Sony A6400 Exposure Bracketing Setup Tutorial

Learn how to use Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) on the Sony Alpha A6400 to shoot HDR photos ready for merging in HDR software www.hdrsoft.co...
The tutorial will show you how to:
- Locate the Drive Mode and navigate through the menu
- Set Bracketing (BRK) and Continuous Shooting (C)
- Select the number of bracketed shots and EV spacing
Follow the simple step-by-step instructions in this video to take 3 photographs 2 EV apart (one photo 2 stops underexposed, 1 photo exposed normally and 1 photo 2 stops overexposed) by just pressing the shutter button on a Sony Alpha A6400.

[@nushkyn]

Holy cow! This was extremely useful. At first my photos came out: "meh, decent" Now it's like: "HOLY MOLY, IS THAT MY APARTMENT?!"

[@sandyschupper8401]

One of the best tutorials I’ve ever seen

[@PhotomatixHDR]

That's a nice comment. Thanks.

[@richardpcrowe]

I use three shot brackets of one stop in Aperture priority mode combined with a minus one stop exposure compensation for night shots when the lights are the major subject such as in cityscapes. The result of the combination is: one shot 2-stops under the meter reading, one shot 1-stop under the meter reading and one stop at-the meter reading. The biggest bane of night cityscape images is over exposure of the lights. I can just about guarantee that one of your bracketed shots with this system will be right in the ball park... Oh yes, the f/stop and ISO you choose depends on how long you want your shutter speeds to be.

[@therealspindoctor2593]

Super helpful! I could not find anywhere else how to deviate from the default settings to increase picture count and EV level on my a6600- life saver!

[@AbuYussuf]

Amazing!! Thank you very much. Your instruction very very clear.

[@lyslipshen2193]

Great website. It was clear and precise, and the speed at which you spoke made it easy to hear (I’m deaf), and make notes. Thank you

[@fredtaylor9792]

Absolutely amazing! I was skeptical that this 3:30 video was actually going to answer all of my questions and it did. Thank you so much!

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Wow, what a nice comment! Thanks for watching even though you were in doubt.

[@nicholasbrown2811]

Straight to the point and clearly said, I like it, thank you. To many folks lally-gag on in on in videos that are supposed to be simply telling me what to do. U sir have my respect tho

[@THEEK_STUDIOS]

Which is comfort for interior photography

[@norrscotproductions]

This was very simple and easy to follow! Thanks for sharing!

[@StivenOlivares]

Brilliant video! Very concise and informative. Great job!

[@jerryviaja]

Amazing! Thanks for that info! Didnt know that feature!

[@sankarlal1488]

I have Sony a6400 And any free software is there available for hdr merging….?

[@Iamfiance56]

I have a question, so I just got this camera, and when I first tried recording video with Pp on, it allowed me to select the bottoms key which is for exposure exposure to manually adjust while using video, now it does not I have to go to Fn to click exposure, it now says that I can’t select the button with PP on

[@Whizshot]

Can you set the camera to continuously take pictures after pressing the shutter button, and then stop once the shutter button is pressed again?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hi @Whizshot, I don't think so. However, you could try BRK S instead of BRK C combined with a self-timer. This is the closest you can get to the behaviour you envision. You can activate the self-timer by... Menu button > Tab 1 (camera) > Page 3/14 > Bracketing Settings > Selftimer during Bracket > Choose a 2, 5, or 10-second delay or Off to deactivate. When using the self-timer with this bracketing setting make sure to focus manually.

[@diographyprod]

hy there, i wanted to try this thing but when i'm about to follow your instructor, i found out that my a6400 does not able to do this.. it said " this operation not available as follow.. profile picture on" can you help/guide me to fix it please...

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hi @diographyproduction4861, This message suggests that your camera is set to Movie mode because picture profiles usually apply to movie recording only. Try switching the mode dial on top of the camera to A or M, then follow the instructions in the video.

[@TheAlphaYasar]

hello..i have recently purchased the camera. when i shoot video with it mostly on auto mode (not in day light) in a room.. my skin tone comes very dull and black. what could be the reason

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hello @The Alpha, This can have many reasons... Maybe the camera reached its limit to boost ISO in the dark? Try exposing manually, aperture wide open, 1/60 sec, to see if it's the same with an ISO you increase to 3200 or even more... Check the white balance or rather do one manually when it is too dark. The Auto WB (White Balance) may struggle with too less or confusing color information when it is darker in tungsden light.

[@namitsharma96]

Hey, I was thinking of buying this camera ...is the video in 1080 very soft on this camera and will sharpening in post make the image look bad?

[@jre617]

Thanks, very helpful and clear.

[@florinsgondea6124]

Excellent tutorial. I was a Canon guy. I switched to Sony a 6400 and I like it so far. Setting up is a little confusing. I have it on single shot and when I take a picture camera fires I think 4 or 5 shots and I don't know how to get back to only one shot. Can you help please? Thanks a lot.

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hello Florin, If the camera takes more than one photo it is likely caused by the drive mode set to "Continuous Shooting". To change this - Press the Fn button - On the screen navigate to the first icon on the top left of the functions icons or - Choose the one that looks like a stack of frames (in your case) -Turn the wheel until a single frame icon appears along with the caption "Single Shooting" - Press the Fn button again to save/confirm

[@theforne90]

Hi, I would like to know if it is possible to take more pictures with the same ev every 2 second. Thanks

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hi @theforne90, good question. The Sony A6400 has a built-in intervalometer to be found in the main menu > Camera 1 Tab > Shoot Mode p.3 > Interval Shoot Funct. to accomplish this. However, it doesn't allow automatic bracketing at the same time.

[@TaeThitiChannel]

May i ask about "iso auto min ss" my a6400 i set min SS at 1/30 so it should go minimum at 1/30 but becpme maximum at 1/30...do u have a solutuon pleaae.

[@wildmacrophotography7052]

For macro photography. Focus stacking how to use

[@ivetalazdina8528]

Why I can’t activate Cont. Bracket.? (Scene selection, Superior Auro imag. Off, no panorama setting, no auto mode)?

[@lonewolf0877]

when i clicked the Fn button drive mode is off and cant select it. please help

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hi Lonewolf08, Drive Mode is disabled and greyed out in the Fn menu when the camera is set to either Panorama shooting or Movie shooting on the mode dial on the top right of the camera. Please turn the mode dial to Av or M to enable the drive mode.

[@AlexTroyaSD]

Is AEB available in Manual mode? I shoot mostly manual and RAW. HDR is not supported with these settings, so I want to use AEB to merge the HDR in Photomatix or LR

[@PhotomatixHDR]

yes, AEB is available in manual mode as well. You set it set the same way as shown in the video here kzbin.info/www/bejne/aai3naKmhK-sbJI the only difference being that you'll have manual, rather than aperture priority, mode set.

[@adadoings]

This was super helpful 🙏

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Thank you. I am glad it helped.

[@BukkaLevy]

Can you change the spacing, and how? I'd like 2 1/3 over and under.

[@adrenalin472]

I have a question! Is there the possibility that the camera automatically merge the photos creating a single Picture ?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Yes, that's possible. The camera takes two images and merges them applying an HDR effect. Then it saves a JPEG file. The function is called Auto HDR. You can enable it in the Menu > Camera tab 1 > page 11 > DRO / Auto HDR

[@adrenalin472]

@@PhotomatixHDR but after the camera automatically created a jpg Picture? Because i tried to phtograph but the camera didn’t created a jpg Picture. What is the difference between AUTO DRO e the various level of settings DRO (2-3-4-5)? Thank

[@PhotomatixHDR]

​ @adrenalin472 I was referring to Auto HDR, i.e. the last item in the list of options of the DRO/Auto HDR menu item, not to any of the DRO settings. I don't use DRO at all, hence I can not help, unfortunately. Please try the method we recommend and showcase in this video, which is to shoot three (or more) images with bracketing, and then load these into Photomatix Pro to achieve the result you like. You gain a lot more control over the resulting image using this method than using DRO/Auto HDR.

[@c.l.6610]

How can I switch off bracketing completely (DRO and AWB)?

[@jonathanhalterman7634]

I have been considering buying this camera but cannot seem to find good information on the options available for AEB. Currently I am manually bracketing with my NEX-6 (which only gives me 3 exposures automatically). In this video it seems that up to 9 exposures can be taken with AEB on the 6400. Is this correct? What are the range of options for the EV spacing? Thanks for your help.

[@PhotomatixHDR]

I see on the Sony specifications that 9 frames is possible but only with 1EV spacing maximum. With 2EV spacing, 5 frames is possible which is enough for almost all situations. Here is what the manual says: "With 3 or 5 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 EV increments, with 9 frames, in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, or 1.0 EV increments."

[@jonathanhalterman7634]

@@PhotomatixHDR Thank you!

[@BrianHallmond]

What would be a selection for indoor portraits? probably low light.

[@djakphotostudio6590]

thank you

[@narayanankumaran562]

Can l set shutter speed in 50 for video shooting

[@dhepeppercorn2901]

When take video exposure compensation is always changing.why it’s happening please advise me

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Possibly you use P mode. In this automatic mode, the camera does vary exposure compensation. To avoid changing exposure under varying light when taking video I'd recommend shooting in manual mode (M) if you feel confident to expose well and adjust the aperture manually. Alternatively, you could switch to shutter priority mode (S) to let the camera take care of choosing the correct aperture value. In any case, select a fixed shutter speed of 1/60th @ 24/30p (1/50th @ 25p) for normal scenes. There is a lot more to tell about video recording.

[@dhepeppercorn2901]

@@PhotomatixHDR thank you so much for responding my message. I take in video manual mode but exposure compensation is always changing..especially when i put ingredients on the pan.

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Did you check the ISO setting? To me, it sounds as if it is set to Auto ISO. Set it to a fixed value of 400.

[@dhepeppercorn2901]

@@PhotomatixHDR i will try that.thank you

[@todd.sherley]

Why does it been to be on Aperature Priority? Once I set the settings I'm able to do the 3 shots while it's set to manual? What will be the difference in quality of the pics?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

No difference in picture quality of course, you can definitely use manual if you're comfortable with it (I'm sure you are, just saying that for others who will read this)

[@matejistvan]

Is there any option to use hdr in video whet i shoot video of some indoor stuff where are windows?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

I haven't heard of that the A6400 can shoot HDR video. Try using SLog 2 or SLog 3 when shooting video. If you don't move the camera but wish to show light changes over time you could use the built-in intervalometer for timelapses. It lets you take a bracketing set every n second.

[@evilmenudo]

I took a picture and I heard like 4 shutter sounds but it was only 1 photo. Is my camera broken?

[@evilmenudo]

I was only trying to take one photo also. I dont know how to use my a6400 at all

[@pablonumero3563]

how do you merge your photos to a hdr in photomaticxs

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hi Pablo, We've made two videos that show how to merge and process images in Photomatix Pro. 1. In-depth video tutorial for Creating Real Estate Interiors Photos kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2TVfHSXa7Z9h68 2. Introductional video to Photomatix Pro kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmO0k3uPl51oa9k Please let me know if you need further assistance or have any questions.

[@junewilliams5741]

I see how to change it from 0.3 EV to 0.2EV, but how do you change it to 5,7,9 Images?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Press the Fn button to open the Quick Select menu then navigate to the Drive Mode icon (a single frame). Press the center button and scroll down to BRK C using the down direction button on the control wheel. Further press the right direction button on the control wheel until you find the desired value for the spacing, e.g. 1EV... Behind the 'EV' you'll find a number that stands for the number of shots in one bracketed set like 5, 7, 9 if available.

[@ILLRICARDO]

Does this work for macro photography?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Yes, exposure bracketing can be very helpful for macro photography to increase dynamic range. Furthermore, you might be interested in using focus bracketing (focus stacking in post-production of the photos) to achieve a higher depth of field.

[@z28ombie09]

Can you please do a video on the best camera settings for the 90mm marco lens with the 6400? Thank you Gerald

[@PhotomatixHDR]

@Gerald Many thanks for suggesting another video we could produce. It is always helpful to know our viewers' needs and I appreciate that you are telling us yours. Unfortunately I have no access to a 90mm Macro lens to produce it.

[@Extiiinct]

Is the camera fast enough to take these shots without the need for a tripod?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

If you keep the slowest shutter speed at a 1/125th, and you hold the camera still you won't need a tripod with the A6400. Photomatix can align photos that are slightly misaligned due to minor camera shake. However, if the available light doesn't suffice, and requires longer shutter speeds, a tripod is preferable.

[@awillingvessel238]

how do you do HDR bracketing?

[@borncajun385]

Has anyone found a wireless remote that will allow for continuous shooting? Holding the shutter down like this video shows, allows for a tiny bit of camera shake which can be seen sometimes once the HDR photo is created.

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Yes, there is an IR remote from Sony (RMT-DSLR2), which works if you are beside or in front of the camera, but not so good from behind. It should be feasible to trigger via Bluetooth with an RMT-P1BT, however I have no information if bracketing works. I have not found a cable release for the A6400 yet.

[@TsRelaxing]

can sony a6400 video 4K HDR

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hi @IndonesiaVillage, Yes, the Sony A6400 can record 4K video. See these two pages for how to set it up and what formats are available: helpguide.sony.net/ilc/1810/v1/en/contents/TP0002264695.html helpguide.sony.net/ilc/1810/v1/en/contents/TP0002264696.html

[@rubenuhs]

Can't it merge itself in camera ?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

Hi @rubenunedohamonangansianip6985, Yes, the A6400 has a built-in Auto HDR function that takes three photos, merges them, and then creates an HDR from the merge. Once this is complete, you can't access the original photos or the merged image, nor can you re-render the resulting HDR with different settings. You probably won't like the result. No, the HDR function cannot take 5, or 7 raw photos (taken without Auto HDR enabled) and process them internally. For most indoor photography or scientific applications, you need a wider dynamic range and more flexibility than the two exposures and built-in HDR styles offer. The Auto HDR feature does not offer to remove ghosts of moving objects

[@aminbehravan]

how to do focus braketing?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

@Amin Behravan The Sony A6400 offers all sorts of bracketing, but no built-in focus bracketing.

[@SPas604]

Will the camera take 3 shots if I use the remote imaging edge app?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

If your question is related to the Imaging Edge Remote desktop application that runs on a Mac/Windows computer the answer is yes. You can take 3 or more shots using the app and it is possible to adjust many camera settings.

[@SPas604]

@@PhotomatixHDR Cool! Thanks! How do I find out more about the Photomatrix app/software?

[@PhotomatixHDR]

@@SPas604 You are very welcome :) Here is the Photomatix website www.hdrsoft.com/

[@albertslusser]

what ISO should i use? and what f ? thanks!

[@PhotomatixHDR]

This depends on the scene and what you want to achieve. It's usually better to use a low ISO (no higher than 400) though there might be situations when you need more. An aperture of F/8 or F/11 is often a good choice, but there are many factors influencing the most appropriate aperture setting for a given scene and situation, including the lens you are using.

[@albertslusser]

@@PhotomatixHDR Thank you! That was verry helpful to me!

[@moaadblal1966]

Just if they teach us in school like this😿

[@michaeljohndadd545]

66th comment

[@norbertwild5553]

unfortunately not in German