Before I get hazed for not knowing basic photography, I want everyone to know I am sincerely asking because I want to dial in a good formula in camera.
I don't particularly like using ND filters for sunsets of the ocean because it usually causes me to dial in a slower shutter, blurring the waves. I want crisp, almost stopped motion if possible.
In this past I have used ND on other camera systems with varied success. 2-4 stop is usually good. If there are no rocks in the image, graduated ND works great. Recently, I have been thinking about discarding the ND and going with an in-camera solution in my X-H2 or working with a 2 stop ND and doing the rest in camera.
I used 200 dynamic range, ISO 400, +0.6 EC 1/210s with the Fujinon XF16mmF1.4 R WR at f/16.0 to achieve the attached photo. I've been shooting street at golden hour with 200 dynamic range with a lot of success, so I tried it on a sunset photograph and it worked out well. I think I could have gone +1 exposure compensation or greater and still rescued the highlights.
I want to be able to lift the shadows a bit more, but not to the extent of if I had bracketed three images to be post processed for HDR, so I'm going to try 300 dynamic range and see what happens. Has anyone adjusted the tone curve in camera or anything else to achieve a well balanced photograph? Please share.
iplayitofflegit got a reaction from jerryy in Settings for sunsets?