Software updates: Hydra, DPHDR, Photomatix...
February 26, 2009
New Year's Resolutions never worked out for me. I promised to blog about things as they are happening right away, yet unreported bits of information keep piling up on my desktop. Sorry about this...
So let's wrap some of them up, shall we?
The mac-only HDR software, that looks as if it's been made by Apple itself, has been updated to a full new revision. New feature highlights of Hydra 2:
There have been many more enhancements, most notably better RAW support, reworked Aperture plugin, German localization, better stability and GPU support. A well-rounded update, worth the $19.95 tag for registered users. (Note, that the 30% discount for readers of the HDRI Handbook only applies to new purchases.)
But wait, there's more:
Marketing puts this release in the "faster and more fun" category. Nice tagline. But how does it hold up?
Faster doesn't mean DP HDR 4 would necessarily tonemap faster due to code optimizations. But it certainly feels much more fluent, because all sliders now show live feedback. You've seen a real-time preview like this only in Picturenaut before, and you will agree that it's an incredible workflow boost. Suddenly everything feels right, when you see the image change while dragging a slider. It makes you realize how blind you were before, tip-tapping sliders just to figure out what they do...
More fun? Well, there is a plethora of options to mess with you image. Yes, it means it's very easy to slip into the overtweaking and falling in for funky look experiments. The dangerous kind of fun... ;)
As with all powertools, the real mastery comes out when work careful and scale effects down into subtleties. And Match Color, temperature-based Color Correction, and Curves are professional tools, I use them in VFX Compositing all the time. Adding into the mix some special HDR-related tools like the Light Tuner and this great 3D Filter (which keeps the sky from graining up), this toolbox can be taken serious.
Granted, most of these "fun" features are not new. New in version 4 is a post-processing editor, where you can apply a bunch of filters to your tonemapped image. Some of them are very cool, Photoshop plugins are also supported, but I wish they would all just work in full 32 bits. Just like Michael Bay demands things to be awesome, I demand things to just work. Another grain of salt is, that the 360 Pano option doesn't respect zenith and nadir, which makes it useless for fully spherical panoramas. DPHDR also has the annoying tendency to show a difference in the final render to what you'd expect from a preview - a common achilles heel for tonemappers. And I was able to crash it first day. But that doesn't have to mean anything, I literally crash everything I touch 5 times a day, must be my chaotic "Hey - wat that do?" click habits.
Anyway, a great update to a great software. IMHO the new interactivity justifies the $25 update fee. Even for a new user $55 isn't bad, drop this down to $39 (less than a dinner for two in LA), when you have my book.
The most popular HDR software keeps defending it's position with a supercool new Lightroom plugin.
Now all settings are kept inside Lightroom's Export dialog itself - you don't even have to wait for Photomatix to start anymore. Huge workflow improvement! It makes me wish Lightroom would be able to show the HDR (or OpenEXR) files generated. Even a rudimentary HDR support like Adobe Bridge has it...
For now, you can tell the Photomatix LR plugin to tonemap right away and import the result back into Lightroom. So, it works much like the Batch Processing mode, but with Lightroom as file chooser. Very clever and streamlined workflow, check out this tutorial.
Oh, and the 3.1 update last October was actually a substantial one as well. Chromatic Aberration and Noise reduction, both serious options for improving the quality of your photos. The Tonemapping interface is redesigned (in a good direction), and I've noticed several little workflow improvements all over the Batch Processing dialog. Which is where I roll most of my HDRs, personally.
Best of all, this update is free. In fact, I've rarely ever seen a paid update for Photomatix - even though they keep maniacally improving the soft with every point update. In this regard, $99 is actually cheaper in the long run (or $69.30 for my readers - again, only valid for a new purchase)
Last but not least...
The wait for Picturenaut 3 is almost over. If you want to get a glimpse of what's in store, download the beta and leave a note in the forum. Nuff said.
Yours, truly
Christian Bloch
So let's wrap some of them up, shall we?
Hydra 2 is out for Mac
The mac-only HDR software, that looks as if it's been made by Apple itself, has been updated to a full new revision. New feature highlights of Hydra 2:
"Perceptive" Tonemapper.
Has almost no settings, nevertheless delivers very pleasant results. Appears to be a local TMO with fully automatic radius adjustment. A word of warning: it's not panorama-safe (left/right seam gets accentuated).100% Loupe Preview.
Fancy design and seems to quite accurately resemble the final result."Pro" Adjustments.
Sharpness, Saturation, Luminosity, Contrast - all these tweaks are applied as postprocess, but wrapped in the tonemapper interface. Especially useful is the inclusion of Preset swatches for all settings. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why all these options should be only for pro's..."Homography" Alignment.
Probably the most unique feature of Hydra, the control-point based warping alignment, has been further improved. Very useful to save tricky hand-held HDR shots.There have been many more enhancements, most notably better RAW support, reworked Aperture plugin, German localization, better stability and GPU support. A well-rounded update, worth the $19.95 tag for registered users. (Note, that the 30% discount for readers of the HDRI Handbook only applies to new purchases.)
But wait, there's more:
Dynamic Photo HDR 4 rocks on PC
Marketing puts this release in the "faster and more fun" category. Nice tagline. But how does it hold up?
Faster doesn't mean DP HDR 4 would necessarily tonemap faster due to code optimizations. But it certainly feels much more fluent, because all sliders now show live feedback. You've seen a real-time preview like this only in Picturenaut before, and you will agree that it's an incredible workflow boost. Suddenly everything feels right, when you see the image change while dragging a slider. It makes you realize how blind you were before, tip-tapping sliders just to figure out what they do...
More fun? Well, there is a plethora of options to mess with you image. Yes, it means it's very easy to slip into the overtweaking and falling in for funky look experiments. The dangerous kind of fun... ;)
As with all powertools, the real mastery comes out when work careful and scale effects down into subtleties. And Match Color, temperature-based Color Correction, and Curves are professional tools, I use them in VFX Compositing all the time. Adding into the mix some special HDR-related tools like the Light Tuner and this great 3D Filter (which keeps the sky from graining up), this toolbox can be taken serious.
Granted, most of these "fun" features are not new. New in version 4 is a post-processing editor, where you can apply a bunch of filters to your tonemapped image. Some of them are very cool, Photoshop plugins are also supported, but I wish they would all just work in full 32 bits. Just like Michael Bay demands things to be awesome, I demand things to just work. Another grain of salt is, that the 360 Pano option doesn't respect zenith and nadir, which makes it useless for fully spherical panoramas. DPHDR also has the annoying tendency to show a difference in the final render to what you'd expect from a preview - a common achilles heel for tonemappers. And I was able to crash it first day. But that doesn't have to mean anything, I literally crash everything I touch 5 times a day, must be my chaotic "Hey - wat that do?" click habits.
Anyway, a great update to a great software. IMHO the new interactivity justifies the $25 update fee. Even for a new user $55 isn't bad, drop this down to $39 (less than a dinner for two in LA), when you have my book.
Photomatix 3.1 with Lightroom Plugin
The most popular HDR software keeps defending it's position with a supercool new Lightroom plugin.
Now all settings are kept inside Lightroom's Export dialog itself - you don't even have to wait for Photomatix to start anymore. Huge workflow improvement! It makes me wish Lightroom would be able to show the HDR (or OpenEXR) files generated. Even a rudimentary HDR support like Adobe Bridge has it...
For now, you can tell the Photomatix LR plugin to tonemap right away and import the result back into Lightroom. So, it works much like the Batch Processing mode, but with Lightroom as file chooser. Very clever and streamlined workflow, check out this tutorial.
Oh, and the 3.1 update last October was actually a substantial one as well. Chromatic Aberration and Noise reduction, both serious options for improving the quality of your photos. The Tonemapping interface is redesigned (in a good direction), and I've noticed several little workflow improvements all over the Batch Processing dialog. Which is where I roll most of my HDRs, personally.
Best of all, this update is free. In fact, I've rarely ever seen a paid update for Photomatix - even though they keep maniacally improving the soft with every point update. In this regard, $99 is actually cheaper in the long run (or $69.30 for my readers - again, only valid for a new purchase)
Last but not least...
Picturenaut 2.8 Beta
The wait for Picturenaut 3 is almost over. If you want to get a glimpse of what's in store, download the beta and leave a note in the forum. Nuff said.
Yours, truly
Christian Bloch
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HDR-Jack puts that missing button on your Canon
February 22, 2009
Canon doesn't want you to shoot bracketed exposures for HDR, unless you buy the flagship model EOS 1D. Thankfully, smart people keep coming up with solutions for the rest of us.
Yep. It's the minimalist approach. Just a trigger plugged into the remote jack.
So, how does Luk's HDR-Jack compare to other do-it-yourself solutions like Steve's infamous DS-controller or Joergen's Bracketmeister?
Head over to Luk's page for a tutorial on how to build your own. Gotta love open source hardware design! If touching a soldiering iron turns you into a safety hazard, you might also consider pestering Luk to send you an handmade HDR-Jack for a fee.
Meet the latest creation of Lukasz Panek:
Yep. It's the minimalist approach. Just a trigger plugged into the remote jack.
So, how does Luk's HDR-Jack compare to other do-it-yourself solutions like Steve's infamous DS-controller or Joergen's Bracketmeister?
- Smaller (tiny enough to loose it...)
- Needs no external power source: One battery less to worry about.
- No setup/boot time required at all.
- Least configurable.
- Hardwired to shoot brackets from 1/250 sec to 16 sec in 2 EV intervals.
- No cable release, you have to touch the camera to start shooting.
Head over to Luk's page for a tutorial on how to build your own. Gotta love open source hardware design! If touching a soldiering iron turns you into a safety hazard, you might also consider pestering Luk to send you an handmade HDR-Jack for a fee.
Site Update: New Flash Panogallery
February 9, 2009
Recently I realized that I spend more time talking about HDRI, than actually showing anything. How can you believe me I know what I'm talking about?
That's when I decided to build a new portfolio of my panoramic work, built upon the fabulous krpano flash viewer.
Hope this new gallery proves me some street creds in HDR shooting, stitching and tonemapping. Make sure to bring some time, and definitely try the Fullscreen mode. Promise!
Christian Bloch
Dolby Vision hits the streets in SIM2 Solar Series
February 4, 2009
This is big, friends! The first real HDR display has been revealed at the ISE show in Amsterdam, available in Q2 from projector-maker SIM2 and powered by Dolby Vision.
If these specs from the press release make it into the final production model, this baby is even 1000 cd/m2 brighter and 10 inches larger than the infamous Brightside display. It certainly won't be cheap. Engadget reports that Q2 will bring us the professional version (which I'm personally craving for color grading and VFX shot reviews), followed by a consumer version in September.
Good times ahead. It's great to see Dolby ramping up the involvement. Dolby is not only a trusted brand, they also have all the best brain power and tech patents to pull it off and actually push HDR standards into the market. Check out Dolby's HDR Video page (hint: it's in the home entertainment section of their site)!
... and then there's the
sIBL-of-the-month is a drop dead gorgeous viewpoint in Grand Canyon, and the race for front seats in the Hot-on-Flickr gallery has started again.
- Display: LCD panel and power LED BLU (2,206 high-power LEDs) plus HDR technology
- Peak brightness: >4000 cd/m2
- Size: 47 inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Full HD
- Contrast ratio (full on/full off): Infinite (over 1000000:1)
- Full 16-bit processing (65,536 shades per color) and widest range of displayable colors
- Luminance uniformity: more than 95 percent through the LCD panel
- White point: adjustable
- Professional inputs, including HD-SDI
- Silicon: Xilinx Virtex field programmable gate array (FPGA) chipsets
If these specs from the press release make it into the final production model, this baby is even 1000 cd/m2 brighter and 10 inches larger than the infamous Brightside display. It certainly won't be cheap. Engadget reports that Q2 will bring us the professional version (which I'm personally craving for color grading and VFX shot reviews), followed by a consumer version in September.
Good times ahead. It's great to see Dolby ramping up the involvement. Dolby is not only a trusted brand, they also have all the best brain power and tech patents to pull it off and actually push HDR standards into the market. Check out Dolby's HDR Video page (hint: it's in the home entertainment section of their site)!
... and then there's the
monthly site update
sIBL-of-the-month is a drop dead gorgeous viewpoint in Grand Canyon, and the race for front seats in the Hot-on-Flickr gallery has started again.