SNS-HDR Pro 2.0 Alpha 1

[TGrundvig]

phil68- there is a noticeable difference in running the RAW images through SNS and converting them to tiff first. I have noticed this difference in both version 1 and version 2. Also, with what I shoot for a living, Architecture, there is a high demand for accurate colors. Sometimes the RAW images don't capture the color temperature accurately, so they must be edited prior to blending or it makes it more difficult after the fact. For example, if the camera warms up the window exposures too much but gets the interior color temperature just right, there is no easy correction for that after it comes out of SNS. Therefore, it's always better for me to make these necessary edits and covert to tiff files prior to running through SNS. On version 2, the RAW files produce a darker image to start with than the exact same images in tiff format. I don't know why, all I know is I have tested this with several sets of images and every time the RAW files produce a darker image.

As for Custom Presets, I do this as well on version 1, but Pro 2 doesn't have this feature yet, so I am always having to start with the default presets. Unless there was an update to Pro 2 that I missed....

[Goranian]

I've never tried to do it with a TIFF image, but I've seen that is true. The final image is brighter and colors more saturated in TIFF than the same image in NEF format.

[Pictus]

Another video showing analysis of SNS 2.0 vs SNS 1.x and other HDR options.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVYD06lG7PM
(best at full screen, 1080p)

Apparently I'm the only one who finds the SNS 2.0 tonemapping a step backwards from 1.x. So maybe I need a tutorial on how to best use the new version. Please show me how you use it, maybe with examples of your processing using SNS 2.0 vs 1.x with explanation of why you think SNS 2.0 is better.

So far, comments in this thread have talked about the improved speed, 360 panos, batch processing, white balance, deghosting, noise reduction, and user interface changes. There are little or no comments about the most important parts of HDR, which are the merge and tonemapping.

Not the only one, I agree with your finds.
Good that you find at the earlier stage(alpha build) so Sebastian Nibisz can do the proper fix.

BTW, your videos do explain well the problems.

[Redcrown]

The Tif/Jpeg vs Raw option for feeding HDR programs has long been debated... and resolved.

All HDR programs, including SNS-HDR, perform 3 basic functions. (1) they align and deghost multiple images, (2) they "merge" the different exposure values into one value, (3) they "tonemap" that merged result.

None of the HDR programs perform these functions on RAW data. They simply can't. They must do all their work on "RGB" data that comes from a raw conversion.

Every HDR program I know (again, including SNS-HDR) uses a program called DCRAW to do raw conversions. DCRAW is a public-domain, royalty-free program. That's why they use it, it's free. DCRAW is also the only option available to them, short of writing their own raw conversion code from scratch.

DCRAW is a "good" program, but not a "great" program. It has far fewer options than other "commercial" raw converters, like Adobe Camera Raw (Lightroom), DX0, DPP, etc. These commercial programs will all produce far better results than DCRAW. The advantages of the commercial raw converters are in white balance, noise reduction, lens correction, CA removal, tonality, and color rendition (profiling). In other words, everything that counts! Most of the commercial raw converters are also faster than DCRAW.

If your SNS-HDR results are brighter or darker or have more noise or have different colors depending on whether you start from raw or tif, that's simply because of the difference between DCRAW and your normal raw converter.

Get a copy of DCRAW yourself. Do a few conversions and compare the results to whatever raw converter you use for normal work. Anybody who does that will stop feeding raw files to their HDR (DCRAW) program.

[den]

...
Redcrown wrote:

The advantages of the commercial raw converters are in white balance, noise reduction, lens correction, CA removal, tonality, and color rendition (profiling). In other words, everything that counts!

Totally agree... ...additionally I believe that the camera manufacturers' provided conversion software has access to camera/lens specific propriatary information that no third party commercial software can access... ...particularly in the case of Fuji X-Trans sensors!!!

Let's let the SNS-HDR software development concentrate on being the best 'post-raw conversion' image blender/tone mapper there is!!!

...den...

[dan45]

I can't import the Tiffs from Alpha 1 in Lightroom CC, only JPG. When I save the Tiff in PS then I can import them.

[Sebastian Nibisz]

SNS-HDR Pro 2.0 Alpha 2

[CDiPhotography]

Love your program! Now, I just downloaded the Alpha 2. There is no place to set up a batch set. Did I miss it?

Thank you!

[Sebastian Nibisz]

The batch processing module will be added in the Alpha 3.