Nik Software has applied a unified graphical user interface for HDR Efex Pro. Nik Software has announced that an update to offer 32-bit Photoshop support is due in early 2011. HDR Efex Pro does not currently operate within 32-bit versions of Photoshop (you need CS4 or higher on PCs, CS5 on Macs, and a 64-bit OS).
Both HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix Pro support 32-bit smart objects with Photoshop CS4/5 Extended. You can run HDR Efex Pro as a stand-alone program, too, but it is not designed with this workflow in mind. Photomatix Pro is also available as a stand-alone application, and it supports drag and drop file loading (which is very convenient). Host Platformsīoth HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix Pro are available as plug-ins for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture. I like both programs, so here’s a quick comparison and review. In October, 2010, Nik Software released HDR Efex Pro, a plug-in for Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture that performs HDR tone-mapping. While there are lots of HDR software options available today, I have always gravitated towards using Photomatix Pro ( for my images, because I was able to get good results for my natural landscapes. I’ve seen a lot of bad attempts at tone-mapping, and part of the reason is that the on-board Photoshop tools just aren’t very easy to use. Tone-mapping controls not only the global image contrast, but also local contrast (micro-contrast) between adjacent tones. Tone-mapping is where you tell the software how to squish the 32-bit/channel (HDR) image into a 16-bit/channel color space. The big challenge with HDR in Photoshop has always been the tone-mapping step. I’ve been dabbling in high dynamic range (HDR) photography since 2005, when Adobe released Photoshop CS2 and the “ merge to HDR” command.
Sunrise over the Maroon Bells, Aspen, CO.
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