topic Re: HDR in Share Your Photos

HDR

Ramsden — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:11:58 GMT

Now the HDR version- a couple of hours later, but the difference in detail is quite marked.

Ramsden

Re: HDR

LeeP — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:38:23 GMT

More detail but the grey is running wild.

And lest you think that's a jab at you, it isn't. I really value how you put your work in front of us

If you would see the plethora of grey I have in 50% of my black-and-white film shooting you'd see that this is a frustration I have with my own work.

I'm OK with grey if I have true white or true black, but solid grey frustrates me.

My $10 Pentax MV gives more consistent exposure than my supposedly more sophisticated K2, the latter deciding to lose its mind randomly for accuracy. I should shoot with my ME (my first camera) and my K1000 (my second camera) because they are spot on. I suppose I'd rather have something to complain about. My Nikon F and FM are also randomly quirky.

My R100 and R8 are stupendously good at getting black and white right. So when I feel the film frustration, I do some black and white work with my Canons and the universe is right again usually.

Re: HDR

SignifDigits — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 02:04:49 GMT

I believe Canon recommends exposure bracketing over in-camera HDR for landscape and highly contrasted scenes - I'm assuming because it flattens the contrast. I think the HDR did a good job of raising resolution, but think it lost a lot of the contrast "pop" of the grainier version. In the Ansel Adams 11 point scale there are few zeroes or tens and a lot in the middle, as LeeP suggests. I would personally probably want to post-process the HDR version if it were a photo I cared about (if not, I am old and tired and would either tuck it away for a rainy day or toss it as I have plenty of other projects).

Which do you like better and why?

Re: HDR

Ramsden — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:01:56 GMT

Morning guys

Thanks so much for your detailed analysis. The phrase 'greyed out' really sums up the HDR as did 'flattens the contrast' and using Ansel Adams scales.

I like the grainy photo for the house and stonework and the detail of the bushes with HDR. So I want a mix of both!

I'm hoping to get out later and work on exposure bracketing. Went out last night and messed up, due to having my dog (always on a lead) at the same time.

So I would like to get more detail and contrast, and the 'greyed out' is pretty boring to the eye. Ansel's photos seem to highlight the contrasts and make the 'black' shine.

We use our photos at home, to feed into a living room screen (Alexa) and I don't have the motivation to sit behind a computer tweaking shots for hours. So the more I can do in camera, the better.

If you could advise me how to improve the camera process that would be great. I'm currently working through the special effects and processes, but tweaking M Raw with bracketing is more appealing.

Last shot at 10:20pm last night, camera set on hand held night shot. At least its black!

Ramsden

Re: HDR

SignifDigits — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 10:30:58 GMT

As LeeP is the SOOC and B&W guru and I tend shoot RAW and use DPP4 I would look to him for in-camera settings and tweaks. I've worked in front of a computer my whole life so doing something fun in front of it is ok by me.

Re: HDR

Ramsden — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:03:43 GMT

Thanks- fully understand.

I've got DPP on my ipad which is ok for a short while but with dog, cricket and camera, life is quite busy!

Ramsden

Re: HDR

SignifDigits — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 13:04:47 GMT

I got an iPad specifically for photo processing and kind of hated it. I sold it and am back on a PC with a big calibrated OLED and am much happier. But that's just me. I have two 14" laptops that I can take with me on trips instead of the iPad.

Re: HDR

Ramsden — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 13:19:34 GMT

That is a serious amount of equipment.

No pressure then!