EasyHDR
| easyHDR
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|---|---|
| Basic data
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| developer | Bartłomiej Okonek |
| Current version | 3.14 (February 1, 2020) |
| operating system | Mac OS X and Windows |
| category | Graphics software |
| License | proprietary |
| German speaking | Yes |
| easyHDR | |
easyHDR (like Photomatix , FDRTools and others) is software for generating HDR images from a series of exposures, i.e. H. from a series of conventional images, each with a low range of brightness (LDR images), which were recorded with different exposure times.
Range of functions
easyHDR was developed for the Windows (32- and 64-bit version) and Mac OS X (version 3.1 and higher) operating systems ; on Linux it can be run under an emulator such as B. Wine operated. It is u. a. available in German, English, French, Spanish, Polish and Russian. A manual and a well-functioning automatic tool are available to align the bracketing photos, i.e. H. to be superimposed exactly on top of each other. EasyHDR can manually, automatically or semi-automatically remove ghost images of moving objects from the photos. If a number of exposure series needs to be processed (for example to create a panorama image or to process an entire directory with exposure series), these jobs can be done automatically in batch processing mode . EasyHDR PRO supports multi-core CPUs , if available . The number of cores to be used by the program can be freely selected. Thanks to a rectangular preview, good results can be achieved in post-processing, especially with the Gaussian soft focus and the unsharp masking filter. easyHDR can import the image file formats JPEG, 24/48-bit TIFF, FITS and (thanks to integration with DCRaw ) any RAW photo files.
Example exposure series
The three exposure series (each with three exposures) and the resulting HDR images (each on the far right) below illustrate the improvements compared to the simple LDR image: dark areas (e.g. under the trees in the picture of the half-timbered house), but also relatively light areas (e.g. the branches on the left in the picture from the work of art Color Leaders (1972) by Peter Lacroix) show considerably more details (“ drawing ”). In addition, individual objects (e.g. the upholstery on a buggy) appear much more vivid in the HDR image.
f / 8 - 1/80 sec.
f / 8 - 1/320 sec.
f / 8 - 1/20 sec.
HDR image according to tone mapping (default setting "Standard")
f / 4.5 - 1/8 sec.
f / 4.5 - 1/30 sec.
f / 4.5 - 1/2 sec.
HDR image according to tone mapping (default setting "Standard")
Automatic alignment and ghost removal
Version 2.30.1 of easyHDR, released in November 2012, featured an improved algorithm for removing ghost images (both automatically and manually). The series of exposures shown below, which shows the work of art Color Leaders (1972) by Peter Lacroix , was taken without a tripod. In the (automatically aligned) HDR image 1 (default “Standard”) the ghost images of the individual person were completely removed in the center of the image and also on the left in the image, where passers-by walk across each other and the contrast differences are very small, the automatic system was able to almost completely remove the ghost images remove. With the (automatically aligned) HDR image 2, the problem areas were first marked manually, in which easyHDR then (automatically) only uses the image information from a single photo.
f / 4.5 - 1/20 sec.
f / 4.5 - 1/80 sec.
f / 4.5 - 1/6 sec.
HDR image 1, after tone mapping (ghosting removal: automatic)
HDR image 2, after tone mapping (ghosting removal: manually supported)
"Emphasize LDR" mode
In the "LDR emphasize" mode, easyHDR can also work out details of an individual image, increase contrasts and refresh the colors. LDR stands for a low dynamic range image (in JPG, TIFF or, ideally, in RAW file format) in contrast to the high dynamic range image . The “LDR emphasize” function uses the built-in tone mapping algorithm, which also turns an HDR image into an LDR image, except that the input data does not have the same quality as an HDR image. In contrast to the global contrast enhancement, as usually offered by image processing programs, this algorithm enhances the contrasts locally , whereby details (" drawing ") are simultaneously in dark (e.g. shadowy) and in very light areas (e.g. sky) can be gained. The following examples illustrate the effect of the LDR Emphasis mode.
JPG image generated by the camera (original image)
Image generated by easyHDR from this using "Emphasize LDR" (default setting "Standard")
JPG image generated by the camera (natural stone bridge on Mönchbruchallee)
Image created by easyHDR from the RAW file using "Emphasize LDR" (default setting "Standard")
An image revised with "Emphasize LDR" (default setting "Standard"). Compare with the old versions of this photo.
history
Version 1.0 of easyHDR was released on February 3, 2006. Bartłomiej Okonek, born 1983 in Koszalin (Poland), originally developed it for purposes of astrophotography , e.g. B. for photos of the moon with courtyard. Okonek took part in the Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative (SSETI) project of the European Space Agency (ESA) while studying electrical engineering and telecommunications . In 2007 he completed his studies at the Technical University of Wrocław with a master's thesis on the "efficient implementation of algorithms for HDR image generation and tone mapping in FPGA circuits". Okonek now works as a software engineer. Version 2.0 was released on May 8, 2010 and contained - in addition to accelerated image display - a completely new tone mapping algorithm.
Versions and Licensing
In addition to the professional shareware version called easyHDR Pro , an older version with a limited range of functions is offered as freeware under the name easyHDR BASIC . easyHDR Pro can be downloaded for test purposes without a time limit and fully functional; however, watermarks will be added to the images as long as the software is not licensed.
See also
Web links
- Official easyHDR Web page
- easyHDR Download - netzwelt.de