SuKai Loc: California

I like number 1 the photomatix best. I think it draws more of the details out. The rocks are sharper and show details the other two don't. I think that's why the water looks different because it sharpened all the fuzz out. The water in the other two examples look like a slow shutter speed effect. JMO :-) all look good.

Adirondack Hiker Loc: Southern Adirondacks

I downloaded the trail version, and using the same three images as above, I found the created HDR was severely over exposed in any of the preset mode buttons. Think I will stay with Dynamix HDR. I found PhotoMatix too red, even in the ads.

arphot Loc: Massachusetts

Also, Nik Software HDR Efex Pro (http://www.niksoftware.com/hdrefexpro/en/entry.php) has some incredible possiblilties. one of them being local control of many of the parameters, such as contrast and saturation.

Adirondack Hiker Loc: Southern Adirondacks

I am not a fan of NIK software

Scubie Loc: Brunswick Georgia

Would expect these to show up on a postcard.....maybe a little change in the light, but great...

Doe Loc: N, Augusta, South Carolina

I love HDR photos and as I scrolled through them, when I got to #3 Dynamix HDR, I thought I got stuck in the eye with that stick!!! LOL You don't even notice those sticks until you get to the last one, it really pops!!!

English_Wolf Loc: Near Pensacola, FL

One can say: This is not the software but the user that determines the quality of the finished product...
When it comes to 'simple' DHR w/o interpretation it would have been interesting to see the -0+ shot to compare...
If the water was clear (as the transparency in the pool seems to indicate), the pic #1 is the most accurate.

*simple = non interpretative result.

Jambulee Loc: San Antonio del Mar,Tijuana,Mex

Hi Everyone and thanks to Adriondack Hiker for getiing me going on this I have been using Photomatix essentials for over a year now and needed to upgrade to a more robust HDR program.

So I did my own comparisons and her is what I came up with.
HDR software comparison

My main concern for HDR software was ease of use right after download--how user friendly is it, quality of the finished product and price.

For ease of use I did not mess with a lot of the controls but clicked on some of the presets in the "natural range" of adjustments as I prefer a more dynamic look but not too artificial. So all the images posted as examples were done with very little manipulation.

Expose 2 from Unified Color gave me the worst result as it was unable to align the clouds and water or remove ghosting even though I did click on the button which was supposed to enable that option. The image looks very muddy as well. Cost $149.00

Dynamic Photo HDR did a better job however the ease of use was poor. It did not read the EV values in my metadata so I had to enter it (hopefully I got it right). This would be a real pain if I had a larger number of photos. Also manually aligning the combinations of images--4 possible combinations with 3 photos--and more combinations if I had 4 or 5 images, again not very user friendly. The following two programs did a great job of aligning my 3 images and had no issues reading EV values. I did not do any further work on the final image to make it look more like Photomatix Pro or NIK HDR EFFEX PRO.
Cost $149.00

PhotoMatix Pro did an excellent job and gave me a good base image to further fine tune until I got what I want. It came very close right after tone mapping for the look I was after. The only draw back is the amount of noise which would require and another program to reduce. Cost $99.00

NIK HDR EFFEX PRO was excellent as well and gave results very close to Photomatix Pro. The amount of noise was the same as Photomatix Pro also needing another program to reduce. Although I did not use the "U point" algorithms on the image I really like the ability to control the HDR effects locally. This adds a level of control not found in either of the above programs. Cost $99.00 plus $49.00 for my upgrade to Define 2 for noise reduction.

Expose 2 example


Dynamic Photo HDR


Photomatix Pro


NIK HDR EFFEX Pro