I use smooth reflection apps on both of my A7 (mark I) and Nex 6 (IR converted). I love it that SONY allows these apps to be cross platform compatible.
Here are 2 images I took yesterday in Morristown NJ. Each is 16 images stacked.
I forgot all about the use of apps. Smooth reflections looks nice. It figures I'd find this just after I purchased a NiSi 150 holder and an Haida 10 stop ND filter for a trip to the northern shores of Lake Superior coming up this week. I'll probably buy the SF app and try it out. I'll still carry the ND set and perhaps for daytime images (e.g., many waterfalls where I am headed), I'll use the combo. But sunrise (on inner lakes) and sunset (on Lake Superior), I suspect the app alone. We'll see.
I haven't used my NiSi and ND filter once on my trip. Smooth Reflections is sort of a miracle (other than the shutter count). I also notice I can't have plants in the foreground. But when it works . . . mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.
I see a couple of raindrops on my lens, I believe (bottom of the frame). I'll clean those up.
@pizdets17, @seanj,
Great results at high shutter speeds on the above images. (1/200s and 1/250s).
I usually prefer using SR with lighting that allows longer shutter speeds for smoother blending. (at 1/25s or longer)
The obvious SR benefit is the ND effect but another major one is much lower SNR. (cleaner shadows)
It was a stop off in Iceland with no prep, I hear what you're saying though
Fred Miranda wrote:
@pizdets17@, @seanj@,
Great results at high shutter speeds on the above images. (1/200s and 1/250s).
I usually prefer using SR with lighting that allows longer shutter speeds for smoother blending. (at 1/25s or longer)
The obvious SR benefit is the ND effect but another major one is much lower SNR. (cleaner shadows)
Thanks. Yeah, I also had Exposure Bias - -1.3 EV on that most recent capture above. But the day before (3 images up) was -2 EV and a slower shutter speed, I believe. It was also a cloudy and rainy day, which helps.
I had a 10 stop ND filter and the Nisi 150 holder, but I just didn't pull it out of my bag because I was lazy (and tired from all of the hiking).
I had another hike that put my high above Lake Superior where I used a 1/60 shutter speed and f/8 at 24mm along with -2 EV. But when I used dehaze in Lightroom, it really didn't have the same effect on the trees to the left of the image that it had on the middle and right trees . . . hmmm.
But I was drenched and this is the best I could do once the rain turned to a light drizzle. I opened my rain jacket up and stood over my camera and tripod like an umbrella to get this shot and keep my camera dry. I wasn't about to give up on this shot. heh.
Wish Sony could come up with something even better than that.
Olympus offers focus bracketing and focus stacking. Olympus' "focus bracketing" is focus stacking where you get raws that you stack on your computer. Since focus stacking is very processor intensive, you actually want to do this on your computer. Nikon seems to have gotten this right with the D850. I hope Sony will follow up on this.
Well, the entire app store is missing on the new a9. Maybe there will be a software update, but maybe Sony is declaring end-of-life on the whole app thing. Either way, Sony doesn't seem to be investing in either new apps or the same functionality as built in features. I do wish we had internal focus stacking though.
It's been 9 months since Sony doesn't release any new app or update to existing ones. I was hoping the inclusion of 'silent shutter' and 'uncompressed RAW' as options for the Smooth Reflections app.
Fred Miranda wrote:
It's been 9 months since Sony doesn't release any new app or update to existing ones. I was hoping the inclusion of 'silent shutter' and 'uncompressed RAW' as options for the Smooth Reflections app.
Is this project dead?
That was my thought when I realized that the A9 did not include access to the apps. They were generally disappointing but a couple of them could be useful. Maybe Sony will now start just include the functionality in their cameras as other makers do with many of the app functions like time lapse.
The future of camera is as much as software it is hardware. The computation photography we are experiencing with the mobile devices is an example of this. It is disheartening none of the major camera vendors have perceived the this shift and is actively moving in that direction. SONY's apps was a step in the right direction but it was too restrictive and lacked community support.
Fred Miranda wrote:
It's been 9 months since Sony doesn't release any new app or update to existing ones. I was hoping the inclusion of 'silent shutter' and 'uncompressed RAW' as options for the Smooth Reflections app.
Is this project dead?
Yeah, this is the downside to Sony, IMHO. They love new technology and throws stuff at the wall to see what sticks, but unless it is a success, they tend to loose interest themselves, and move on. They are a funny company in that way, you will never now whether they will be committed or not on certain tech.
