Need info on auto HDR asap thanks

So I bought an A65 which i might have to return in a few days based on what ive been reading on the web but im unclear as to what settings on this one and other sony cameras are for this. There are posts saying on the A65 the steps can be very small such as 0.3 or 0.7 While on the A77 its as much as 3 EV. Yet when I look in cd manual for A65 it says range is 2 to 6 stops. By 2 they say they mean -1 to +1. Does this mean they upgraded something since writing features? Does anyone know which is true and what possible settings are for each model including other models such as A580 etc. Ive even read that in cheaper older models the options are better which i have a hard time believing, maybe someone was misinformed. And which camera has the most options/range for auto HDR feature? Lastly, which cameras give you more than just one resulting hdr file? Thanks a lot

Bit of an edit. So I just got off the phone with Sony tech support and they told me every camera whether its the A65 or A77 or NEX 7 in auto HDR all take 3 photos and theyre all 6 stops max. I thought I read somewhere that A77 can take 5 photos in auto hdr. Sony said the 0.3 or 0.7 increment applies ot bracketing not auto HDR and that theres no difference between A77 and A65 in terms of auto HDR functionality. Can someone confirm? I am so confused and need to make a decision

PLPhotographer said:

Bit of an edit. So I just got off the phone with Sony tech support and they told me every camera whether its the A65 or A77 or NEX 7 in auto HDR all take 3 photos and theyre all 6 stops max.

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True - the 'HDR' mode can be set to Auto, or can be manually set from 1 stop to 6 stops EV. This is the mode that takes 3 frames quickly, and merges them together in camera to deliver a single HDR merged photo.

This is different than bracketing, and manually taking your own set of photos to merge in software after the fact, which is what most other folks on the web are talking about. For this, you need to see what the maximum bracketing range is for the camera in the exposure bracketing mode...with most Sony cameras, it is indeed only + -0.7 EV. The A77 being an exception. Also of note: you don't HAVE to use bracketing mode to take manual HDR exposures to blend - if you set up the camera on a tripod and take a series of photos where you manually adjust the exposure by a stop or two at a time, you can take any EV range you want and any number of photos you want - bracketing is what people use when they are trying to eliminate motion blur between a series of shots from handheld action, as it takes 3 photos relatively quickly. Sony's HDR mode does the same, but also does the blending of the HDR in the camera so the output is a single, final HDR photo.

PLPhotographer said:

I thought I read somewhere that A77 can take 5 photos in auto hdr.

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Nope - just 3.

PLPhotographer said:

Sony said the 0.3 or 0.7 increment applies ot bracketing not auto HDR and that theres no difference between A77 and A65 in terms of auto HDR functionality. Can someone confirm? I am so confused and need to make a decision

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This is true. The A65 & A77 HDR mode is identical in action. Where the A77 has an advantage is for manually taking bracketed exposures in the bracketing mode, where the EV range is greater.

--
Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

Thanks for the quicky reply. Yes Im aware of bracketing and using photomatix etc but someone on the web was saying for AUTO the A77 is better, im glad its not because its more money. Is there a better camera for auto HDR than the A65? Any brand. I heard the Nikon5100 i believe only does two photos and Pentax I didnt look into. I can only afford one cam for this. As for the A65's picture mode of HDR painting, IM assuming thats the same across the board in sony as well= there are no enhancements to it on any other model?

With the A77 the options are Auto 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 ev. Plus you can control what it varies by the mode S, A and ISO. I'm not sure on the A65, I think it is the same except the ev is like .3, .7 and 1.

The 5 you are thinking about is bracketing where .3, .5 & .7 ev have 3 & 5 shots but 2 and 3 ev only do 3.

--
Sarge

A77, A700 8mm Bower, 50mm 1.7, 35-70 F4, 90mm Tamron, 18-250 Sigma & 50-500 Bigma
Fisheye photos at http://sony-snapper.com/Fish-Eye/index.html
Toy - Asus Transformer Android 3.2.1 tablet
Albums at http://www.sony-snapper.com

So youre saying A77 is different for incam HDR??

My A65 says I can do anything from 1-6 ev. This refers to entire range not single step. So in manual it says setting a range of 2 ev means it uses photos at -1, 0, +1 to make final jpg.

And the other guy complaining was saying ev is only .3 or .7 on the A65 which means what, max of 3x.7 in each direction? Why would Sony say the two cameras are same in regards to auto hdr?

Edward Sargent said:

With the A77 the options are Auto 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 ev. Plus you can control what it varies by the mode S, A and ISO. I'm not sure on the A65, I think it is the same except the ev is like .3, .7 and 1.

The 5 you are thinking about is bracketing where .3, .5 & .7 ev have 3 & 5 shots but 2 and 3 ev only do 3.

--
Sarge

A77, A700 8mm Bower, 50mm 1.7, 35-70 F4, 90mm Tamron, 18-250 Sigma & 50-500 Bigma
Fisheye photos at http://sony-snapper.com/Fish-Eye/index.html
Toy - Asus Transformer Android 3.2.1 tablet
Albums at http://www.sony-snapper.com

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PLPhotographer said:

So youre saying A77 is different for incam HDR??

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No...they are the same. ALL Sony cameras use in-camera HDR the same way - you have the following choices: Auto, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 EV. The camera always shoots 3 photos and merges them in this mode. The A65 is identical to the A77 to the A580 to the A55 to the NEX5N to the NEX7 and even to Sony P&S models in this regard.

PLPhotographer said:

And the other guy complaining was saying ev is only .3 or .7 on the A65 which means what, max of 3x.7 in each direction? Why would Sony say the two cameras are same in regards to auto hdr?

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Again, there's a mixup between 'exposure bracketing' and 'HDR mode'. Exposure bracketing on the A65 is the one that has the two bracket modes - .3 and .7EV. For these, it will take 3 shots at +.3 or .7, 0, and -.3 or.7. This is where the A77 has a more advanced mode - in exposure bracketing. But for in-camera HDR, they are identical.

As for other cameras, Sony does seem to have the best implementation of any camera. Others either do 2 image stacking, or do not align as well when merging, and some even require tripods to be used. Sony's merging and aligning is excellent and they have by far the longest experience with this type of processing as they've been doing in-camera stacking for years now.

--
Justin
galleries: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

Have you failed to take a photo you wanted ?

If you look long enough on the Interweb,
you can get any opinion you like about anything;
some might even be accurate.
Read the manual, take some test shots and make your own mind up.

Face it, a single RAW shot can provide enough info
for a very good software HDR shot.
I doubt your A65 can't do a good RAW.
--

Well, there are those cases where the DR is too great even for the best Sony RAW file. When I shoot a nice interior with a pretty view outside the windows, Auto Exposure Bracketing allows me to do this without a truckload of lighing. In these cases, it is nice to have AEB. I suppose the Auto HDR is nice too, but I like the flexibility of being able to work with RAW files.

Ron Poelman said:

Have you failed to take a photo you wanted ?

If you look long enough on the Interweb,
you can get any opinion you like about anything;
some might even be accurate.
Read the manual, take some test shots and make your own mind up.

Face it, a single RAW shot can provide enough info
for a very good software HDR shot.
I doubt your A65 can't do a good RAW.
--

Click to expand...

To try to clarify, the A65 and A77 have the same Auto-HDR parameters, up to +-3 stops (i.e. 6 stops total) from a single shutter press, and this is a JPEG-only process. If you're looking to cook your own HDR's (etc.) from multiple RAW or JPEG exposures, the Sony's aren't very flexible; most brands have more in the way of what you can do. While you can always set up your bracketing with manual exposures, a flexible bracketing system saves time and, when using a relatively fast shutter speed, can enable handheld RAW HDR work. Depending on the scene and how you configure the Auto-HDR (JPEG) settings, you might have to do some PP work in order to get it the way you'd like; I have a feeling Sony also adds some of the feature of the "multiple-exposure NR" in the Auto-HDR process, so that would be a bonus.

One artifact that I'm not sure of with the A65/A77, but have seen in A55 Auto-HDR images is that sometimes its ghosting capabilities aren't up to something like Photomatix. The latter shines re:ghosting but you could expect that, given the extra processing power available and the extra time it can take to do it.

--
Rich

http://philosurfer.zenfolio.com/

I like this board already, theres always someone with humor. I was simply looking to find out which camera has the most auto hdr options since i like the feature. Ive used photomatix and 7 other hdr programs and my 3 better slr bodies do a nice job of bracketing, whether its 3 or 5 photos and raw. Thanks everyone for clarifying esp zackie ill stick to the A65 since $ is an issue. Glad to have found this board for sony.

Ron Poelman said:

Have you failed to take a photo you wanted ?

If you look long enough on the Interweb,
you can get any opinion you like about anything;
some might even be accurate.
Read the manual, take some test shots and make your own mind up.

Face it, a single RAW shot can provide enough info
for a very good software HDR shot.
I doubt your A65 can't do a good RAW.
--

Click to expand...

Of course you can put any camera on a tripod and take an hour if you want to take 3 or 5 bracketed images for HDR, but the A65 cannot take 3 widely bracketed pictures fast because that's not an option in auto bracket. Same as the A55. So if you want to hand hold your own 3 images for HDR it isn't going to work with the A65.

I just wanted to mention depending on what you want there is a huge difference because you need a tripod for the A55 or A65 bracketing because the auto bracketing options are lame.

Auto HDR is the same for the two though.

--
Judy
http://nichollsphoto.com/

Page 129 of the A65 Handbook states, You cannot use the Auto HDR function on RAW images. And, When the exposure mode is set to AUTO, AUTO+, Sweep Panaroma, 3D Sweep Panaroma, Continuous Advance Priority AE or Scent Selection, or when [Multi Framne Noise Reduct.] is selected, you cannot select [Auto HDR.].