Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

Supported file formats: ATX (32–128 bit), BMP, DIB, EMF, GIF, HDR, ICB, ICO, JPG, JPE,
JPEG, PBM, (Kodak Photo CD) PCD, PCX, PFM PGM, PNG, PPM, PSD (v4–CS2 with layers),
PSP (v5–7 without layers), RLE, SGI, TGA, TIF, TIFF, VDA, VST, WBMP, and WMF; (export)
ATX (32–128 bit), BMP, Wireless BMP, HDR, TIFF, Targa TGA, JPEG grayscale, JPEG low,
JPEG mid, JPEG high quality, PFM, PNG 24 bit, and GIF Web safe colors.
Price level: Artizen HDR approx. $45, Tone Mapping Plug-ins for Photoshop approx. $35
Address: Supporting Computers, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
www.supportingcomputers.net
FDRTools
Chapter 21 ■ High Dynamic Range 237
Vendor: Andreas Schömann
Purpose: Merge tools for combining differently exposed shots into a single high dynamic range
(HDR) image
Description
FDRTools enables you to create high dynamic range images by merging several exposures
into a single image, at the same time converting the result to tone-mapped output
for display on conventional devices. Unlike other HDR merge tools, it brings merging
and tone mapping closer together by allowing you to look at the final output in real time.
It offers control of blackpoint and whitepoint, saturation and gamma, provides a histogram
view of the HDR image, and eliminates noise as a by-product of the process.
FDRTools has an integrated RAW converter and comes in different editions: Basic and
Advanced. The Advanced version has three tone-mapping methods instead of two and
facilities for creating camera specific profiles for photogrammetric HDR images. Both
versions have automatic compensation to correct slight camera vibrations. Also available
is FDRCompressor, a Photoshop tone-mapping plug-in.
Comments
This is a good way to get started in HDR because FDRTools Basic is freeware, aimed
at whetting your appetite so that you purchase the (low-cost) advanced package. Ferrell
McCollough, in the Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography (Lark
Photography, 2008), has rightly praised the high level of interactivity in FDRTools, noting
that it effectively bridges the gap between merging and tone mapping. It allows you
to edit the merging of source images in real time while making adjustments in the relative
contribution of each image to the final result.
Version: FDRTools 2.1 (2008)
OS: Windows 98 and up; Mac OS X 10.3.9 and up
RAM: 512MB