Photomatix Pro 4

by HDRsoft

Product Features

• Creation HDR images
• Tone Mapping
• Exposure Fusion
• Automatic alignment hand-held photos
• Reduction of noise and chromatic aberrations in HDR images

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002CIP12U
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 1, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #31 in Software > Graphics > Photo Editing

Product Description

Photomatix Pro is photographic software developed by HDRsoft for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows and primarily designed to make the process of merging multiple photographs into high dynamic range images and then locally tone-mapping them back to LDR images, easier and more streamlined. By automatically blending multiple exposures of photos it has the ability to create 32-bcv cv vc it images and tone mapped images. These different exposures are best taken as three different RAW files. However, in some circumstances you can use one file and process the different exposures from this photography.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

242 of 251 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use, Gives new life to your photos! July 14, 2009

By Minnesota

Length: 1:30 Mins

I am a HDR newbie, I never thought I would be diving into HDR so quickly (didn't even know what it was a month ago). This program makes it so easy to transform your photos. I have a nikon D200, D5000 and Olympus e-pl1, and I have achieved astonishing photos, adding this technique, photos are jaw-dropping. I have had some many compliments to my photos, and even friends asking me to help them achieve the same wonderful photos. This is a very insteresting technique. Once you have your shot taken with at least 3 different exposures then you will merge the 3 photos into HDR image, and then next step of the program is tone mapping to reveal highlights & shadows details in HDR image. The results will AMAZE you.

One note, you can download this software's trail version for free to see if you like it, that is what I did. You can use it indefinetely (not 30 days like most), but it will leave a watermark on your finished project, but at least you can play with it before spending $100.

**If you don't have a camera that can take 3 different exposures or you having a moving target that you can't, you can take one photo and then manipulate 2 new exposures with a software program, or even Windows photo gallery. It is not "true" hdr, but it gives similar results. I took some photos of my niece walking down the aisle at an outside wedding on a beautiful day. I couldnt do the 3 diffenet exposures with my camera because of the movement (even a second in time makes a difference of the photo you take), so I manipulated 2 new exposures afterwards and then used this program. The results were amazing, the sky alone with the clouds and sun shinning thru looked 3D.

74 of 75 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Point and Shoot or Canon 7D Images Will Pop!!!! December 14, 2009

By L. Bishop

Photomatix Pro has enabled me to get DSLR quality images on my Canon Power Shot S5 IS camera. I'm having so much fun with Photomatix Pro, my hungering for the Canon EOS 7D is not as strong as before discovering Photomatix.

Using this "magical" software I have been able to "reverse engineer" some of my older photos taken as single exposure shots and turn them into the eye poppers.

In Photoshop I increased the exposure on an otherwise well composed shot, but a little flat exposure wise. I increased exposure by 1.0 stops, and reduced the exposure by .5 stops. I saved each "tweaked" image and then sent them over to Photomatix, and WOW! Another eye popper emerged. There is one drawback, although the exposure and contrast were great, the color suffered. I saved the recreated photo as a black and white, and corrected the image a little bit back in Photoshop. The resulting black and white image is as great as if it had been a bracketed image in the first place.

ADDED: I was able to "reverse engineer" a color photo and merge the exposures and the color rendering came out fine. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won't. But you'll get great B/W images even if you cannot get good color results.

Many of my photos done with the bracketing and Photomatix merging take on oil painting qualities or some have even looked like pen and ink drawings.
Others take on a surreal look without any Photoshop SFX.

If you own a higher end Point and Shoot with exposure bracketing, this is THE software to purchase. You don't even need Photoshop. Photomatix saves the merged images as a TIFF file which means you can edit the merged image in just about any photo editing program....

If you're like me, wanting to upgrade to a DSLR but still can't quite afford one, then the $100 investment in Photomatix will make the wait a bit more tolerable.

ADDED REVIEW CONTENT

Well, I now own the camera of my dreams, the Canon 7D. Using exposure bracketing on the 7D and Photomatix have given me some really eye-popping images.

This is a five star product! Read more ›

80 of 82 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great way into HDR photography October 4, 2009

By Busy Executive TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Photomatix offers a relatively strong and low-cost way to get into HDR photography, and I find it a great creative tool.

The program's support for RAW format images seems to be good - it handles RAW from my Nikon D300 and D3x without problems, although the large files that come from my D3x seem to take a long time to process. A fast computer and lots of memory help.

Assuming good basic technique, the images come out amazingly well. Although the basic idea is to stitch together images taken with different exposures, sometimes it's handy to use the program's tone mapping capabilities, even on a single image.

I tend to start my workflow with Photomatix, outputting HDR TIF images that I usually bring back into an editing program (PhotoShop) for further tweaking. Photomatix is good at HDR - you still need something else for many of the other changes you might want to make to your images.

Overall, I find the software a great creative tool and it's helped me think in new ways about contrast and dynamic range in my images. Definitely worth the price.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Had enough Photoshop layering to get good photos October 4, 2009

By Art

Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're tired of spending hours making hair-splitting selections in numerous layers in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements in order to get a photo that is well-exposed from edge to edge, Photomatix is the application for you. Within 15 minutes of taking three shots of my street and transferring the images to the computer, I had created my first High Dynamic Range photo. It usually takes some tweaking with a photo editing program to put the finishing touches on the photo, but the results are amazing. The software comes with a 28-page printed manual that provides good guidance on how each of the sliders affects the results. Add Photomatix to Ferrell McCoullough's book, "Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography" for a real education in HDR photography.