Looking at Aurora HDR Pro

[keithcooper]

I've been trying out Macphun's new Aurora HDR software, which does a good job with HDR image production for someone like myself who dislikes the more lurid 'HDR styles'.

It still has a few rough edges (it is V1.0 after all) but makes good use of layers for when you don't want the same look applied all over your image

The weather hasn't really been optimal to take many specific test sets of images, but I hope the examples I've shown give a good feel for what can be achieved?

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/plugins/aurora-hdr.html

As ever, this is the sort of software that you need to try out to see if it fits your own styles and tastes ;-)

[rdonson]

Yep, I'm testing it now to see how it stacks up against images I've created using HDRSoft's Photomatix Pro.  I use Photomatix mainly for its Exposure Fusion feature to obtain a natural looking result.

So far I like the interface but they've not added one feature I like from the other MacPhun CK products.  The ability to move around easily when zoomed to 100%. 

Like you say, it's a version 1.0 product and they've continually updated their other products so...

[jrp]

I have not tried it, but watched a few of their videos (which show that there are lots of sliders, but offer only a poor indication of what they do).

Having sooo many sliders seems to be overkill, but they do have presets that give you an indication of what you can expect, and you can apply the looks selectively (eg, sky v foreground) so it may work OK in practice.

What the videos don't show is how much extra noise you get from processing.

It would be good to get an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the main contenders (Macphun, Topaz Labs, Nik Software, On One, versus Lightroom / ACR) not just for HDR, but the full range of effects.

[keithcooper]

>> I have not tried it, but watched a few of their videos (which show that there are lots of sliders, but offer only a poor indication of what they do).

You need to experiment IMHO - I didn't get the manual for it until I'd done a lot of testing ;-)  Download the demo - the manual has descriptions of many of the functions.  Personally I don't find videos of any real help, but I appreciate that YMMV ;-)

>> Having sooo many sliders seems to be overkill, but they do have presets that give you an indication of what you can expect, and you can apply the looks selectively (eg, sky v foreground) so it may work OK in practice.

Definitely not overkill from my POV - add them to the layering/masking capabilities and it makes for a powerful combination. All the presets do help though ;-)

>> What the videos don't show is how much extra noise you get from processing.
Very little if the original images are good quality. I did notice that de-ghosting produced noisier shadows in the boat example in my review, but they were hardly an optimal source image set ;-)

>> It would be good to get an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the main contenders (Macphun, Topaz Labs, Nik Software, On One, versus Lightroom / ACR) not just for HDR, but the full range of effects.

I have reviews of the Nik software on the Northlight site, but I'm afraid comparative reviews like you suggest need an awful lot of work if they are to be meaningful ;-)