Photomatix Pro V5 Released

Just had an email from Photomatix. Version 5 is now available. Registered users of recent earlier versions will be able to upgrade free. My orginal version was V3 back in 2008 so it's cost £28 to upgrade this time. No complaints though as it's a very good bit of software and I'll get the next upgrades FOC for a year or so.

 

Attitudes to HDR are similar to attitudes to Marmite.
I like playing with HDR now and then as I like the creative lattitude it gives me. It can, in the right circumstances, produce excellent photos with a dynamic range that a single shot could not. It can also produce quite arty looking 'pictures', though it can also produce some horrible looking ones. It can work very well on 'architectural' type scenes - buildings, bridges etc and also works very well on church interiors.
You can get a free download of Photomatix but it imposes a watermark but is ok for a trial to see if you like it.There's also a link to sample images in the Photomatix site.
I've a really good HDR of the interior of Wells Cathedral, but can at present find the wretched file!
Here's an example, though not a good one of HDR at work. It wasn't the best light for HDR as the range of levels was low due to lack of sun.
First image is one of the 3 bracketed photos I took, there's lack of detail in the sky.
Second image is the 3 bracketed exposures combined and more details showing.
Third is the result of a mono conversion.
You'll note the power lines have been "photoshopped" out.

 

@Dave W Does this new V 4.2.7 on ebay for £25.99 incl P&P look like a good buy as presumably it can be upgraded FOC to V5 and work out £1.99 cheaper than you upgrading your existing V3?

 

Hi Scrungee.The price looks good, but check out the Photomatix site to verify that V4.2.7 does qualify for a free upgrade, I think it almost certainly does but best be sure. I made a mistake when I wrote the price for me to upgrade - it was £22.86.
Another thing you might like to do is check with the ebay seller that the CD includes the licence key, as when you install (at least from downloaded versions) you have to use the key to register the program. Once registered you'll get notifications emailed to you about any future upgrades.
BTW My original version was V3, but I'd had a free upgrade to V4.2 about a year or 18 months ago. When my attempt to upgrade to V5 free was refused it was on the grounds that my original version was V3.

 

I think Woo started a thread on HDR sometime last year.

I can't say I like this very much, the shots remind me of pictures on jigsaw puzzle boxes and postcards. I still think that photographs should portray the image that we've taken, why take a picture of something for future perusal/reminiscence only to find in the future it's not as it seems because the shot was altered.

 

Yes Sheal, it's horses for courses and just like tastes for Marmite
What HDR can undoubtedly do, IF employed skillfully, (and I can't claim that I do) is produce an image nearer to what you REALLY DID SEE than a single photograph that has a very much more limited range than your Mk1 eyeball has.

 

I'm terrible at keeping 'processed' images Armandii. I'd a really good one, or so I thought, of Wells Cathedral and think I've junked it. But I've just knocked out another quickie from some of the originals, not as good as the one I junked and not done in Photomatix - I used CanonDPP as it's quicker though doesn't have the same fine control. Detail isn't as good as I'd like but that was due to a wide open lens. Next time I visit I'll whack up the ISO and close the aperture!

Very much a quickie - needs quite a bit of tweaking, but may give an idea of the potential of HDR


This next one may be a bit chocolate box'ish to some, but it captures the mood at the time pretty well.


This one isn't HDR, it's a single shot with sepia conversion. For me at least, it conveys the mood on the day far better than the original full colour shot which was pretty insipid.

 

I've taken on board what you are both saying, Dave, Armandii. Meanwhile I keep scrolling back to look at the two top images that Dave has posted. I just can't help feeling that the second one is false, I think for me to accept this as photography HDR will have to be improved much more, if that's possible. Having said that, I don't alter my pictures in any way, if they don't stand on there own merit then I delete them.

 

Thanks Armandii Funny you mentioned a Constable painting as that's just what the scene reminded me of and what I tried to bring out while processing. Midges and clegs (horse flies) were hellish when I took it up in the west highlands.