First HDR attempts..

[theague]

Hi, I'm contemplating purchasing photomatix and have been playing around with it this morning... Please tell me what you think of this and how I could improve it... I'm not sure I am happy with the left side of the image... there seems to be a little bit of a wide halo affect on the tree line. CC welcomed and asked for!

http://suited.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p995621160-5.jpg

[theague]

And another that I just did.. This time I sharpened it.. yes I know there are spots on the image. I didn't want to take the time to clean it up with the PHOTOMATIX watermark all over it. lol

http://suited.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p587302507-5.jpg

[Duder]

looks pretty good to me. the dynamic range seems to be covered nicely. are you happy with it?

[theague]

I'm very happy with both of them, my only gripe is the halos that often show up on HDR... I can see it around the trees. It's not as pronounced as some of them as it looks a little bit wider of a halo but I still see it. I think it actually represents what the scene looked like when I was shooting though.

[theague]

Here's one more... This time I was shooting into the sun obviously but the scene was too beautiful NOT to shoot:

http://suited.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p755716205.jpg

[Bill Pham]

they both looks pretty good. and if you like them that's all what really mather in the end.

Bill

[theague]

This is very true Bill. Thanks :)

[canonloader]

When you are in the tone mapping part with all the sliders. Try setting the radio buttons to 4 or 5 on the right. That should get rid of halos.

That last one is great. And save the originals for after you buy it, you can take the watermark out. Also, before you buy, there are some sites that give discounts if you use their coupon code. I did, and saved $15 right off. ;)

[Duder]

I'm very happy with both of them, my only gripe is the halos that often show up on HDR... I can see it around the trees. It's not as pronounced as some of them as it looks a little bit wider of a halo but I still see it. I think it actually represents what the scene looked like when I was shooting though.

yeah, halos are one of the problems with HDR software. It's because it's basically darkening down bright areas and lightening up dark areas, and any areas where dark meets light, like tree lines or horizons etc, it can't discern the correct pixel radius to use to keep the contrast low.
If you knock the strength slider down a bit, that usually helps, or lighten the sky up a bit too even it out.

[Bill Pham]

now you gone and add another one. that one is very good too. wish i could see something like that one day.

Bill

[theague]

Bill, just travel down to Yellowstone. ;) It's not any further from you than it is from me. It's worth the drive.

Driving directions to Yellowstone National Park From St. Paul, MN
1,093 mi – about 15 hours 53 mins