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I would sometimes like to take two shots quickly, at different apertures, such as f/2.8 and f/4, but with the same exposure value (EV). Is there a way to do this with the Sony NEX-5R?

In some situations, I don't have time to fiddle with the settings and then wait a couple of seconds to avoid camera shake, and then take the second shot -- whatever I'm trying to capture would have passed by then. An example is taking a long exposure photo of a passing train at night. By the time I adjust the aperture and wait for camera shake to stop, the train would have passed. So, I wanted to check if there's some way to set this up ahead of time, and then trigger a rapid sequence of shots when the train comes.

Note: I don't think exposure bracketing will help here, since it will take a sequence of photos with a different EV value. Whereas I want a sequence of photos that are equally bright or dark, but shot with different apertures (and correspondingly shorter or longer shutter speeds).

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  • \$\begingroup\$ In other words, you want to bracket the aperture, not bracket the exposure via aperture changes. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Commented May 31, 2014 at 12:03
  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't know if you intended that as a question to me, or as a clarification to other readers. In case it's a question, the answer is: yes, that's exactly what I want to do. Thanks. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kartick Vaddadi
    Commented May 31, 2014 at 12:07
  • \$\begingroup\$ A clarification. It might also be called "Depth of Field Bracketing". I'm not aware of any camera which has an automated function to do it, though. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Commented May 31, 2014 at 12:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ Ah, yes, I had read about DoF bracketing, but I'd ignored it, since I am not primarily interested in depth of field, but I guess that it's the same technique in any case. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kartick Vaddadi
    Commented May 31, 2014 at 12:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ Probably of no actual use, but there's a nex-hack.info website, where it looks like they're taking the first steps towards doing Magic Lantern like things for NEX/Alpha. \$\endgroup\$
    – inkista
    Commented Jun 2, 2014 at 19:49

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Perhaps this can be done with a script on a tethered laptop. (but I am curious about the use of this kind of different DOF.)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I won't be able to take a laptop with me when I go out to take photos. Neither can the Sony NEX-5R be tethered to a laptop as far as I know. To answer your question of what I plan to use this for, I want to shoot passing trains at different apertures, which implies different shutter speeds. As you know, long shutter speeds cause moving objects to blur more. I don't use shutter speed priority mode because I don't have a particular shutter speed (like 1s) in mind. I want to try the aperture at which my lens is sharpest, and wide open. I think in terms of aperture, not shutter speed. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kartick Vaddadi
    Commented May 31, 2014 at 15:26

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