New to hdr - necessary camera settings

[luke14free]

Hello,
I'd like to take an hdr photo with a simple camera (canon powershot a720 is). When i set the mode to "Manual" I can change those options:

Lens overture time (15 secs to 1/1500s)
F2.8 to F8.0 (what's that?)
Iso 80 to 1600

I would like to know which options you would suggest me to take photos, and how many of them...My ideal scene set is made up with buildings with "red/pink" clouds.

And moreover, is it better Photoshop cs3 or Qptsfgui?

Cheers,
Luca

[McQ]

With a compact camera, optimal quality is usually achieved with the lowest ISO and with an aperture of f/4-5.6. However, giving a one-size-fits-all camera recipe is not possible. The best settings really depend on your subject matter. If you want more depth of field, then a smaller aperture (larger f/number) may work better than f/4-5.6, for example. Regardless of camera settings, make sure to keep the ISO and aperture identical for each HDR photo; only the shutter speed should be varied in order to change the exposure. As far as software, it's really a matter of personal preference and budget.

[David]

Hi Luke14free

I echo McQ's comments about exposure settings. On the question of software, Photoshop CS3 is expensive for just using its HDR function. Qtpfsgui is free, but does require some expertise to use, patience being a great virtue. I would not recommend it for beginners. Photomatix Pro 3.0 is a fairly inexpensive, but a good all round piece of HDR software. Just Google Photomatix and try their free download option. Similarly, FDRTools (see separate posting) is good, but again probably better once you have some experience.

Anyway, good luck, and I'll look forward to seeing some results.

Cheers

David

[luke14free]

Oh thank you all guys!
Don't worry for prices, I've got photoshop yet I use it for webdesigning !
If i have good results i'll post my photos!