To create an HDR image with Luminance HDR, you are going to need a series of images, the more the better. Unfortunately, it lacks the sophistication of many commercial titles like Adobe Lightroom or DxO Optics Pro. With Luminance HDR, this can be done as a digital process. This is a type of photography which usually stacks a series of images together to increase contrast. If you're unsure what HDR is, it stands for High Dynamic Range. Luminance HDR is a photo editing tool which provides users with the ability to create HDR images from a variety of different RAW formats, most notably those created by Nikon, Canon and Sony cameras. The Nik brand may not be household name like Adobe is, but photographers working in the digital darkroom have likely heard of it, if not used the company's software.A free and open-source approach to high dynamic range imaging. It's been around a long time-I've personally been using it for a decade-and has changed ownership (and pricing) a few times over the years. It's now owned by DxO, a brand that has developed its own image editing software, benchmark testing methodology, and even dabbled in hardware with the DxO One camera.

DxO has continued to put development effort into the project.

The latest release, Nik Collection 4 by DxO ($149), is refreshed for 2021, with attention paid to streamlining its interface with Adobe creative apps, and newly revamped interfaces for Silver Efex Pro and Viveza. If you're used to workflow applications like Lightroom Classic and Capture One Pro, you'll be a little surprised by how the Nik Collection is delivered. It's not one big piece of software, but rather a suite of distinct plug-ins with a workflow application as a host.Īdobe Lightroom and Photoshop integrate with Nik appsįor most photographers, that's Lightroom, Photoshop, or Capture One, for which the Nik Collection works fine as an external editor. The Nik apps-Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Dfine, HDR Efex Pro, Perspective Efex, Silver Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, and Viveza-provide editing tools that aren't included in Raw workflow suites. Each application is geared to a very specific purpose, and we'll break them down one by one. The toolkit offers a mix of artistic filter effects and tools to accomplish more technical tasks, like noise reduction and sharpening. Upgrade pricing is available for current customers, cutting the cost of the new software to $79.

If you buy the software before the end of June, 2021 you'll also receive a promotional discount, cutting the cost for new customers to $99 and to $59 for upgrades. The following image, and others in this review, were processed using the Nik Collection.

Hdr efex pro