User's Manual
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Photomatix Essentials 4.0 User Manual
1.4 Recommended EV Separation
Bracketing allows you to extend the dynamic range of your camera so it can capture the full range of light in a
scene. Mechanically, you accomplish this by taking multiple photos with dierent exposure settings. Although
there is no single method that is better than all others in every circumstance (indeed, cameras vary in their
abilities), a good rule of thumb is to shoot three photos, separated by 2.0 EV using AEB. However, not all cameras
have the same AEB capabilities. Some limit you to a 1 EV spacing or less.
For many outdoors scenes, 3 exposures spaced one or two EVs apart is usually sucient. However, this won’t be
sucient for an interior with an outside view on a sunny day, for instance.
An EV (Exposure Value) increment is also referred to as a “stop” or “f-stop”. One EV increment corresponds to a
doubling of the amount of light hitting the camera’s sensors. For instance, this means that you can capture a
range of 8 EV steps, by using exposures ranging from 1/250 to 1 second (assuming a xed aperture and ISO
setting). If you use +/-1EV step increments, you will need 9 frames to capture 8 EV of dynamic range. If you set
it to +/-2EV, you will need just 5 frames to capture 8 EV of dynamic range. Photomatix Essentials can process
bracketed sets of up to 5 images, so 2 EV spacing would be preferable in this example.
Under-exposure (-2 EV):
Captures highlight detail
Well-balanced exposure (0 EV):
Captures mid-range detail
Over-exposure (+2 EV):
Captures shadow detail