A short article on Pentax K20D/K200D HDR.

[istDeS]

Here’s a short article on Pentax K20D/K200D HDR.

Source from: http://apcmag.com

The Pentax K20D and the Pentax K200D both use a new metering system which allows their CMOS sensors to take simultaneous readings of both highlight and shadow areas.

The user then simply needs to access the camera's HDR mode through the menu dial, set the camera up for the first shot, press the shutter, and off it goes. The internal sensors will then take three shots and combine them into a single HDR image.

How it works

Firstly, the standard correct exposure photograph is metered and exposed. The onboard sensors then independently calculate an overexposed image and an underexposed image.

Within seconds, the K20D and the K200D will have taken three separate photographs and will begin the process of merging them into a single HDR image. Control is limited as the only control the user has over the process is to decide whether the camera will expose the over and underexposed images at one or two stops above or below correct exposure.

Once all three photos are taken, the contrasting areas of the images are compared, balanced and combined into a single picture which displays a broader dynamic range than a conventional photograph, allowing for more evenly exposed images and a more natural look. With LiveView, the results can be instantly previewed, and the process repeated if necessary.

BE WARNED: Pentax's HDR capability is still strictly limited to still life or scenery photography only. If your subject is moving, it won’t work (unless you get everybody to stand really still).

However, with the introduction of HDR in mid-range DSLR cameras, we can say goodbye to the days of overexposed backgrounds or foregrounds in shadow.

Although these ‘automated’ results are not as dramatic as those obtained using more traditional methods the quality of the images is still impressive.

[knyghtfall81]

Interesting - and useful I guess, but not that essential?

[night86mare]

interesting - but what sort of algorithm is going to be used to calculate? for example, results obtained from ps cs 2 hdr and photomatix hdr from the same input are vastly different. i would also like to think that issues such as saturation, haloing, etc are not easy to be controlled automated, depending on the scene.

i guess in any case, it will save time for people, but as mentioned, will not yield customised results all the time, which makes it sorta limited in application.

[cosycatus]

hmmmm....what is the point when we can bracket ourselves?
-it will be good if the cam can exposure for 3 diff exposure within a single click and combine it to form a HDR..

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by cosycatus hmmmm....what is the point when we can bracket ourselves? -it will be good if the cam can exposure for 3 diff exposure within a single click and combine it to form a HDR..

i think what istDeS has posted basically says that it combines for you

this may be perceived to be good, for people who like more control over their images this may be bad

technically, the camera COULD, from a single raw, but you are going to get more noise, etc.

if i'm not wrong i'm thinking that the camera will even autoadjust for wider dynamic range scenes? i.e. overcast skies = -1, 0, 1. sunset = -3, 0, 3 or -2, 0, 2. correct me if i'm wrong. that's pretty nifty actually, especially if you can deselect the merging option.

[knyghtfall81]

after reading the article, i think you can - it mentioned that you have to select the HDR mode before this function will come into play. Like you said, have doubts over the auto combination of the images by the camera. But guess its not much of a problem if you can turn it off.

[airconvent]

cool...this is a useful feature even if its just for still imags.
Imagine taking photos indoor where the scenery outside the windows is not over exposed in order to achieve good detail inside...

[alanswan]

Don't if it will do this, but will be goo dif it stores the 3 shots it took.
Then the internal HDR can give you an estimate of the HDR.
You can do your own PP HDR with the 3 shots if you're not happy with the built-in result.

[fengwei]

Originally Posted by cosycatus hmmmm....what is the point when we can bracket ourselves? -it will be good if the cam can exposure for 3 diff exposure within a single click and combine it to form a HDR..

Base on the first thread, it IS a single click

You can do this by post processing on multiple or a single photo, but now you can do it w/ a single click and the camera will do the post processing for you. That's all about convenience.

[istDeS]

As the article said, the control is limited. I see it as a useful feature to use to minimise overexposed or underexposed image.

The right is HDR from K20D