[Pixeltrove]

Greetings all!

For any who haven't really played with or seen the HDR Advanced mode in the K1 II, I thought I would post a link to some test shots I did fall of 2022 at the Altoona, Pa Railroad Museum. Not sure what made me think of it then, but I started using it and it was kinda addictive lol. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it actually did help some of the shots and wasn't as much gimmick as you might think. Other shots, it actually made things look grimy because it was now capable of displaying ANY amount of grayness in the scene. I provide them here so you can judge for yourself... I'll just stand back and watch the arguments happen lol🥴. I thought it made sense to share them rather than just delete.

These are NOT award winning pictures, as such I'm not looking for critique in that area. Just interesting subject matter for a comparison of this feature. By the way, if you haven't tried it yet, sunrise photos with HDR ADV look promising too. Sorry, no sample shots left to upload but I was impressed with the rest shots I did last year, looking forward to trying it in earnest in the spring.

Here is the link, it will be active for quite a while as I'm in no danger of running out of room on Flickr...



Altoona Railroad Museum, Pennsylvania | Flickr.com/pixeltrove

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Last edited by Pixeltrove; 01-02-2023 at 04:11 PM.

[jcdoss]

By how many EV steps did you separate the exposures?

[Henrico]

I think HDR is useful in extreme situations with deep shadows and bright highlights. Shots often look "flatter" with little punch, adjusting levels and contrast improves the final result. There also can be artifacts because the three shots are not identical. I use it seldom for that.

Alternative for your objects here is shooting RAW, underexpose a little bit and recover shadows and highlights in your RAW editor. I under-expose because recovering shadows is more forgive-full than highlights. The center point leveling is easily adjustable in post.

A Pentax K1 at base ISO captures about 12 stops Dynamic Range, in most situations that is enough.

The human eye is capable catching 24 stops of DR, so sensor technology is rather inferior from that aspect and there is a way to go :-)

[Bob 256]

Some great photos!

After previously using the K-1 HDR mode, I tend to only use it when I want a quick jpeg HDR result (often but not that often), and there are significant differences between the HDR modes offered as noted, which can result in some unpredictability. One good plus is that if you're using a second card and saving DNG files to it (or just shooting in DNG with a single card), HDR shots will be saved as a single file. The individual HDR exposures can be separated later if needed. However, I have generally gone to using bracketing mode to get my HDR exposures since I usually am not shooting DNG and I use separate HDR software to get my final HDR result anyway. That way, I have one exposure which can be used for non-HDR and others which can be used to get the HDR composite. Note that I do this when working in jpeg because otherwise, the individual HDR exposures would be lost if "HDR mode" were used and I would be stuck with the HDR image the camera offers.

I always use a tripod when shooting HDR in order to avoid registration issues with the separate exposures.

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Last edited by Bob 256; 01-02-2023 at 10:56 AM.

[Pixeltrove]

By how many EV steps did you separate the exposures?

Honestly, it was just camera default, on purpose. The shots are also not otherwise modified or corrected. It wasn't my best day shooting so I turned it into a test run. By the way, no tripod either, this is just breathe careful, stay steady and let the camera figure out the stitching together part - something I find the K1 II does better than say the K3 II.

---------- Post added 01-02-23 at 03:39 PM ----------

Some great photos!

After previously using the K-1 HDR mode, I tend to only use it when I want a quick jpeg HDR result (often but not that often), and there are significant differences between the HDR modes offered as noted, which can result in some unpredictability. One good plus is that if you're using a second card and saving DNG files to it (or just shooting in DNG with a single card), HDR shots will be saved as a single file. The individual HDR exposures can be separated later if needed. However, I have generally gone to using bracketing mode to get my HDR exposures since I usually am not shooting DNG and I use separate HDR software to get my final HDR result anyway. That way, I have one exposure which can be used for non-HDR and others which can be used to get the HDR composite. Note that I do this when working in jpeg because otherwise, the individual HDR exposures would be lost if "HDR mode" were used and I would be stuck with the HDR image the camera offers.

I always use a tripod when shooting HDR in order to avoid registration issues with the separate exposures.

No tripod here, this is just breathe careful, stay steady and let the camera figure out the stitching together part - something I find the K1 II does better than say the K3 II. Tripod is definitely MORE than advisable for something like this, HOWEVER, it's interesting to see just how WELL the K1 II stitched these together given the lack of a tripod. In fact, I'd say it's another feather in Pentax's cap to have this work so well.

I also thought a few of the indoor displays, particularly the maintenance and house mock up ones, benefit a good deal from this setting. Something I wasn't expecting. More experience is needed.

---------- Post added 01-02-23 at 03:41 PM ----------

I think HDR is useful in extreme situations with deep shadows and bright highlights. Shots often look "flatter" with little punch, adjusting levels and contrast improves the final result. There also can be artifacts because the three shots are not identical. I use it seldom for that.

Alternative for your objects here is shooting RAW, underexpose a little bit and recover shadows and highlights in your RAW editor. I under-expose because recovering shadows is more forgive-full than highlights. The center point leveling is easily adjustable in post.

A Pentax K1 at base ISO captures about 12 stops Dynamic Range, in most situations that is enough.

The human eye is capable catching 24 stops of DR, so sensor technology is rather inferior from that aspect and there is a way to go :-)

Good info and thanks! More experience is needed here for me, haven't really played with HDR at all. As time allows...