.

Trig · 10-18-2011, 01:26 PM

75% of my HDR images are done hand-held and usually at 4 to 5 frames. A lot of software is really good at the auto-alignment.

Speaking of which, if using the built-in K-5 HDR, be sure to have the auto-align selected. It makes a big difference.

Example of a hand-held HDR image processed with Photomatix:

nulla · 08-19-2012, 02:42 PM

I find Oloneo software to be quite good. I am using a trial version and considering purchasing.

Neil

jtkays · 09-27-2012, 05:21 PM

Thanks for all the tips! I am just starting to try HDR with my K-r; I think I'll download Photomatix (can download a free 30 day trial) and give that a try. Looking over the Photomatix website, I'm not sure I see the need for the Pro version - Essentials would seem sufficient. Anyone disagree with this?

jeff

10-15-2011, 07:02 PM	#1
Glen Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 329	Help with HDR My K-5 has been problem free and a joy to use. One exception is the HDR feature. I'm not really big on HDR images but I can see a place for them. I've put the camera in HDR mode and used the auto adjust feature so that it will work without a tripod. The problem is the colour. I expected to see dramatic colour but I received the opposite. I've tried this in various places and the result is always the same washed out image. It seems unlikely that the software is at fault as corrupted software would likely cause other problems rather than just HDR. So it must be me, but what am I doing wrong. Below are two images. The first one uses the K-5 HDR feature and the second one was taken in raw, imported into Lightroom and exported as a Jpeg without any other changes. Any suggestions would be appreciated. This one is HDR (the subject person's eyes are closed from blinking, not looking into the sun) This one was taken in raw.

10-16-2011, 11:15 AM	#10
Arizona Dave Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Posts: 440	Ditto You will get better results with RAW especially with the scene in your sample. If you are interested in HDR the bracketing feature of the k5 works well and Photomatix Pro can be downloaded for about $85 if you search the internet for a coupon code. I recently started bracketing a bunch of stuff. After processing an HDR I found I could sometimes get better results from one RAW exposure. I used to use the HDR mode of the k7 and got very few usable results even after processing in Lightroom. I haven't even used the k5 version since not much has probably changed.

10-16-2011, 12:20 PM	#11
lammie200 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: San Francisco Photos: Albums Posts: 1,033	+1 + tripod Originally posted by Schraubstock ... First and foremost this is not the sort of motive HDR was designed for. Select a scenery with more static content and one with high dynamic differences. This how I think about in camera HDR +tripod. I think that hand holding is near impossible, but I would like to be proven wrong.

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10-15-2011, 08:12 PM	#2
RallyDriver96 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 65	One problem with your colors comes from your frames not matching up, you'll want to try some comparison photos with a tripod. I'm not familiar with the auto adjust feature, but you can tell your frames aren't lining up. Also, when you choose to do an HDR photo, the SR is disabled, so any longer exposures will possibly keep your colors from lining up and giving you that 'pop' feel you are looking for. My K7 seems to produce fairly good HDR photos, although no in-camera processing can produce great HDR images from what I've seen. Hopefully my rambling has helped you at least a bit! Greg

10-15-2011, 08:32 PM	#3
Schraubstock Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,386	Hi First and foremost this is not the sort of motive HDR was designed for. Select a scenery with more static contend and one with high dynamic differences. Work (as a test) through all the different HDR settings and decide which one works best for you. Then do some more with similar dynamic ranges, develop a mental picture of the severity of the dynamic range of each test shot and its corresponding in-camera HDR setting so that next time you remember and lock in this setting quickly when confronted with a problem scenery. I am not certain but I think you actually have to "offer" this feature a high dynamic range "challenge" to see it work properly. I have just tested my HDR on a pretty evenly lit scene and it comes out like yours, however when truly dynamically challenged the pics look fine. Greetings

10-15-2011, 08:53 PM	#4
Smeggypants Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,536	The K-5's in built HDR is rubbish. It's there to add to the feature list. I wouldn't bother with it

10-15-2011, 09:06 PM	#5
philbaum Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Port Townsend, Washington State, USA Posts: 3,659	Originally posted by Smeggypants The K-5's in built HDR is rubbish. It's there to add to the feature list. I wouldn't bother with it Absolutely right, get photmatix or one of the other dozen competitors. You can then tailor your hdr to your own tastes, far more satisfying.

10-15-2011, 10:30 PM	#6
Schraubstock Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,386	Originally posted by Smeggypants The K-5's in built HDR is rubbish. It's there to add to the feature list. I wouldn't bother with it True Originally posted by philbaum Absolutely right, get photmatix or one of the other dozen competitors. You can then tailor your hdr to your own tastes, far more satisfying. Precisely. I never bother with the K-5 inbuild function, that's why I had a quick tryout before answering this post to see what it actually does. (Not much) Greetings

10-16-2011, 01:54 AM	#7
adpo Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery Posts: 888	i dont really see the point of the built in HDR anyhow, the k-5 has such amazing dynamic range that simply shooting in raw, exposing for highlights and then boosting in PP would provide just as much dynamic range as a multi-exposure jpg shot

10-16-2011, 08:34 AM	#8
Glen Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 329 Original Poster	Originally posted by adpo i dont really see the point of the built in HDR anyhow, the k-5 has such amazing dynamic range that simply shooting in raw, exposing for highlights and then boosting in PP would provide just as much dynamic range as a multi-exposure jpg shot Thanks for the comments. I don't have a need for the feature but since I has not heard that the built in HDR doesn't work well I thought there might be d something wrong with my K-5. It seems it is kind of a gimick. I'll stick to raw and use some other tools, and a tripod, if I want to experiment with HDR.

10-16-2011, 01:18 PM	#12
JeffJS Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Michigan, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,484	Originally posted by Arizona Dave You will get better results with RAW especially with the scene in your sample. If you are interested in HDR the bracketing feature of the k5 works well and Photomatix Pro can be downloaded for about $85 if you search the internet for a coupon code. I recently started bracketing a bunch of stuff. After processing an HDR I found I could sometimes get better results from one RAW exposure. I used to use the HDR mode of the k7 and got very few usable results even after processing in Lightroom. I haven't even used the k5 version since not much has probably changed. I think the only thing they changed is the ability to turn on an alignment feature which will align the 3 images. Any time I tried the HDR on the K7, even with a support, one frame was always misaligned. Then again, I only tried it once, I didn't care for the fact that it discards the RAW files.

10-18-2011, 01:26 PM	#13
Trig Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Acushnet, MA Photos: Gallery Posts: 211	75% of my HDR images are done hand-held and usually at 4 to 5 frames. A lot of software is really good at the auto-alignment. Speaking of which, if using the built-in K-5 HDR, be sure to have the auto-align selected. It makes a big difference. Example of a hand-held HDR image processed with Photomatix:

08-19-2012, 02:42 PM	#14
nulla Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 1,560	I find Oloneo software to be quite good. I am using a trial version and considering purchasing. Neil

09-27-2012, 05:21 PM	#15
jtkays New Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 6	Thanks for all the tips! I am just starting to try HDR with my K-r; I think I'll download Photomatix (can download a free 30 day trial) and give that a try. Looking over the Photomatix website, I'm not sure I see the need for the Pro version - Essentials would seem sufficient. Anyone disagree with this? jeff