Seeking DJI Air 3s DNG workflow suggestions

[twalp]

I use PTGui Pro to create gigapixel sphericals of landscapes shot using the DJI Air 3s telephoto camera.

 
When the day is evenly lit getting a good result is relatively easy.

But when it’s partly cloudy, or later in the day when the sun is at a low angle, or its after a storm in the area, the mix of random brightly lit areas and shadow areas make it a challenge.

I always shoot with auto-white-balance disabled, but I’m in a quandary about exposure.
I cannot use bracketing, so my choices are:

1. Pick a fixed shutter speed, expose to the right, use DNG output format, and hope that 12-bits is sufficient to recover highlights and shadows in post.

2. Use auto-exposure and get 137 DNG images that are at least properly exposed.

 
It’s my understanding that the recommended practice here is to always use manual exposure.  But then that might apply to the typical shooter who can bracket. (All the advanced PTGui tutorials that I have found presume the use of bracketing.)

While I have posted here previously about doing grading and tonal correction in Affinity Photo, that’s impractical if I shoot DNG format and process it in PTGui Pro. My M1 Max 32GB MacBook Pro usually locks up when I try to open the resulting 50,000px by 25,000px EXR or TIFF equirectangular from PTG. I have found that I must make do with the 350MB to 500MB jpeg equirects coming out of PTGui on their way to Pano2VR.

So it’s time for me to learn how to use PTGui beyond stitching. The array of capabilities boggles my old brain. The shift+Help bubbles are informative, but I cannot mentally assemble them into a workflow applicable to my use case.

Main window:
1. Raw Preprocess
2. modifying exposure in the Image Parameters tab
3. Exposure/HDR tab
Panorama Editor
4. Blending: exposure compensation on or off?
5. Tone Mapping
6. Exposure fusion
7. Post Process

Can some kind souls here suggest a workflow that will enable me to wrangle wide-dynamic range gigapixel aerials, without the option to bracket, entirely within PTGui Pro?

[PTGui Support]

Hi,

If bracketing is not an option and the scene has a high dynamic range,
shooting in automatic exposure is not a bad idea at all.

You could try loading the DNGs directly in PTGui. Make sure Exposure
Compensation is switched on, this will give the best blending. Enable
tone mapping and output a TIFF file for Pano2VR.

Or if you want to create a DNG file from PTGui, use the 'HDR blended
panorama' output option. The regular DNG output will not have the full
dynamic range.

Kind regards,

Joost Nieuwenhuijse
www.ptgui.com

On 4/12/26 23:39, twalp wrote:
> I use PTGui Pro to create gigapixel sphericals of landscapes shot using
> the DJI Air 3s telephoto camera.
>
> When the day is evenly lit getting a good result is relatively easy.
>
> But when it’s partly cloudy, or later in the day when the sun is at a
> low angle, or its after a storm in the area, the mix of random brightly
> lit areas and shadow areas make it a challenge.
>
> I always shoot with auto-white-balance disabled, but I’m in a quandary
> about exposure.
> I cannot use bracketing, so my choices are:
>

> 1.Pick a fixed shutter speed, expose to the right, use DNG output

> format, and hope that 12-bits is sufficient to recover highlights and
> shadows in post.
>

> 2.Use auto-exposure and get 137 DNG images that are at least properly

> exposed.
>
> It’s my understanding that the recommended practice here is to always
> use manual exposure.  But then that might apply to the typical shooter
> who can bracket. (All the advanced PTGui tutorials that I have found
> presume the use of bracketing.)
>
> While I have posted here previously about doing grading and tonal
> correction in Affinity Photo, that’s impractical if I shoot DNG format
> and process it in PTGui Pro. My M1 Max 32GB MacBook Pro usually locks up
> when I try to open the resulting 50,000px by 25,000px EXR or TIFF
> equirectangular from PTG. I have found that I must make do with the
> 350MB to 500MB jpeg equirects coming out of PTGui on their way to Pano2VR.
>
> So it’s time for me to learn how to use PTGui beyond stitching. The
> array of capabilities boggles my old brain. The shift+Help bubbles are
> informative, but I cannot mentally assemble them into a workflow
> applicable to my use case.
>

> *Main window*:

> 1. Raw Preprocess
> 2. modifying exposure in the Image Parameters tab
> 3. Exposure/HDR tab

> *Panorama Editor*

> 4. Blending: exposure compensation on or off?
> 5. Tone Mapping
> 6. Exposure fusion
> 7. Post Process
>
> Can some kind souls here suggest a workflow that will enable me to
> wrangle wide-dynamic range gigapixel aerials, without the option to
> bracket, entirely within PTGui Pro?
>

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[Philip Chong]

For me, I do a single DNG exposure and I set the shuttle speed that I am "able to recover" on the brightness on my post edit.  I am very protective of highlights, no information is no information!

I use luminosity masking technique and I find with a single underexposed photo, I can go up to 2 stop up or down with NO problem with the exception of window pull.  There is no need to take proper brackets by the drone or hardware in this situation. It doesn't mean more photos are better, actually it makes it worst.

[twalp]

Thank you Joost! I feel much better to learn that it's okay to use AE.  

Question: you refer to a 'HDR blended panorama' output option, a choice I do not see in the Create Panorama tab. I see "Blended Panorama" enabled by default in the LDR section and "HDR panorama" in the HDR section. Hover the cursor over the HDR panorama checkbox and it says "Save the panorama in HDR format (before tone mapping). The resulting file captures the full dynamic range ..", which suggests to me that this enables output of a full dynamic range DNG. but for that choice I should NOT enable tone mapping, contrary to your preceding recommendation.  

Are you saying that if I like the results with tone mapping enabled I can output JPEG, but if I want to use external HDR processing, do not use PTG's tone mapping and instead output as a full dynamic range DNG and do the HDR processing externally?  I want end up with an SDR image for Pano2VR.  

[twalp]

Thank you, Philip!  I have experimented with luminosity masking in Affinity Photo where I create three adjustment layers (shadows, mids, highs) and adjust for each. Please elaborate on how you do it. 

How much post work do you do in PTG before exporting, and what format do you export for the luminosity process?  WA or telephoto camera?

[Philip Chong]

Yes, I use Luminosity Masking using a script, Adobe called it Action, on Photoshop.  That script create 6 shadows, 6 midtones, 6 highlights. So I build, rebuild, using a single underexposed DNG, change the EV up/down, to simulate brackets and improve my tones. There is a interesting debate about simulated brackets VS real brackets. LOL!