topic Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Mkiv — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 04:38:11 GMT

What is the best way to capture the highest possible dynamic range in a single frame(not video)on the Canon R6 Mark II? I’m not talking about HDR processing and compositing of multiple images, rather capturing the highest amount of highlight and shadow in a single frame. My guess would have something to do with custom profiles? I realize that the out of camera image may be flat but that is adjustable in post processing. TIA

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

FloridaDrafter — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 05:17:58 GMT

The R6 mark II already has above average dynamic range, but if you have the gear, like an HDR monitor and GPU, you can shoot in HDR PQ. It looks amazing on my system and they print nicely. The downside is, sharing the shots can be problematic in that others have to have the same HDR viewing capabilities. I'm not sure how LR or PS handles these files (Raw or HEIF) because I edit them in DPP 4. I've sent the HEIF files produced from the HDR Raw files to my sister who uses Apple products and she says they are superb and her and her daughter are graphic artists. Anyway, visit page 191 of the advanced users manual.

HDR PQ

Newton

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Peter — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 08:25:32 GMT

Raw at ISO 100.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

shadowsports — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 12:03:28 GMT

I was already thinking in line with what Peter replied. I was going to say RAW and IOS 200 🤣

In this scenario, this one leg of the exposure triangle allows the sensor to capture and perform at its max capability. Of course aperture and shutter speed are important too as the better an image is exposed originally gives the most control in post. You can also use a histogram and zebras if your camera supports the latter to achieve the best exposure for your shooting conditions. Although white balance is a function of color, its accuracy helps with perceived clarity overall. It will not pull more DR from the shadows, but it's accuracy does affect the characteristics of the final photo making it look more visually pleasing.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

rs-eos — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 12:08:19 GMT

Check out the Zone System.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

shadowsports — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:33:55 GMT

This is what Ricky - RS-EOS is referring to:

Zone System - Wikipedia

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Stephen — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:40:09 GMT

Do you guys know of any helpful YouTube videos that break this down visually - for those of us who have a hard time digesting so much technical information all at once without actually seeing it in action? I'm sure the Community would appreciate that! 😊

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

rs-eos — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:13:51 GMT

Will try to find some later. I know Canon Explorer of Light Joel Grimes has some videos explaining the zone system. Along with more technical videos on bit depth in images which I feel would be good supplemental info.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

rs-eos — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 16:48:34 GMT

I found the following video and feel it's put together very nicely to show off four different examples of using the zone system for landscapes. While a film camera was being used, everything would translate to digital:

How To Measure Exposure For Film Photography - The Zone System (Ansel Adams)

Video from Joel Grimes on bit depth in images. Doesn't describe the zone system (I'm thinking I saw that in some of his paid content I purchased years ago), but it speaks to the importance of capturing in higher bit depths. As others already pointed out, that would be in RAW in which case you'll have 14 bits per channel to work with. Versus if you capture in JPEG, you'd only have 8 bits per channel. Joel also describes taking multiple exposures and combining them in post in Photoshop as 32 bits per channel images. That allows the maximum flexibility in editing.

The Secret to High Detailed Photography

Finally, an article from Fstoppers:

How to Use the Ansel Adams Zone System in the Digital World

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

ebiggs1 — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 15:11:19 GMT

"... the highest possible dynamic range in a single frame..."

~~"Raw at ISO 100."~~ "I was going to say RAW and IOS 200"

... with proper light and exposure.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Mkiv — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:01:51 GMT

Thank you for the info Newton. I have been experimenting with the HDR PQ and Highlight Tone Priority. I did some shooting with these features and then exported to jpg and tiff. The results were good on a non HDR monitor. I usually have to export to jpg for my agency. I am a run and gun photojournalist that usually shoots in Aperture Priority. I am looking for a solution that lets me continue to do that while capturing the maximum amount of highlights and shadows. If the image is flat out of camera I don’t mind because I always post process my files. I use Adobe Camera Raw. As far as Highlight Tone Priority goes do you recommend D+ or D+2? or does D+2 go too far in the noise direction? What do you think of Auto Lighting Optimizer? I have also looked into the “shooting to the right” technique. Some people commenting on my post advise shooting at very low ISO. In a controlled situation that works great. I however often find myself in very dark environments. I am noticing a move within photojournalism where the final image looks a bit underexposed and flat and the highlights are rarely blown out with good detail in the shadows and subdued colors.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Mkiv — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:04:44 GMT

Hello Peter, thank you for your reply. I commented on FloridaDrafter’s advice above.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Mkiv — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:05:26 GMT

Hello Rick, thank you for your reply. I commented on FloridaDrafter’s advice above.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Mkiv — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:05:49 GMT

Hello Ricky, thank you for your reply. I commented on FloridaDrafter’s advice above.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Mkiv — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:07:14 GMT

Hello Stephen, thank you for your reply. I commented on FloridaDrafter’s advice above.

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

FloridaDrafter — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 21:00:17 GMT

@Mkiv wrote:
I am noticing a move within photojournalism where the final image looks a bit underexposed and flat and the highlights are rarely blown out with good detail in the shadows and subdued colors.

There is an older article by James Maher who is a NYC based photographer that documents city activity. The article is "Why You Should Make Dark Images". I would post the link, but it would probably get removed per forum guidelines, but you can probably Google it (I did).

I'm not sure it will help with your HDR, but it is an interesting read. There are some good "comments" from other photographers as well.

Newton

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

FloridaDrafter — Sat, 07 Oct 2023 01:20:39 GMT

@Mkiv wrote:
"Thank you for the info Newton."
"As far as Highlight Tone Priority goes do you recommend D+ or D+2? or does D+2 go too far in the noise direction? What do you think of Auto Lighting Optimizer? I have also looked into the “shooting to the right” technique."

You are welcome, and sorry it took so long to get back with you.

My preference is, for normal shooting, to disable Highlight tone priority but use D+ when shooting HDR PQ. I have "For HDR PQ, use D+" ticked so it activates when I'm shooting HDR PQ. BTW, I don't have that option on my R5, so I have to manually set it to D+. I keep Auto lighting optimizer set to normal, but I sometimes turn it off in post (DPP 4), it just depends on how bad it disrupts the ambience of the shot.

Canon is really banking on the HEIF format replacing jpeg. At this point, it's just a novelty, IMHO, but I really enjoy using it and the HDR Raw files that produce them. It is a superior format in almost every way, it's just getting it inserted into our viewing and editing workflow that's been slow, particularly in the Windows PC world, apple users have at least been able to view it for some time now. Replacing a well established format is tough.

Newton

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Peter — Sat, 07 Oct 2023 08:12:24 GMT

Highlight Tone Priority is mainly for JPEG and perhaps also HEIF. For raw shooters it doesn't really matter more than that your camera will light meter differently, around 1 stop darker. The embedded JPEG in the raw file will be brighter. Shooting at ISO 200D+ will be like shooting ISO 100 with exposure compensation set to -1. And shooting at ISO 50 will be like shooting at ISO 100 with exposure compensation set to +1. Photonstophotos shows here that ISO 50 and ISO 100 are just the same, raw wise

https://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/PDR.htm#Canon%20EOS%20R6%20Mark%20II

With Hraw you can measure the dynamic range yourself, but I have already done it for you

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

johnrmoyer — Sat, 07 Oct 2023 12:01:57 GMT

@Mkiv wrote:
Thank you for the info Newton. I have been experimenting with the HDR PQ and Highlight Tone Priority. I did some shooting with these features and then exported to jpg and tiff. The results were good on a non HDR monitor. I usually have to export to jpg for my agency. I am a run and gun photojournalist that usually shoots in Aperture Priority. I am looking for a solution that lets me continue to do that while capturing the maximum amount of highlights and shadows. If the image is flat out of camera I don’t mind because I always post process my files. I use Adobe Camera Raw. As far as Highlight Tone Priority goes do you recommend D+ or D+2? or does D+2 go too far in the noise direction? What do you think of Auto Lighting Optimizer? I have also looked into the “shooting to the right” technique. Some people commenting on my post advise shooting at very low ISO. In a controlled situation that works great. I however often find myself in very dark environments. I am noticing a move within photojournalism where the final image looks a bit underexposed and flat and the highlights are rarely blown out with good detail in the shadows and subdued colors.

Apple photos.app included with macOS seems to do well at converting the Canon HIF to a pleasing JPEG. GraphicsMagick also seems to me to do a pleasing conversion.

I am assuming that one has limited time to get the photo and that getting a photo for documentation is more important than getting a perfect photo. This is what I have done and I do not claim it is the best way to do things, but I hope some of it might be helpful anyway. Using the software built into the camera seems important to me under these circumstances so I would keep at least some settings on auto.

If editing a RAW instead of sharing out of camera JPEG or HIF: In DPP, it seems better to me to disable the HDR PQ and use the dynamic range adjustment ( https://cam.start.canon/en/S002/manual/html/UG-04_EditImage_0040.html "Adjusting Dynamic Range" ) and if that is not enough, then use curves. It seems to me that the problem with the DPP conversion from HIF to JPEG is that it follows the HDR PQ standard more closely than the other programs so that the other programs give a more pleasing to me result. On my iMac screen, the HIF is stunning and Photos.app converts to a pleasing JPEG.

For a Northern Cardinal or a red flower in sunlight, I use exposure compensation of -2/3 EV and if backlit, a positive exposure compensation. This seems to work better for me than the Auto lighting optimizer and is a quick turn of one wheel on the camera before the bird flies away. The negative exposure compensation seems to work better for me than the Highlight Tone Priority. I speculate that Auto Lighting Optimizer, Highlight Tone Priority, or Peripheral Illumination Correction enabled in the camera might result in the camera choosing a different exposure than otherwise when any setting is auto, so I disable all three in the camera menus and only apply them later in DPP if desired.

I suggest auto ISO, possibly limiting the range, to take full advantage of the knowledge embedded in the camera software instead of a fixed ISO. I base this on the assumption that getting a photo to document something is more important than getting a perfect photo. In post processing, noise reduction loses detail for very high ISO. Down scaling the image followed by unsharp mask makes it look good again. The downscaling also helps with motion blur if one had to make the photo with slow shutter in a very dark setting.

As an example, here is a fox that would come to my house every night. I put a spoon full of grape jelly on the stump to attract birds, but the fox liked it too. The photo was made through double paned glass in a door and the only illumination was porch light far from the fox. The camera is an EOS R5 which was new to me and I was still learning how to use.

F Number	5.0
ISO	25600
Shutter Speed Value	1/83
Focal Length	286.0 mm
Focus Distance Upper	10.47 m
Focus Distance Lower	8.99 m
Lens Model	EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Edits in DPP as shown by exiftool from the saved recipe dr4 file:

LuminanceNoiseReduction : 12
ChrominanceNoiseReduction : 12
DLOSetting : 40.7646484375
GammaContrast : 0
GammaColorTone : 0
GammaSaturation : 1
GammaUnsharpMaskStrength : 3
GammaUnsharpMaskFineness : 4
GammaUnsharpMaskThreshold : 3
GammaSharpnessStrength : 4
GammaShadow : -2
GammaHighlight : 0
GammaBlackPoint : +0.000
GammaWhitePoint : -0.367
GammaMidPoint : +0.000
GammaCurveOutputRange : 0 16383
CropAspectRatio : 5:4
CropX : 1087
CropY : 192
CropWidth : 4000
CropHeight : 3200

Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), May 22, 2021

https://www.rsok.com/~jrm/2021May26_birds_and_cats/2021may22_fox_IMG_1313c.html

Re: Maximum dynamic range single image shooting on R6 Mark II

Mkiv — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 09:20:07 GMT

Thank you for the reply and information. I am sending this same reply to you and a few others that have commented on my post about capture of dynamic range on the R6 Mark II. I am sending this generic reply because for some reason I am not able to log into my Canon Community profile on my desktop computer and can only access it on mobile, so typing takes a long time, but that’s another story.

After reviewing your input, I have done some testing. I always shoot RAW in Adobe RGB. I also almost always shoot in Aperture Priority while manually adjusting my Exposure Compensation. I have tried HDR PQ with and without D+ and D+2. I am wondering however, if I am always shooting in RAW, are all of these techniques really capturing more dynamic range? It seems that in my type of photography(photojournalism), that I tend to be more concerned with my highlights not blowing out. On looking at my histogram after shooting with HDR PQ, I noticed that there seems to be a visible limit line on the highlights. Therefore, are HDR PQ and D+ or D+2 just a way of preserving my highlight detail? Or is this method only helping my visual perception of the image on the camera back? Once again, because I am always shooting in RAW, does any of this matter? Is the sensor just capturing everything it can by default when shooting RAW and therefore I should just be concerned with highlight preservation?

I looked on YouTube for videos on HDR PQ and D+ but was only able to find videos on shooting video and not stills. It seems that most of the instructional videos there cater to video shooters, not still shooters.

TIA

Gabriel