I continue on my quest to explore HDR with panoramas. I just wasn’t overwhelmed with the result from PTGui‘s Fusion model. So, yesterday I tried NIK Software’s HDR Efex Pro 2. (Google now owns NIK Software.) These panos are all from several of the presets in HDR Efex Pro 2. I didn’t take the time to do anything to them at all (including adjust the image white balance!)
Each preset generates a very different mood. All of these HDR panos were generated from the exact same 3 shots bracketed at ± 2EV. This does not represent all of the presets in HDR Efex Pro 2.
I also want to mention that I really like the innovative way NIK software approaches photo manipulation. It’s entirely different from all other software.
One difficulty when using the software: all but one of the panos presented here required touchup work at the vertical seem. (Some of them I dealt with in a quick and sloppy manner.) I’m not sure why, but the brightness on each side did not match and required some attention. I hope this is something that can be addressed in future releases. (I’ve seen this in other programs when the equirectangular pano image is tweaked beyond some mysterious point, whether sharpness, saturation, vibrance, etc.)
But all in all, I really like the software. Many possibilities.
