Time lapse, HDR, Shutter Bulb Setting

Hi again,

I'm still trying to figure out the A700 vs. 40D thing, but in the mean time, I'm trying to get better acquainted with the 40D's feature set.

A few questions I was hoping to get advice on:

1.) If I wanted to try out HDR photography with the 40D, does the auto-bracketing seem to have enough range to produce good results?

2.) I see the Canon supports time lapse via a computer connection. Does this work well, or would I likely need to buy a timed remote? Does the software run well enough on a Mac?

3.) On the shutter bulb mode, if I understand correctly, I could keep the shutter open for longer than 30 seconds, right? Is there a way to do that without keeping my hand on the shutter button? Is there still a limit of some sort on how long it can stay open?

4.) Any other super duper features I should know about?

Thanks!

-Tim

--
Tim Butler, asisaid.com

Timothy R Butler said:

Hi again,
I'm still trying to figure out the A700 vs. 40D thing, but in the
mean time, I'm trying to get better acquainted with the 40D's feature
set.

Click to expand...

Uh oh...cue the Canon fanboy attacks on anyone considering non-Canon equipment.

Timothy R Butler said:

1.) If I wanted to try out HDR photography with the 40D, does the
auto-bracketing seem to have enough range to produce good results?

Click to expand...

For HDR, you need exposures that are 1 stop apart, with a minimum of 3 (the more the merrier). Every camera that does auto-bracketing will get you the minimum, but no camera will get you what you really want, which is 5 to 7 exposures 1 stop apart.

To do this, I usually dial in + -1 stop bracketing in manual mode and underexpose 1 stop. That gets me -2, -1, and 0. Then I repeat after overexposing the baseline shot 2 stops, that gets me +1, +2, and +3. (Note this is biased toward capturing highlights in the final HDR image--if I'm aiming for a low-key HDR image, then I set my under baseline to -2 and my over baseline to +1 instead.)

The 40D only allows a max of + -2 stops EC. Nikon (and others?) go out to + -3, which is more convenient for HDR because it would allow you to leave in Av, for instance, if that's your usual shooting preference. Then you could just dial in the baseline hi and lo exposures using EC without switching to manual. In my way of thinking, though, HDR is itself a pretty specialty function, so it's not unreasonable for the manufacturer to expect and require you to take complete control.

Timothy R Butler said:

2.) I see the Canon supports time lapse via a computer connection.
Does this work well, or would I likely need to buy a timed remote?
Does the software run well enough on a Mac?

Click to expand...

I've never used the computer control features. I understand the work as advertised. Unless you're doing time lapse in a studio, though, you're not going to be tethered to a computer. (I guess you could bring a laptop out in the field, but good luck with keeping things running on batteries long enough for any significant time lapse control functions.)

For this kind of photography, I strongly recommend the remote release (TC-80N3). I have it and use it nearly every time my camera goes on the tripod. (If you're planning to buy an L plate for your 40D, post here first--I can give you some advice on that too.)

Timothy R Butler said:

3.) On the shutter bulb mode, if I understand correctly, I could keep
the shutter open for longer than 30 seconds, right? Is there a way to
do that without keeping my hand on the shutter button? Is there still
a limit of some sort on how long it can stay open?

Click to expand...

You're correct. Bulb mode keeps the shutter open as long as you keep your finger on the button. You can imagine how hard it would be to do this for longer than 30 secs without shaking the camera, though, even on a sturdy tripod. This is intended to be used with the remote shutter release. For any remote release-controlled exposures, the camera must be set to Bulb mode for the remote release to take over the shutter release function. Then you can set the remote to do timer, time lapse, delay, or any combination. Or, if you choose to just use the thumb button on the remote release, when the button is depressed you can slide a lock over it that keeps it depressed until you unlock it. This is for non-programmed bulb shots, as you might wish to use for light painting (since you're supplying all the light, the actual time the shutter spends open is immaterial unless there's ambient light outside your control).

Timothy R Butler said:

4.) Any other super duper features I should know about?

Click to expand...

Since upgrading from the 30D to the 40D, I have been amazed--positively blown away--by the low-light performance. After comparing with my 30D shots, I can honestly say that the 40D set at ISO 3200 is putting out similar noise levels to when the 30D was at ISO 800. (I haven't done a scientific study or anything, this is just my impression by eye.)

One thing I would strongly encourage you to do--get your hands on the models you're considering. You might decide that you love the features of one camera over another--but if you go to hold it and it's not comfortable and you don't think you can adapt or there's some annoying button placement that you can't get used to, you're going to miss shots. I personally find the 40D one of the most comfortable cameras I've ever laid hands on, and so my friends that ask me for camera-buying advice are always shocked when I tell them they might feel differently. One size definitely does not fit all, and I've (briefly) used great cameras that I wasn't comfortable with.

Another big consideration when buying a dSLR body--the camera's only half the equation, and in any case you'll likely be rid of it in 18 months to 2 years when you upgrade to the next body. The lenses, flash, and other accessories you'll be stuck with for the better part of a decade or more (unless you have tons of money, in which case, just buy all the models you're looking at!). Make sure you get educated on the glass and you have a plan for acquisition in mind. If the lenses you'd really like aren't available...that would have a big impact on my decision about a body.

severoon said:

Uh oh...cue the Canon fanboy attacks on anyone considering non-Canon
equipment.

Click to expand...

Heh. Hopefully they will have mercy on me and help enlighten me instead. ;-)

severoon said:

The 40D only allows a max of + -2 stops EC. Nikon (and others?) go
out to + -3, which is more convenient for HDR because it would allow
you to leave in Av, for instance, if that's your usual shooting
preference. Then you could just dial in the baseline hi and lo
exposures using EC without switching to manual. In my way of
thinking, though, HDR is itself a pretty specialty function, so it's
not unreasonable for the manufacturer to expect and require you to
take complete control.

Click to expand...

Makes sense. I didn't think about the fact that you could just take two sets of exposures... good idea!

severoon said:

For this kind of photography, I strongly recommend the remote release
(TC-80N3). I have it and use it nearly every time my camera goes on
the tripod. (If you're planning to buy an L plate for your 40D, post
here first--I can give you some advice on that too.)

Click to expand...

Thanks! This is going to sound dumb, but what is an "L plate"?

severoon said:

Since upgrading from the 30D to the 40D, I have been
amazed--positively blown away--by the low-light performance. After
comparing with my 30D shots, I can honestly say that the 40D set at
ISO 3200 is putting out similar noise levels to when the 30D was at
ISO 800. (I haven't done a scientific study or anything, this is just
my impression by eye.)

Click to expand...

That's good to hear. I'd love to be able to use high ISO's without much in the way of noise. There are too many times a flash just doesn't seem practical, and even ISO 800 or 1600 would solve the problem neatly.

severoon said:

Another big consideration when buying a dSLR body--the camera's only
half the equation, and in any case you'll likely be rid of it in 18
months to 2 years when you upgrade to the next body. The lenses,
flash, and other accessories you'll be stuck with for the better part
of a decade or more (unless you have tons of money, in which case,
just buy all the models you're looking at!). Make sure you get
educated on the glass and you have a plan for acquisition in mind. If
the lenses you'd really like aren't available...that would have a big
impact on my decision about a body.

Click to expand...

Thanks. That's one part that is really confusing me. I seem to be having a hard time finding the perfect lens for my purposes in the Canon lineup for my main lens, but it seems like it has so much variety for other lenses I might need. Hmm...

Thanks again,
Tim

--
Tim Butler, asisaid.com

Why are you not considering the Nikon Bodies the D200 and D300 all have time lapse including without additional expensive.
http://nickmjr.smugmug.com/
Nick M

Here is one of the first I tried with the 40d - I still need practice. This is my firt post of a photo to the forum.

Timothy R Butler said:

Hi again,
I'm still trying to figure out the A700 vs. 40D thing, but in the
mean time, I'm trying to get better acquainted with the 40D's feature
set.

A few questions I was hoping to get advice on:

1.) If I wanted to try out HDR photography with the 40D, does the
auto-bracketing seem to have enough range to produce good results?

Click to expand...

Even though it sounds convenient - you usually want more than three photos of a scene from almost completely dark to completely light. i average 5-8 photos. It is really easy to do this manually. Just make sure you have a sturdy tripod and don't move the camera.

Timothy R Butler said:

2.) I see the Canon supports time lapse via a computer connection.
Does this work well, or would I likely need to buy a timed remote?
Does the software run well enough on a Mac?

Click to expand...

Never used it to do this. Wouldn't work unless you had a laptop in the field where you are taking the shot.

Timothy R Butler said:

3.) On the shutter bulb mode, if I understand correctly, I could keep
the shutter open for longer than 30 seconds, right? Is there a way to
do that without keeping my hand on the shutter button? Is there still
a limit of some sort on how long it can stay open?

Click to expand...

I have one of these and use it ALL the time. http://www.adorama.com/CARS80N3.html

The button locks in the on position to take a photo of any length of time (within the battery limit of the camera). There are cheaper off-brand versions of this same device.

Timothy R Butler said:

4.) Any other super duper features I should know about?

Click to expand...

Yes - turn off the noise reduction for long exposures unless you want to stand around forever waiting for your photos to finish. A 3 minute exposure will take 6 minutes to complete. Do noise RD on your RAW files.

Timothy R Butler said:

Thanks!

-Tim

--
Tim Butler, asisaid.com

Click to expand...

Timothy R Butler said:

Timothy R Butler said:

The 40D only allows a max of + -2 stops EC. Nikon (and others?) go
out to + -3, which is more convenient for HDR because it would allow
you to leave in Av, for instance, if that's your usual shooting
preference. Then you could just dial in the baseline hi and lo
exposures using EC without switching to manual. In my way of
thinking, though, HDR is itself a pretty specialty function, so it's
not unreasonable for the manufacturer to expect and require you to
take complete control.

Click to expand...

Makes sense. I didn't think about the fact that you could just take
two sets of exposures... good idea!

Click to expand...

There's no cameras available (that I know about) in our price range that will bracket more than 3 shots, and really if you only feed the HDR filter 3 shots you're not going to get a very good result. You can get almost the same result from shooting one RAW that splits the difference of the exposure, process it once for shadows, once for highlights, and merge the result manually in Photoshop or run HDR on them.

The default HDR shot usually requires at least 4 of 5 exposures.

Timothy R Butler said:

Timothy R Butler said:

For this kind of photography, I strongly recommend the remote release
(TC-80N3). I have it and use it nearly every time my camera goes on
the tripod. (If you're planning to buy an L plate for your 40D, post
here first--I can give you some advice on that too.)

Click to expand...

Thanks! This is going to sound dumb, but what is an "L plate"?

Click to expand...

Actually, not dumb at all--I only found out about them when I had a specific need myself.

An L-plate is a quick release mount that wraps around the left side of the camera. Normally, on a tripod, if you want to go to portrait orientation you use the tripod head to flop the camera over on its side. I recently bought a very light travel tripod and it made me nervous to put a good amount of weight off-center. The L-plate allows me to loosen the quick release, slide the camera out, rotate it 90 degrees and remount on the tripod head in either orientation, keeping the weight of the camera solidly over the center of the tripod. If you have a sizable zoom, an external flash, and say a Lightsphere II diffuser hanging off that flash....

Timothy R Butler said:

Timothy R Butler said:

Since upgrading from the 30D to the 40D, I have been
amazed--positively blown away--by the low-light performance. After
comparing with my 30D shots, I can honestly say that the 40D set at
ISO 3200 is putting out similar noise levels to when the 30D was at
ISO 800. (I haven't done a scientific study or anything, this is just
my impression by eye.)

Click to expand...

That's good to hear. I'd love to be able to use high ISO's without
much in the way of noise. There are too many times a flash just
doesn't seem practical, and even ISO 800 or 1600 would solve the
problem neatly.

Click to expand...

Keep in mind I know very little about Nikon. I can only compare the 40D to the 30D. I've heard that Nikons have always performed better than Canon at high ISO...but then I've also heard even before the 40D that this was wishful thinking by the opposition. It's hard to sort out the facts from the fanboy-ism sometimes.

I can say that way back when I bought the 20D right after it came out, Canon was eating Nikon's lunch in the dSLR market. What Nikon had was high-priced inferior product. Nowadays, if you don't look at everything you're shorting yourself, because they're all similar in bang for the buck.

(Having said that, if you're going to buy today and you're looking at the Canon XTi, I'd probably wait for the replacement model in spring or go with the Nikon D40x instead--that one's only been out about 6 months and the Canon's about due to be replaced. On the other hand, the 40D was recently released and I'm not sure about it's Nikon counterpart.)

Anyway, about shooting in low light--large aperture lens is the best (and most expensive solution), then if that doesn't solve my problem I look to flash, ISO, or some combination. Believe it or not, even though I have the 580EX, on occasion I've found the on-camera flash on my 20/30/40D to do a fine job (sometimes it's all you need).

Timothy R Butler said:

Timothy R Butler said:

Another big consideration when buying a dSLR body--the camera's only
half the equation, and in any case you'll likely be rid of it in 18
months to 2 years when you upgrade to the next body. The lenses,
flash, and other accessories you'll be stuck with for the better part
of a decade or more (unless you have tons of money, in which case,
just buy all the models you're looking at!). Make sure you get
educated on the glass and you have a plan for acquisition in mind. If
the lenses you'd really like aren't available...that would have a big
impact on my decision about a body.

Click to expand...

Thanks. That's one part that is really confusing me. I seem to be
having a hard time finding the perfect lens for my purposes in the
Canon lineup for my main lens, but it seems like it has so much
variety for other lenses I might need. Hmm...

Click to expand...

I was out helping a friend this weekend--he's looking at a Nikon D40x--so I got a little familiar with Nikon's lens lineup. I have to say after shooting Canon for 4-5 years, I'm confused by Nikon's lenses. It seems they have a lot of lenses that break at 55mm (18-55, 55-200 are their standard kit lenses). For me, Canon's 17-85 and 70-300 make far more sense. For the type of shooting I do, I wasn't able to find a good mix of Nikon lenses that would be a natural fit.

Then again, my 20D was pretty much my first dSLR. So maybe my shooting has adapted itself to the equipment, and not the other way round.

NickMJr said:

Why are you not considering the Nikon Bodies the D200 and D300 all
have time lapse including without additional expensive.

Click to expand...

The Canons have time lapse features built in, too. I don't think there's a big difference between Nikon and Canon with regard to the issues the OP was asking about.

severoon said:

NickMJr said:

Why are you not considering the Nikon Bodies the D200 and D300 all
have time lapse including without additional expensive.

Click to expand...

The Canons have time lapse features built in, too. I don't think
there's a big difference between Nikon and Canon with regard to the
issues the OP was asking about.

Click to expand...

Sorry, but your mistaking a "delay timer" with "time lapse" photogaphy. The Canon 40D does not have time lapse without having to buy additional accessories.

Here is the definition of Time Lapse the Original Poster is referring to.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Exposure/Time_Lapse_01.htm

http://nickmjr.smugmug.com/
Nick M

severoon said:

Timothy R Butler said:

severoon said:

The 40D only allows a max of + -2 stops EC. Nikon (and others?) go
out to + -3, which is more convenient for HDR because it would allow
you to leave in Av, for instance, if that's your usual shooting
preference. Then you could just dial in the baseline hi and lo
exposures using EC without switching to manual. In my way of
thinking, though, HDR is itself a pretty specialty function, so it's
not unreasonable for the manufacturer to expect and require you to
take complete control.

Click to expand...

Makes sense. I didn't think about the fact that you could just take
two sets of exposures... good idea!

Click to expand...

There's no cameras available (that I know about) in our price range
that will bracket more than 3 shots, and really if you only feed the
HDR filter 3 shots you're not going to get a very good result. You
can get almost the same result from shooting one RAW that splits the
difference of the exposure, process it once for shadows, once for
highlights, and merge the result manually in Photoshop or run HDR on
them.

severoon said:

severoon said:

severoon said:

For this kind of photography, I strongly recommend the remote release

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

The default HDR shot usually requires at least 4 of 5 exposures.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Sorry, again your wrong again, Nikon have Cameras with the price range of the D80, D200 and D300 which can bracket from 2-9 frames of exposures.

http://nickmjr.smugmug.com/
Nick M

Well, sir, I suppose my overarching point is that pretty much all the cameras in the same price bracket these days are very similar. I also tried to make it pretty clear that I'm not very knowledgeable about Nikon, I'm a Canon user.

Clearly there are a few Nikon features I don't know about, but I didn't bother looking them up as they are immaterial to my main point. It is the personal experience of using these cameras that should be the deciding factor, not whether the Nikon has a time lapse function and the Canon doesn't. Not whether the Nikon brackets 9 shots and the Canon 3--that is, unless either of these things is very, very important to you, you're better off focusing on the mix of lenses you want and how the camera feels in your grasp.

In my humble opinion, all of the rest of what everyone says about Nikon vs. Canon vs. whoever is just noise.

Can you run the long exposure noise reduction on your raw files after the fact? I thought not--I thought LENR worked by sampling the noise floor on the sensor at the time of the exposure and subtracting it...

severoon said:

(If you're planning to buy an L plate for your 40D, post
here first--I can give you some advice on that too.)

Click to expand...

I am considering buying an L plate from RRS (Really Right Stuff) for mty 40D+BGE2. Any observations on that ?

--
Bob Alexander
My photoalbum: http://foton.zenfolio.com
40D, EF-S 10-22, EF 50 f/1.4, EF 100 f/2.8 macro, 580EX

http://cgi.ebay.ie/100M-Wireless-Remote-Shutter-Canon-1D-5D-30D-RS-80N3_W0QQitemZ150193281229QQihZ005QQcategoryZ64345QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Just got my one and works a treat.

If you hold the transmitter button for over 3 seconds it will lock the shutter open for bulb so you just give a quick press again to release. 300 foot range and half the price of a Canon cord.
--
Biorn
Ireland - cannon Fortee Dee
http://www.pbase.com/biorn

severoon said:

Well, sir, I suppose my overarching point is that pretty much all the
cameras in the same price bracket these days are very similar. I also
tried to make it pretty clear that I'm not very knowledgeable about
Nikon, I'm a Canon user.

Clearly there are a few Nikon features I don't know about, but I
didn't bother looking them up as they are immaterial to my main
point. It is the personal experience of using these cameras that
should be the deciding factor, not whether the Nikon has a time lapse
function and the Canon doesn't. Not whether the Nikon brackets 9
shots and the Canon 3--that is, unless either of these things is
very, very important to you, you're better off focusing on the mix of
lenses you want and how the camera feels in your grasp.

In my humble opinion, all of the rest of what everyone says about
Nikon vs. Canon vs. whoever is just noise.

Click to expand...

All due respect to you sir, I don't believe that the fact that theses features I mentioned about the Nikon is immaterial. While those facts and features are unimportant to you does not matter as to this thread. The original poster was looking for a camera with the ability to do time lapse and have auto-bracketing. I gave a good option for the original poster to consider.

So theres nothing that is immaterial about my posting and if your to be giving advice to someone whom is asking for it then you should take the time to repond with actual facts. Had the poster relied on your post claiming the Canon's have time lapse built-in then he would surely be disapointed when he discovers that someone gave him advice that was wrong simply because he was too lazy to look up the facts.
http://nickmjr.smugmug.com/
Nick M

NickMJr said:

All due respect to you sir, I don't believe that the fact that theses
features I mentioned about the Nikon is immaterial. While those facts
and features are unimportant to you does not matter as to this
thread. The original poster was looking for a camera with the
ability to do time lapse and have auto-bracketing. I gave a good
option for the original poster to consider.

So theres nothing that is immaterial about my posting and if your to
be giving advice to someone whom is asking for it then you should
take the time to repond with actual facts. Had the poster relied on
your post claiming the Canon's have time lapse built-in then he would
surely be disapointed when he discovers that someone gave him advice
that was wrong simply because he was too lazy to look up the facts.

Click to expand...

Sorry, you're right. Correct facts are better than incorrect facts, and I did mistake delay timer for time lapse, no doubt.

So let me correct myself here...to the OP:

Functions like bulb shooting, time lapse, etc, are pretty much specialty use functions...if you're using these things, you're doing a particular kind of shooting and you'll want the right equipment. Though it's possible to take HDR shots hand-held, for the most part you're going to want to be on a tripod because it's very likely that in most HDR situations that longest exposure isn't going to be hand-holdable.

In other words, you need a good, solid, sturdy tripod which you'll quickly render useless without a remote shutter release. So, what I should've said originally is: if you consider the Canon + TC-80N3 remote shutter release vs. the Nikon and their fancy remote shutter release (I don't know what it is, still too lazy to look it up), I doubt you'll find much you can do with one that you can't do with the other. (Also, keep in mind that the XTi replacement is due out next spring, and I think it's probably worth waiting for if you decide against the Nikon. Or, you can buy the XTi and sell it on ebay in a few months and take a hit of a few hundred dollars so you can start shooting now.)

Despite the protestations of the PP, if you do time lapse shooting or HDR shooting, you're not going to see much of a difference between these two cameras. Because, at the end of the day, the only sane way to do these things is to have the camera plus a tripod plus the remote shutter release, and the combination of those things gives you everything you want regardless of the manufacturer. If you add up the relative costs, the difference (again, my opinion) isn't significant enough to override important considerations like if the body feels comfortable in your grip, the lenses you want are available, etc.

severoon said:

NickMJr said:

All due respect to you sir, I don't believe that the fact that theses
features I mentioned about the Nikon is immaterial. While those facts
and features are unimportant to you does not matter as to this
thread. The original poster was looking for a camera with the
ability to do time lapse and have auto-bracketing. I gave a good
option for the original poster to consider.

So theres nothing that is immaterial about my posting and if your to
be giving advice to someone whom is asking for it then you should
take the time to repond with actual facts. Had the poster relied on
your post claiming the Canon's have time lapse built-in then he would
surely be disapointed when he discovers that someone gave him advice
that was wrong simply because he was too lazy to look up the facts.

Click to expand...

Sorry, you're right. Correct facts are better than incorrect facts,
and I did mistake delay timer for time lapse, no doubt.

So let me correct myself here...to the OP:

Functions like bulb shooting, time lapse, etc, are pretty much
specialty use functions...if you're using these things, you're doing
a particular kind of shooting and you'll want the right equipment.
Though it's possible to take HDR shots hand-held, for the most part
you're going to want to be on a tripod because it's very likely that
in most HDR situations that longest exposure isn't going to be
hand-holdable.

In other words, you need a good, solid, sturdy tripod which you'll
quickly render useless without a remote shutter release. So, what I
should've said originally is: if you consider the Canon + TC-80N3
remote shutter release vs. the Nikon and their fancy remote shutter
release (I don't know what it is, still too lazy to look it up), I
doubt you'll find much you can do with one that you can't do with the
other. (Also, keep in mind that the XTi replacement is due out next
spring, and I think it's probably worth waiting for if you decide
against the Nikon. Or, you can buy the XTi and sell it on ebay in a
few months and take a hit of a few hundred dollars so you can start
shooting now.)

Despite the protestations of the PP, if you do time lapse shooting or
HDR shooting, you're not going to see much of a difference between
these two cameras. Because, at the end of the day, the only sane way
to do these things is to have the camera plus a tripod plus the
remote shutter release, and the combination of those things gives you
everything you want regardless of the manufacturer. If you add up the
relative costs, the difference (again, my opinion) isn't significant
enough to override important considerations like if the body feels
comfortable in your grip, the lenses you want are available, etc.

Click to expand...

Basically Canon is charging $140 for that TC-80N3 time lapse device that could be included in there camera's firmware plus it requires extra battiers. I'd take the built in model any given day. Also with HDR, yes you can still manually shoot 9 different frames on a tripod but you have to change the exposure manually at the risk of shaking the tripod. The Nikons can take those 9 exposures automatically without risk of shaking the camera.
http://nickmjr.smugmug.com/
Nick M

NickMJr said:

Basically Canon is charging $140 for that TC-80N3 time lapse device
that could be included in there camera's firmware plus it requires
extra battiers. I'd take the built in model any given day. Also
with HDR, yes you can still manually shoot 9 different frames on a
tripod but you have to change the exposure manually at the risk of
shaking the tripod. The Nikons can take those 9 exposures
automatically without risk of shaking the camera.

Click to expand...

I didn't realize the retail price for that thing was $140--I picked it up on ebay for $40, and there are plenty of reputable sellers right now at or around that price.

In order for the Nikon solution to not shake the camera, you either have to set a delay timer in addition to the time lapse + bracketing configuration........or get a remote release.

Once again, I don't know the details of using the Nikon--if the configuration I describe above is even possible. I can say for my Canon, here's how I avoid shake:

• put the camera on a tripod
• set mirror lock up
• use remote release to set:
• exposure time
• 2 frame sequence
• 5 sec delay between frames

Now when I hit the start button on the remote shutter release, it first shutter release flips the mirror up, after 5 seconds the second one takes the exposure. If I need more exposures, as in the case of HDR, I dial in the new exposure time and click start again.

Alternatively, I can use mirror lock-up plus bracketing on the camera. I set the camera for MLU, + -1 stop exposure bracketing, continuous shooting mode, and dial in the base exposure. I set remote release to:

• 3 frame sequence (no delay)

I poke the main release button, that flips the mirror up. Wait a bit, then hit start on the remote release and it fires off the three bracketed shots (say 1", 2", and 4"). Then I can dial in on the camera to 16", hit the main release buton (flip mirror up), pause, then start, and it takes 8", 16", and 32". If I don't want to touch the camera in between the two sets of exposures, I use the remote release to dial in the new exposure times and take them one at a time.

There aren't many objective qualitative differences, particularly if you're comparing options in the same price bracket. It's all opinion and personal preference. I recommend the OP holds the cameras, assesses the lenses that will support his shooting style and move forward on the answers to those important questions. This time lapse / 9 exposure bracketing whiz-bang stuff is irrelevant to the decision. If it's relevant to your shooting style, then you pretty much have to get the remote release and the tripod and all that stuff, so take those costs into account and factor it into your decision. At the end of the day, those peripheral things aren't going to have a large impact on the decision of what body to buy.

One useful thing I can also add to help you use these forums more effectively--every username allows you to click on it to see that person's recent posting history. When you get information that might be useful from someone, sometimes it helps to put it in context by looking at their other posts and opinions.

A lot of times you'll see die-hard Nikon users disparaging Canon cameras in the Canon forums and vice versa. Weed those people out...that person's agenda is to get you to think like them, regardless of whether it's good for you or not.

severoon said:

One useful thing I can also add to help you use these forums more
effectively--every username allows you to click on it to see that
person's recent posting history. When you get information that might
be useful from someone, sometimes it helps to put it in context by
looking at their other posts and opinions.

A lot of times you'll see die-hard Nikon users disparaging Canon
cameras in the Canon forums and vice versa. Weed those people
out...that person's agenda is to get you to think like them,
regardless of whether it's good for you or not.

Click to expand...

You will see alot of Canon users whom are so used to having a Canon that they don't even know that there are Cameras that have a full set of features like Spot metering on every AF point, Time Lapse photography, 2-9 Frame auto-exposure bracketing, built-in wireless flash systems and builtin gridlines in the view finder just to name a few.

So the other context is that you should not depend on a Canon user to know the features of a Nikon, nor should you trust there opinion on such equipment.

It's almost like asking a Lawyer if you need a lawyer....
http://nickmjr.smugmug.com/
Nick M