by cdmikelis » Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:24 pm
Dear Sebastian!
I'm glad you are developing new version. I installed it and tried one image I previously just done in current version. my first thought are mixed:
+++ It is faster :)
Not just processing, but the program loads instantly, where current version needs 11 seconds (on fast SSD). Also sliders seems to be even more responsive. They seems to be less agressive and we have much greater control now. But at this point there is drawback also. It is so much sliders, switches, sections, separate light and color... that it is almost confusing. But certain it is way more time consuming.
I remember I came to your precious product in 2012 because I didn't stand "toy/cartoon" look of other softwares. SNS-HDR was by far the slowest to process. It had a lot of sliders to twek but at just managable number to remember what certain one does to image. While competition had much simpler designs, a lot of people praise that software probably just because simplicity. SNS-HDR 2 is not simpler, by any mean. While I like all the fine tuning possibilities, which gives almost endless possibilities to salvage even flattest image, I did not miss much in version one. Actually it is easier to get nice image from V1, despite being more harsh and have less tweaks.
MASKS are not present in V2 at the time: I think your way of masking implementation is the best of any software I know. So I hope it stays >>> possible upgrade would be "similarity slider", since at some area (grass), it is tedious to paint all shades of green.
I like that we have still "normal" and "highlights", and nov ve have even "lightness" per curve. That is great. But it need to be redesigned somehow to be more clear what is engaged. Even on 24'' display, buttons are very tiny. And somehow it is confusing when button is pressed or not. Too small to see emboss and if only color is changed than we slide to "adobe" disign - where you never know what is on or off, since they omitted shades (emboss was ommited even before). If I look at the current SNS, there is no doubt. Bigger buttons SAME color, but darker shade and embossed instead of beveled. Please consider that we have only bigger displays with bigger resolutions theese days, and we most certainly have dual setups, so full screen preview is on different monitor.
Version 2 give great improvement over current version in how merge exposures together. Colors are EVEN MORE NATURAL than in version one. Version one sometimes have hard time to map light curve if 2 out of three images are very bright. If "normal exposed" frame have already almost ok exposure, than "overexposed" frame would throw tonemaped composite to impossible-to-fix-bright image. Solution is either to preexpose frames in RAW processor and than merge them in HDR. This was due to SNS mapped whole image together additive, so "underexposed" frame was darkening shadows (and adding noise) and "overexposed" frame brighten overbrtight areas and make them washed out (and adding noise when this was salvaged back with sliders). I remeber the ZERO NOISE project by Guillermo Luijk, which took only parts from each raw which was right for that part of final tone curve. No duplication, noise, shadowing...
I can praise highlights protection in V2 as well. It reatain contrast and not dimm whole image as before. I like very VERY good sharpening.
In SNS-HDR v2 I see greeat improvement regarding that, since same files which gives false colors in v1 are right in v2. I will evaluate it further.
But forst problem I found is "thickening" of tiny branches on trees against bright sky. While version 1 gives less of that effect. V2 "grabs" too much of surrounding.