Photomatix Pro has an update on 4.0 after a beta period. I just tried it out, and it seems to me their raw->tif conversion is better AND they have added a new feature: a lasso tool for replacing a merged tonemapped section of an image with the correlating area of one of the original source images. It's great for natural hdrs of waterfalls when you want to keep the structure of water from the underexposed image but merge the rest. Or maybe for skies?
If you have Photomatix Pro, just launch the program, click help, and select check for updates (or something similar).
The images I'm attaching are a quick and dirty for comparison purposes. I didn't do anything in LR after Photomatix, and the obviously need straightening. I used the lasso to select the underexposed waterfall from a two image hdr. The only other difference is that I think I clicked the "Natural" light effect on the second one and the "Natural +" on the first. These are new buttons that take the place of a more nuanced slider I had finally mastered, but they seem to work nicely and are more user friendly.
Here is the one where I selected the underexposed waterfall only for that section of the image:
Posted by Jack Graham on August 31, 2011 at 2:06 AM
Nice Marylynn---I would not have known this was HDR if you didn say so....( remember the G B & Ugly!).... impressive... I am a NIK HDR Pro guy but you did a great job with Photomatix here.--JG
Thanks, Jack. That's my new goal with HDR in landscapes. Get the dynamic range, but keep it natural. Old cars, trucks, and farm equipment are another story. For those, I do like a wee bit more grit in the final product. I'm going to experiment with using this for focus stacking too.
I love Nik, by the way. I have their complete collection, but I bought it before HDR pro was part of the package. Basically, this lasso tool works just like Nik's control point selectors. It's very cool.
Posted by John Williams on September 3, 2011 at 4:02 PM
I totally agree. My goal with extending dynamic range is to try and capture what my eye is experiencing. This looks very good. I do still prefer manual blending, but fully expect technology to over take it in the not too distant future.
Discussion
4 repliesIf you have Photomatix Pro, just launch the program, click help, and select check for updates (or something similar).
The images I'm attaching are a quick and dirty for comparison purposes. I didn't do anything in LR after Photomatix, and the obviously need straightening. I used the lasso to select the underexposed waterfall from a two image hdr. The only other difference is that I think I clicked the "Natural" light effect on the second one and the "Natural +" on the first. These are new buttons that take the place of a more nuanced slider I had finally mastered, but they seem to work nicely and are more user friendly.
I love Nik, by the way. I have their complete collection, but I bought it before HDR pro was part of the package. Basically, this lasso tool works just like Nik's control point selectors. It's very cool.