Available as a 32- or 64-bit plug-in for Photoshop CS3-CS5, Lightroom 2.3 or later and Aperture 2.1 or later, Nik Software’s HDR Efex Pro is the latest addition to the HDR arena. The biggest strength of HDR Efex Pro is how simply it performs with an intuitive interface. The program also allows you to preview changes with global adjustments to an image. Exposure, Contrast, Saturation, Structure, Blacks, Whites, Warmth and Vignetting are a few of the controls and, impressively, these changes also can be performed and adjusted locally to areas of the image through U Point technology. Six preset categories contain a wide variety of tweakable effects that can be applied to images, including Realistic, Artistic, Surrealistic, Landscape and others. There’s ghost reduction, as well, and HDR Efex Pro will create the HDR “look” when using single exposures. List Price: $159.
Photomatix from HDRsoft has long been the de facto HDR software for pros. Photomatix Pro can merge exposures via HDR tone mapping or via its unique Exposure Fusion mode, which reduces noise while combining different exposures for a more natural image. Unlimited stacking of exposures is avaliable, and with Photomatix Pro 4.0 currently in beta, there’s sure to be more possibilities on the way. Photomatix Pro and Photomatix Light (a simpler and easier-to-use version) are available as stand-alone programs and as a tone-mapping plug-in for Lightroom and recent iterations of Photoshop and Aperture with 64-bit compatibility. List Price: $99 (Photomatix Pro single license).
Adobe Photoshop first introduced HDR way back in CS2 with its Merge to HDR function. Now, HDR in the comprehensive image-editing suite has matured into the HDR Pro mode. Opening a selection of images in HDR Pro aligns them automatically. There are extended Local Adaptation controls for 16- or 8-bit images. Edge Glow has radius and strength sliders for specifying the size and pixel tonal value distance of brightness regions. Tone adjustments are included for control over highlights, shadows and midtones, while the Detail slider allows you to adjust sharpness. The Color and Curve dialog box
includes Vibrance, Saturation and Tonal Curve adjustments for color intensity. The Remove Ghosts check box designates a base image for removing the ghost effect that results from a moving subject through the multiple exposures. You can select your own, as well. Photoshop also lets you save custom presets, and includes templates for monochromatic, photo realistic, saturated, surrealistic and more that you can adjust as needed. There’s support for full HDR with 32-bit files, as well, though the HDR image is opened in the standard Photoshop workspace once you’ve set a preview white balance point. List Price: $699 (Adobe Photoshop CS5).
Unified Color Technologies’ HDR Expose includes 32-bit support of its adjustment tools, which gives it a leg up over other programs. The program works with a Beyond RGB color space for utilizing the 32-bit floating point data, while most other HDR software merges 32-bit images into a 16- or 8-bit file before any color processing can be done. The Dynamic Range Mapping tool provides single-click optimization, and there’s also full manual control over the mapping process with adjustment over the dynamic range, brightness, highlight power, shadow power, colors, saturation and noise levels. List Price: $149.
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