HDR software quandry

[dominic_lupico]

<p>Being more comfrtable with stone age technology, HDR software is a bit confusing. Do the easiest of the programs out there basically all work with JPEG file format? Would I need to convert anything shot RAW with my T3i first, and what's the easiest way if that's the case? Just point me in the right direction, I'll stumble along from there. Thanks.</p>

[steve_dunn2]

<p>This is very far from a complete answer, but here's one option to try. Your camera included a copy of Canon's DPP software. The latest version, downloadable* from Canon's Web site, includes an HDR module. That module can work with either RAW or JPEG (I'd suggest RAW if possible), and while it has several controls to adjust parameters, it also has a handful of presets ranging from subtle to garish. So if it's easy you want, just flip through the presets until you find one you like; do this for a few images and you'll probably settle on one or two of the presets that you like best. And if you want to start with a preset and then tweak the settings on an image until it's more to your liking, you can do that: the presets are just pre-packaged combinations of the settings for the various controls, so you can start there, adjust things, and if you find it's messed up, just pick the preset again and it will reset the controls for you.</p>

 

<p>Like I said, it's only one option, but since you already have an older version of the software and can download an update for free, and the presets let you do some basic HDR by picking something off a menu, it's worth a shot.</p>

 

<p>*: Any update you download from Canon will refuse to install unless it finds evidence of a previous version of itself, or related Canon software, on your computer. But you already have the CD that came with your camera, so install the old DPP, download the new one, and the installer will be happy.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Constructing HDR images from JPG images would seem silly and counterproductive. I would think it would take a few JPG images to build up to the dynamic range of a single RAW. You should start with RAW images, combine them in the HDR software, and then.... well... that's up to you how far you shove those sliders. (But please, be gentle!)</p>

[szrimaging]

<p>Not a Canon guy, but.....</p>

<p>On HDR, it's pretty much the same, independent of camera manufacturer. For software, if you already have Photoshop CS5 or CS6, you should be fine, at least to start. Photomatix and Nik's software (HDR Efex Pro II, I think) are two of the leaders, and there are more, but I don't know them.</p>

<p>As far as conversion goes, it used to be that software like Photomatix would work better from a jpeg or tif, not sure that is still true. And a 16-bit tiff obviously works better than an 8-bit jpeg. That said, I'm not sure if the software now handles RAW files better. I am on a purely Photoshop way of doing it, and it works well off of the RAW files. That said, make sure you set all the color settings the same in ACR before combining them.</p>

<p>And Sarah, I would say a +-2 bracket of jpegs would be better than a single RAW.</p>

[matt_white4]

<p>There's also an open source project called <a href="http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net">Luminance HDR</a>, roughly equivalent to Photomatix in features.</p>

[arthur_reyes1]

<p>I could never get Photomatix to open RAW. I've had pretty good success using jpeg files with photomatix. I too would vote for the +/- 2 bracket of the jpegs.</p>

[dominic_lupico]

<p>Thank you all for your time in answering my question. I'll shoot some RAW this week and give the DPP a shot. With a HDR module it seems a good place to begin. I think a lot of what I'll wind up doing is simpler single file tonal adjustments, but HDR does look like a lot of fun.</p>