Hdr help with Canon Rebel T1i

[kevinr]

I've had the Canon Rebel T1i for a week or maybe a little more and I've been really anxious to see how hdr would look like with it.
I have been using the Rebel xt before for hdr before I upgraded and Have been pleased with the results.
I have photmatix 3.2 (latest version) and I use raw quality on the rebel.
Now today tried the hdr at 3 different exposures and uploaded it to photomatix and the quality was very terrible and extremely noisy.
My ISO was at 200 and lighting was very sunsetish.
I've taken hdr pictures of sunsets before but they have never looked like this, is there anything I am doing wrong? any pointers or is there any other programs I should be using instead of photomatix?
I am not a full pro at hdr but sorta have a good understanding on how to process hdr pictures.

Help Please!

[carregwen]

Originally Posted by kevinr

I've had the Canon Rebel T1i for a week or maybe a little more and I've been really anxious to see how hdr would look like with it.
I have been using the Rebel xt before for hdr before I upgraded and Have been pleased with the results.
I have photmatix 3.2 (latest version) and I use raw quality on the rebel.
Now today tried the hdr at 3 different exposures and uploaded it to photomatix and the quality was very terrible and extremely noisy.
My ISO was at 200 and lighting was very sunsetish.
I've taken hdr pictures of sunsets before but they have never looked like this, is there anything I am doing wrong? any pointers or is there any other programs I should be using instead of photomatix?
I am not a full pro at hdr but sorta have a good understanding on how to process hdr pictures.

Help Please!

The camera should not normally make much difference to HDR processing.... but.... your old camera was 10mp which had a pixel density of 3mp cm2. Your new camera (we call it the 500D over here) is 15mp with a density of 4.5mp cm2. The sensors are the same size, so the pixels are smaller, which means they are less efficient at gathering light, which means more noise. The new processor in the camera and its in-camera software will mitigate some of that difference - but who knows? I have a 50D which is same sensor size and pixel rate, and I would say it's border-line when it comes to noise. Now, the 5D, which I also own, is a different story.

Can you post one of the shots? If you still have the old camera take the same shot with the same lens, on a tripod and compare the RAW output to see if there is any discernible difference.

[kevinr]

Originally Posted by carregwen

The camera should not normally make much difference to HDR processing.... but.... your old camera was 10mp which had a pixel density of 3mp cm2. Your new camera (we call it the 500D over here) is 15mp with a density of 4.5mp cm2. The sensors are the same size, so the pixels are smaller, which means they are less efficient at gathering light, which means more noise. The new processor in the camera and its in-camera software will mitigate some of that difference - but who knows? I have a 50D which is same sensor size and pixel rate, and I would say it's border-line when it comes to noise. Now, the 5D, which I also own, is a different story.

Can you post one of the shots? If you still have the old camera take the same shot with the same lens, on a tripod and compare the RAW output to see if there is any discernible difference.

Yes I still have my old camera, but should I do an HDR photo or just a regular one with no touch ups?

[carregwen]

Originally Posted by kevinr

Yes I still have my old camera, but should I do an HDR photo or just a regular one with no touch ups?

Choose a still scene with nothing moving. Put both cameras in turn on the tripod and use the same lens at the same focal length. Take the same RAW shot. Download them and process both in Photomatix as usual. Don't do any other changes in Photoshop. Compare the two at 100% or higher on your monitor. Try printing them at A4 if you have a printer.

You may not notice much difference with straight JPEG shots - it could be that the extra pixel density is causing a problem with HDR only. Try the same exercise with JPEGS shot in both cameras and compare those as well.

[kevinr]

It's not so much I am expecting a quality change but I mean the actual image itself looks extremely terrible even with my normal custom editing options. The editing options I usually have set up are pretty much universal but when I imported images in raw from the 500D they looks worse than the rebel xt.

[carregwen]

Originally Posted by kevinr

It's not so much I am expecting a quality change but I mean the actual image itself looks extremely terrible even with my normal custom editing options. The editing options I usually have set up are pretty much universal but when I imported images in raw from the 500D they looks worse than the rebel xt.

I find this quite interesting. If you want, you could post me a couple of RAW files, one from your old camera and another from the 500D (doesn't have to be the same shot, but it would help). I can run them through Dynamic Photo HDR, which is what I use.

Load them to here http://uploading.com/signup/ You will need to register, but it's free. Either PM the links so I can download the files, or put them in the post here in the thread (others will be able to download them also, which you may not want)

rob

[kevinr]

okay will do, just give me a couple of hours or so because of the different time periods were in.

[kevinr]

Okay, here Are some pictures to help you see what I am talking about.







now here are the hdr images.


That is from the 500D


That is from the 350D

I have processed hdr images like this (below) from the 350D.
So basically What I want to know is, how would I be able to achieve something like the image below with the 500D? is it just settings? or the software? or anything else?


(most recent Hdr picture done with 350D and photomatix 3.1 before upgrading to the 500D)

[carregwen]

Kevin

Not quite sure what you are doing in those latest screen-grabs. Can you send the two RAW files (from the 350D and the 500D) via the uploading link in post#6? I will put them through Dynamic HDR package and have a look at the noise.

[kevinr]

of the Hdr files?

[carregwen]

Originally Posted by kevinr

of the Hdr files?

No, the original RAW files that you shot from both cameras.

[kevinr]

Oh, unfortunately I erased them but I will take new ones in a couple of minutes and upload them to the website you suggested.