Easy HDR

Welcome to Strictly HDR!

This site is dedicated to High Dynamic Range Photography.

There are several categories that you cannot view as a guest, so please take a moment to register!

[johnw]

Hi everyone. Does anyone on this website use EasyHDR and if so what are their views on it? Everything I read seems to point to Photomatix which I am sure is a very good program but does everyone use it? Every magazine I read uses Photomatix in the tutorials. Is it something like Adobe Photoshop. I know it's probably the best program but it's certainly not the only program.
Also does anyone have any views on how many exposures you should take to get a good HDR image. My camera takes 3 pictures by bracketing. Is this enough or should I be aiming for 5 exposures or even 7.
John

[DAVE RHUBERG]

I think Photomatix is the easiest to use.  It is the best if you want limited control and maximum enjoyment.
Photoshop is the best to me.  It is the only program that lets you use traditional tools on the 32bit HDR image.  I use Photoshop with the Photomatix plugin.  Photoshop achieves the basics and reserved effects, Photomatix does the spectacular effects.  Blend to taste.
I usually take 3 exposures.    You need as many as you can take that get you from a full exposure of shadows, to a full exposure of highlights.   So a low contrast scene, like at twilight, might get covered  by 3.  But a moonlit night, or sunlight and shadows, might need 6, 7 or more.   Usually if you will capture the highlight end, and let the shadows suffer if necessary, you will get enough for a satisfactory image.

[ravenhawk82]

Don't know much about EasyHDR. I've use four different HDR programs though, and Photomatix is definitely my favorite. It's fast, easy, and yields great results.
For the three bracketed shots you can take, how many EVs apart are they? All my shots (with the exception of the few I shot with someone elses camera) are made with three shots, each 2 EV apart. I've used cameras that can go up to 9 shots, but in the vast majority of images I've taken that way, I didn't notice much difference. It's all just about making it look good. If it's pretty, nobody is going to say "Oh, he only used three... MY images are taken with seven."