just stumbled over this tool to automate the generation of hdri files using non-dslr canon cameras http://www2.cs.uh.edu/~somalley/hdri\_images.html#auto
first one is an automatic remote capture utility
second one assembles the images to a hdri file
just tested it on my living room (+ some sky through the windows) and it works fine
my canon g5 is able to produce 16 exposures with 1 f-stop difference (@ 5.6 aperture in order to minimize negative effects due to higher apertures)
only one hook: right now its only free for personal and research usage
commercial users need a license
well, they are using the canon camera developer kit to access the camera’s functions
unfortunately canon’s dslrs use a different sdk
so in theory it should be possible to do something similar with dslrs - it might be even as simple as recompiling the app
you might want to ask the author about it
My question is why Canon themselves have not done this? They have all the resources; much more so than a single, individual student for crying out loud! :roll: :roll: :roll: :!:
DSLR Remote has a very flexible auto bracketing function which is ideal for high dynamic range (HDR) images and for product shots and interior shots without using sophisticated lighting. DSLR Remote Pro can automatically vary exposure using the shutter speed or aperture to take auto bracketed sequences of up to 15 shots.
You can set the number of shots in the sequence using the first dropdown list. Then set the number of exposure stops should separate each shot. This can be 1/3, 2/3 or 1 stop per shot depending on your camera’s settings (if your camera is set to use 1/2 stop increments instead of 1/3 stop increments selecting a value of 1/3 or 2/3 stop increments will result in 1/2 stop increments being used).
probably even cheaper than the commercial license of the other tool
can even capture raw files
you could probably use the second tool i posted to combine the images (you need to create the exposure file by hand or find a tool that extracts exposure information from exif data - im quite sure there are automatic ways to create the file)
btw: should also be faster since it allows saving the images to the camera only (should be faster than transfering everything over the usb/firewire bus) - the timings for different cameras in the help file confirm this
i was refering to the second tool of the two - a command line tool for assembling the shot jpegs http://www2.cs.uh.edu/~somalley/hdri\_images.html#ahdric
you need a text file that specifies the f-stop difference between the shots - it is normally created by AHDRIA (the auto-capture-tool)
as it seems, AHDRIC comes with a tool (hdrihelper) that extracts this information from the exif data of the jpeg files
REGARDING JPEG SEQUENCES NOT CREATED WITH AHDRIA: Select the JPEG
sequence in Windows Explorer and drag the sequence onto HDRI_Helper.exe
(included with AHDRIC) to create an ExposureInfo.txt file compatible
with AHDRIC. Use this file as directed in the “Usage” section, below.
just tested it on the same jpeg sequence and the output file seems to contain the same values
ps: in my case the automaticly created hdri file looked better than the one i created manually in hdrishop
if you intend to use the hdris for commercial purposes (forbidden with AHDRIC), Photomatix Basic (free) could be interesting - it could even process raw files shot with dsrl pro (after converting them to 16bit tif files with Photoshop/RAW shooter essentials) http://www.hdrsoft.com/resources/features\_basic.html
oh, btw: photomatix has a batch mode
file-->automatic batch processing
works like a charm by just inputing jpegs or tifs (with exif information included)
just make sure only the image files reside in the folder you chosse (i had to restart the program to get it working after it didnt like the other files in the original directory)
