What Is The Best Camera For Multiple Exposure Photography?

As you might have guessed, there is no 100% factual answer to this question because camera models are always changing. Multiple exposure (ME) options in digital cameras are not standardized in the way that ‘normal’ photography options tend to be, and thus, the multiple exposure features vary between brands and even between models within any one brand. Moreover, the ME features that are in place for a specific model may not be included in that model’s next iteration. Finally, as in any kind of photography, it also depends on what type of ME photography you want to do and how much you plan to post-process your images.

Perhaps the best approach is to list all the options that one would like to see in an imaginary ‘perfect’ camera that is designed specifically for ME photography. You can then go into that list, pick out the options that are most important to the type of work you would like to do, and compare them to the features available on whatever camera model you have or are considering purchasing.

So, let’s get started with a list of optimal camera options for ME:

• We have to start with the basics. We need a multiple exposure option. Not all digital cameras have this. That’s not to say you can’t do ME photography without it, but not having it necessitates that you make your ME images in Photoshop.

• Live view with image overlay - This simply means that when making a ME, a ghost image of the results so far will be seen in the viewfinder, allowing you to line up the next shot where you would like it to be. Importantly, this is just a ghost image and is NOT a true view of what the image thus far actually looks like.

• The ability to save the resultant ME in RAW format, as opposed to as a JPG.

• The ability to save the individual images that make up the ME. In this way, if you like the resultant ME, but it just isn’t ‘perfect,’ you can combine the individual component images in Photoshop yourself, working with all the tools that Photoshop offers.

• The ability to utilize more than just two or three individual shots to build the in-camera ME. The more the merrier.

• The ability to use high-speed burst mode to make MEs. This allows interesting MEs with just slight displacement of the subject between photographs to be made as, for example, in the image below:

“Koi” © Howard Grill

• While on the subject of burst mode, it would be nice to be able to interrupt the burst to reframe the underlying image or even change subjects and then continue for the rest of the burst.

• A way to preview what the image in progress truly looks like after each exposure (along with a histogram), as opposed to just a ghost image in the viewfinder

• The ability to decide after each exposure is taken whether or not you want to keep that exposure as part of the final image or delete it and try again. In fact, even better would be to have the ability to delete any image of the ME and have the camera recalculate the result even after all the images have been taken and saved (I don’t know of any camera that offers that second option).

• The ability to stop adding to the ME stack at any point without having to use the pre-specified number of frames.

• The ability to choose a previously saved image (a single image or previously saved ME) as the first image in a new ME.

© Howard Grill

Though my camera was set for a nine-exposure multiple exposure, given the image preview and the ability to ‘escape’ from multiple exposure mode, I was able to stop the process after three exposures, yielding this result.

• The ability to use in-camera blend modes during the ME. This is a real creativity enhancer. While this can be done in Photoshop, I personally have found that’s something I wasn’t typically doing. Using blend modes while making ME is a great start to creating and also helps to inform the photographer if further experimentation with blend modes in Photoshop might prove interesting. Most cameras that allow for ME offer the Additive and Average blend modes. But the creativity really starts when you try the Lighten (Brighten) or Darken modes. That said, I don’t know of any camera that offers all the blend modes that Photoshop does, which is odd, as there are mobile device apps that allow the use of all the blend modes during ME.

• The ability to change white balance between taking the images that comprise the ME.

• The ability to change ISO between taking the images that comprise the ME. However, I am not familiar with any camera that offers this ability.

• The ability to change blend modes mid-ME sequence. I don’t know of any camera that offers this ability, but there is a workaround. You can make a ME in one blend mode, save it, and then use that ME as the first image in a new ME stack with a different blend mode (if your camera offers this option).

• Finally, a way to visualize what the image will look like using the set blend mode before the image is actually taken is extremely useful. It not only allows previsualization of the result of adding an additional exposure, but also allows for subjects to be placed within the frame in a specific desired composition.

© Howard Grill

The use of in-camera blend modes leads to interesting and creative color changes that can then more easily be enhanced in Photoshop, given the color differences from the start.

I know this feels as if I am conjuring up a dream camera that doesn’t exist, and in many ways that is true. But unless you know what an optimal camera for a specific use might offer it becomes difficult to decide on compromises. The type of ME photography you want to do will also play into your camera choice. For example, if burst mode ME photography isn’t your thing (my understanding is that Fuji cameras, for example, stop after each frame and ask if you wish to keep the image, rendering burst mode MEs impossible even when the camera is set to high-speed frame rates) then having a camera that doesn’t do it well is an easy compromise to make.

I can’t comment on what ME features every brand of camera offers, particularly since this varies even among camera models within the same brand. But it’s easy enough to look up the ME features of any camera brand/model you are considering, as well as looking into what features your current camera has if abstract ME photography is something you would like to experiment with.

That said, I am quite familiar with the ME features of my Canon R5 and can say that this is a superb camera for MEs, given the features it offers. It is able to do all the features from the above ‘wish list’ except for the ability to save all the individual images that make up a burst mode ME (for MEs other than in burst mode, it does save them), and the ability to change the ISO or blend mode between the component images of the ME (which, to my knowledge, is not an option offered by any camera manufacturer). Of particular benefit is the ability to hold down the depth of field preview button before adding an image to the ME, which will show you what the true image will look like if you make the exposure, including the application of the chosen blend mode! But don’t fret, no matter what ME features your camera has, between your camera and Photoshop you can generate interesting, creative ME work that is only limited by your imagination.

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