Olympus C-500 - Can I use this camera for HDR?

[taz]

Thanks for the welcome,

I have Olympus C-500, 5MP, 3x optical zoom, 4 years old :-)
Please check the image...
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2545/19067137.jpg

[Dave Humphries]

I have Olympus C-500, 5MP, 3x optical zoom, 4 years old which I'd like to use for HDR
Please check the image...
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2545/19067137.jpg

Is it this one?

It is shown as a "Stylus 500", but is about the right age (2005), zoom (3x) and megapixels (5), I suspect it is; sometimes the model numbers are different in different continents.

If so, for HDR, as you probably know, you really need to take say 3 shots of a scene at different exposures. This normally means using a tripod (or the lawn!) and varying the shutter speed (or possibly ISO), rather than aperture. On this camera, it would seem the only way to do this is via the EC (exposure compensation) feature, which should allow you to manually bracket upto 2 stops above and below the 'normal' exposure.

In short, it seems it is possible (and you seem to have proved it), but, without manual control, tricky.

My personal view is that the lawnmower pic is of the style I don't normally like, I prefer HDR pictures to be of a scene with high dynamic range, but rendered looking 'natural'. Unfortunately, those bright edges around dark objects isn't natural enough for me but that is a popular look so may be I am just too old to appreciate it

Hope that helps,