Auto Exposure Bracketing in Auto ISO

[Lee_Jay]

I have a 7D Mark II, but I understand this is the same with other cameras.

When you set auto ISO in manual mode, and change exposure compensation, it changes ISO.  Good.

When you set auto ISO in manual mode, and use auto exposure bracketing, it changes shutter speed.  Not good.

I understand the thinking here, even if I think it's wrong, so instead of just "fixing it", I'd recommend a custom function for selecting which you want it to do.  In my case, I actually want manual mode to behave like manual mode rather than behaving like Av mode which is the current behavior with AEB in manual mode.  If I had wanted the behavior to be like Av mode, I would have set it in Av mode!

[JoeJackson]

Dynamic Range is everywhere..

Now for those who may not know about shooting in a studio or outdoors. 

Shutter Speed ONLY controls your AMBIENT light. Thus the light from your flash or studio strobe is NOT effected by the shutter speed.

ISO and Aperture will however effect both your Ambient and Flash power.

But since Aperture bracketing is like the most horrible idea ever becuase of how it screws with DoF.

Your only option is ISO. 

Now while most of you may be popular contributers, many of you are simply not experienced enough to understand why anyone would want this. So I encourage you to go Google for Joel Grimes and look at his portfolio online. He is one of the top photographers in the world today and he brackets ISO on many of his sports and fashion shots to give creative results. 

[Waddizzle]

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@JoeJackson wrote:

Dynamic Range is everywhere..

Now for those who may not know about shooting in a studio or outdoors. 

Shutter Speed ONLY controls your AMBIENT light. Thus the light from your flash or studio strobe is NOT effected by the shutter speed.

ISO and Aperture will however effect both your Ambient and Flash power.

But since Aperture bracketing is like the most horrible idea ever becuase of how it screws with DoF.

Your only option is ISO. 

Now while most of you may be popular contributers, many of you are simply not experienced enough to understand why anyone would want this. So I encourage you to go Google for Joel Grimes and look at his portfolio online. He is one of the top photographers in the world today and he brackets ISO on many of his sports and fashion shots to give creative results. 

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First thing that I found.  Is this what you mean?

http://www.joelgrimesworkshops.com/blog/2013-entries/5-13-2013.html

I still think the technique is unconventional.  I also find the argument for his claim of 32-bit resolution just as unconventional.

[ebiggs1]

Not surprising!

[Waddizzle]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Not surprising!

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Fuzzy math.

[Waddizzle]

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@JoeJackson wrote:

Yes I am fully aware of the downside of using ISO bracketing. I am a professional headshot and landscape photographer. However you still miss the point that this is the ONLY way to bracket for flash..  In addition this is an option on many other cameras.   Besides bracketing 100 200 400, or just 100 320 is not going to introduce any signifigant noise that anyone will notice.  This technique is used by many well known photographers like Joel Grimes to get HDR portraits, while still using studio strobes..

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Okay, I already got it.  Instead of varying shutter speed, keep SS constant and vary the ISO. 

I'm no studio pro, but my in my avid and enthusiastic opinion, you're do something unconventional.  Some folks might even say wrong, instead of unconventional.  I think you're introducing noise when you do not have to.

I have had occasion to take a series of outdoor shots at some location, and when I get back home I realize that the shot had more dynamic range than what the camera could handle.  Sometimes you just don't see it in bright sunlight on the camera's LCD.  In these cases, I'll create a series of JPEGs with slightly altered exposre values, and use them to create an HDR photo. 

This works best when the series of expsoure changes are not centered at "0".  For example, I might create +2, +1, 0, -1 exposures when some areas are too dark.  Sometimes I will not create exposres that vary by equal steps.  I might skip the "0" exposre in the previous example.  And, yes, this introduces noise, too.

[kvbarkley]

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@JoeJackson wrote:

Yes I am fully aware of the downside of using ISO bracketing. I am a professional headshot and landscape photographer. However you still miss the point that this is the ONLY way to bracket for flash..  In addition this is an option on many other cameras.   Besides bracketing 100 200 400, or just 100 320 is not going to introduce any signifigant noise that anyone will notice.  This technique is used by many well known photographers like Joel Grimes to get HDR portraits, while still using studio strobes..

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You mean studio strobes have no control over flash power? Might as will go Joe McNally.

[JoeJackson]

"You mean studio strobes have no control over flash power? Might as will go Joe McNally."

LOL so you mean bracket the flash power? Good luck with that..  Try getting your model to stand perfectly still doing this.   Also again, this will only effect the light on your model. So if your outdoors the speedlite will not effect your ambience.. 

Currently the only real way to do this if your camera does not have ISO bracketing, is to use continous light. Which I hate becuase they do not give you the freezeing power of a strobe. 

Note. I keep seeing someone mention "this is unconventional". Yes yes it is. Learn to step out of your comfort zone, explore new techniques no matter how unconventional they may seem. Then find what works best for you, what lighting styles appeal to you the most. Then do them your own way. Form your own style. Then stand out from all the other millions of conventional photographers. Thats the ONLY way you will ever become more then just "a photographer".

[kvbarkley]

Seems to me that you have the same model-standing-still-problem with *any* braketing. Isn't that the whole point of using continuous shooting in portrait mode?

(Though I imagine that Canon could work braketing into FEC.)

[ebiggs1]

Joe,

This is the just one problem, "Learn to step out of your comfort zone, explore new techniques no matter how unconventional they may seem."  Most have never done any of the things they tell others, how to do, or even what to buy!

[JoeJackson]

Very true Ebiggs1. Most do not. I have ADD though, lol.. I am trying something new all the time, most of the time it fails. But those few times when it works, its rewarding.. LOL