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Real or HDR?
Lens: Pentax 35 mm f2.8 Camera: Pentax K-7 Photo Location: Cayucos, CA ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/350s Aperture: F5.6 
Posted By: GeoJerry, 06-04-2012, 10:58 AM

I've posted this photo before, but after seeing all the bees lately, and reading about single RAW HDR's in another thread, I thought I'd try a single RAW HDR on this bee. The first picture is the edited RAW. The second is an HDR created by taking the first picture, creating two versions at -2 EV and +2 EV and inputting these two plus the original into Photomatix.

I'm curious as to which people prefer. I tend to get sucked into HDR too much, thinking that HDR's often look "better" than the original, but I wonder if this is just me? In this case I like the way the bee has been imaged in Photomatix, but I prefer the color and background of the original (don't really like what HDR has done with the out of focus background). However, the HDR brings out the contrast in the flowers better. So for me, overall winner is HDR. Which do you prefer?

Original


Photomatix HDR Version (-2, 0, +2 EV from above RAW)


Last edited by GeoJerry; 06-05-2012 at 06:46 AM.
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06-04-2012, 11:02 AM   #2
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If you reduced the brightness of the HDR shot, it would look even better to me. But yeah - being able to see the details in the flowers that the original shot could not capture wins it for me as well.
06-04-2012, 11:10 AM   #3
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Having to do this would suggest that your relationship with your software is somewhat lacking. If the information was there and your software won't let you access it, change software until you find something that works. HDR should be for accessing information beyond the DR of the original file.
06-04-2012, 12:20 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
Having to do this would suggest that your relationship with your software is somewhat lacking. If the information was there and your software won't let you access it, change software until you find something that works. HDR should be for accessing information beyond the DR of the original file.
Not sure what you mean here. I didn't simply input the pics into Photomatix and then save and export without considering all of the Photomatix options, including saturation, microsmoothing, intensity, black point, etc... i.e. information and procedures beyond just DR. I fiddled around with all of the sliders until I got what I thought was my best result. Normally though I don't treat Photomatix as a final step, and in this case I did some additional tweaking in Aperture after the Photomatix export. I could probably bring the Photomatix/Apreture result and the original file into something like Perfect Layers, and blend and/or mask the two and get a better result, but haven't gone there yet.

I posted this mainly because, since HDR is considered a little controversial, I wondered what version most people would actually prefer.

06-04-2012, 04:44 PM   #5
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I prefer the version with the least blasted highlights and the most shadow detail. Unfortunately in your original you have some highlights that apparently couldn't be salvaged, that were turned grey in your HDR, to me that looks worse. I think you probably need to be -1 EV when you took the original, maybe more.
06-04-2012, 04:59 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
I prefer the version with the least blasted highlights and the most shadow detail. Unfortunately in your original you have some highlights that apparently couldn't be salvaged, that were turned grey in your HDR, to me that looks worse. I think you probably need to be -1 EV when you took the original, maybe more.
I tried a -1, 0, +1 as well, but I didn't think it looked nearly as good as this one (although I wasn't focusing on the highlights). Maybe a -2, 0, +1 would work. Not sure if the asymmetry matters to Photomatix, but will give that a try.
06-05-2012, 05:27 AM   #7
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The links to flickr are broken for me ? Shot unavailable ...

06-05-2012, 06:46 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by daacon Quote
The links to flickr are broken for me ? Shot unavailable ...
OK try it now? I don't know why that happens.
06-05-2012, 06:53 AM   #9
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Yep I can see it now - the original shot is very good , the HDR does give a bit more detail to the flower - and a different look to the bee - not sure it brings out any more detail in the bee though , I like both shots , but in this case I am in the original camp, it's a great macro to begin with.
06-05-2012, 07:47 AM   #10
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the bee looks better to me on the first one, and the flowers on the 2nd one...so its a bee shot or a flowers shot??
06-05-2012, 04:28 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by daacon Quote
Yep I can see it now - the original shot is very good , the HDR does give a bit more detail to the flower - and a different look to the bee - not sure it brings out any more detail in the bee though , I like both shots , but in this case I am in the original camp, it's a great macro to begin with.
Thanks... actually hoping to hear more in favor of the first, even though I liked the second. I think I waste too much time playing with HDR. :-)
06-05-2012, 04:29 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by vicentesagredo Quote
the bee looks better to me on the first one, and the flowers on the 2nd one...so its a bee shot or a flowers shot??
Will try one more experiment.... blending parts of #1 and #2.
06-05-2012, 06:12 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by GeoJerry Quote
I think I waste too much time playing with HDR. :-)
I'd hardly call the photos you've been posting a waste of time!
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/mini-challenges-games-photo-stories/18242...os-here-2.html

And fwiw I mostly prefer #2 Blended image for the win!
06-05-2012, 06:18 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by riff Quote
I'd hardly call the photos you've been posting a waste of time!
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/mini-challenges-games-photo-stories/18242...os-here-2.html

And fwiw I mostly prefer #2 Blended image for the win!
Well.... thanks for that! But what you haven't seen is all the shabby HDR's that were left on the floor. LOL
06-05-2012, 09:08 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by GeoJerry Quote
Well.... thanks for that! But what you haven't seen is all the shabby HDR's that were left on the floor. LOL
Only my own
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