Multiple exposure

  1. G button
  2. C photo shooting menu

Record two to ten RAW exposures as a single photograph.

OptionDescription
[Multiple exposure mode]
  • [On (series)]: Take a series of multiple exposures. To end multiple exposure photography, select [Multiple exposure mode] again and choose [Off].
  • [On (single photo)]: End multiple exposure photography after creating a single multiple exposure.
  • [Off]: End multiple exposure photography.
[Number of shots]Choose the number of exposures that will be combined to form a single photograph.
[Overlay mode]
  • [Add]: The exposures are overlaid without modification; gain is not adjusted.
  • [Average]: Gain is adjusted before the exposures are overlaid. The gain for each exposure is equal to 1 divided by the total number of exposures taken. For example, in a photo made by combining two exposures, the gain for each exposure will be set to 1/2, while in a photo combining three exposures, gain will be set to 1/3.
  • [Lighten]: The camera compares the pixels in each picture and uses only the brightest.
  • [Darken]: The camera compares the pixels in each picture and uses only the darkest.
[Save individual pictures (RAW)]
  • [On]: Save both the multiple exposure and the shots that make it up; the pictures are saved in RAW format.
  • [Off]: Discard the individual shots and save only the multiple exposure.
[Overlay shooting]
  • [On]: Earlier exposures are superimposed on the view through the lens. The earlier exposures aid composition of the next shot.
  • [Off]: Earlier exposures are not displayed while shooting is in progress.
[Select first exposure (RAW)]Choose the first exposure from the RAW images on the memory card.

Creating a multiple exposure

  1. Highlight [Multiple exposure] in the photo shooting menu and press 2.
  2. Choose an option for [Multiple exposure mode].
    • Highlight [Multiple exposure mode] and press 2.
    • Highlight a multiple exposure mode using 1 or 3 and press J.
    • If [On (series)] or [On (single photo)] is selected, an icon will appear in the display.
  3. Choose a value for [Number of shots] (number of exposures).
    • Highlight [Number of shots] and press 2.
    • Choose the number of exposures using 1 or 3 and press J.
  4. Choose an option for [Overlay mode].
    • Highlight [Overlay mode] and press 2.
    • Highlight an option using 1 or 3 and press J.
  5. Choose a setting for [Save individual pictures (RAW)].
    • Highlight [Save individual pictures (RAW)] and press 2.
    • Highlight an option using 1 or 3 and press J.
    • To save both the multiple exposure and the shots that make it up, select [On]; the individual shots are saved in RAW format. To save only the multiple exposure, select [Off].
  6. Choose an option for [Overlay shooting].
    • Highlight [Overlay shooting] and press 2.
    • Highlight an option using 1 or 3 and press J.
    • Select [On] to superimpose earlier exposures on the view through the lens. You can use the earlier exposures as a guide when composing subsequent shots.
  7. Choose an option for [Select first exposure (RAW)].
    • To choose the first exposure from existing RAW pictures, highlight [Select first exposure (RAW)] and press 2.
    • Use the multi selector to highlight the desired picture.
    • To view the highlighted picture zoomed in, press and hold the X button.
    • After highlighting the desired picture, press J.
  8. Start shooting.
    • Take the selected number of shots. If you used [Select first exposure (RAW)] to select an existing RAW image as the first exposure in Step 7, shooting will start from the second exposure.
    • Once you have taken the selected number of shots, the pictures will be overlaid to create a multiple exposure.
    • If [On (series)] is selected for [Multiple exposure mode], you can continue to take additional multiple exposures until [Off] is selected.
    • If [On (single photo)] is selected, the camera will exit multiple exposure mode once the number of shots selected in Step 3 has been taken.

Saved overlays

If you took pictures with the image quality set to RAW, JPEG images in the [JPEG fine] image quality will be saved.

The i menu

Pictures can be viewed by pressing the K button while a multiple exposure is in progress. The most recent shot in the current multiple exposure is indicated by a $ icon; pressing the i button when this icon is present displays the multiple exposure i menu.

  • Highlight items and press J to select.
  • You can also have the option of using touch controls after pressing the i button.
OptionDescription
[View progress]View a preview created from the exposures recorded to the current point.
[Retake last exposure]Retake the most recent exposure.
[Save and exit]Create a multiple exposure from the exposures taken to current point.
[Discard and exit]Exit without recording a multiple exposure.
  • If [On] is selected for [Save individual pictures (RAW)], the individual exposures will be saved separately.

Multiple exposure

  • If you use the menus or view pictures in the display while shooting a multiple exposure, remember that shooting will end and the multiple exposure will be recorded if no operations are performed for about 40 seconds (or in the case of menus, about 90 seconds). The time available to record the next exposure can be extended by choosing longer times for Custom Setting c3 [Power off delay] > [Playback] or [Menus].
  • Multiple exposures may be affected by “noise” in the form of randomly-spaced bright pixels, fog, or lines.
  • In continuous shooting modes, the camera records all exposures in a single burst. If [On (single photo)] is selected, multiple exposure shooting will end after the first multiple exposure is recorded. If [On (series)] is selected, an additional multiple exposure will be recorded each time the shutter-release button is pressed.
  • In self-timer mode, the interval between each shot in the exposure is selected using Custom Setting c2 [Self-timer] > [Interval between shots]. Regardless of the value selected for the c2 [Number of shots] option, shooting will however end after the number of shots selected for the multiple exposure.
  • Multiple exposures may end if settings are changed while shooting is in progress.
  • Shooting settings and photo info for multiple exposure photographs are those for the first exposure.
  • Do not remove or replace the memory card while a multiple exposure is in progress.
  • Memory cards cannot be formatted while a multiple exposure is in progress. Some menu items will be grayed out and unavailable.

Multiple exposure: Restrictions

Multiple exposure cannot be combined with some camera features, including:

  • modes other than P, S, A, and M,
  • video recording,
  • bracketing,
  • HDR (high dynamic range),
  • interval-timer photography,
  • time-lapse video recording, and
  • focus shift.

Ending multiple exposures

To end a multiple exposure before the specified number of exposures have been taken, select [Off] for multiple exposure mode. A multiple exposure will be created from the exposures that have been recorded to that point (if [Average] is selected for [Overlay mode], gain will be adjusted to reflect the number of exposures actually recorded).

The multiple exposure will also end if:

  • the standby timer expires after the first exposure has been taken, or
  • you press the K button followed by the i button and select either [Save and exit] or [Discard and exit]