Do you do your HDR from RAW or JPG files and why?

[m.shalaby]

I've been doing it from JPG because its much faster (I only shoot them at 6MP). But is there some benifit to shooting in RAW? Keep in mind, I usually shoot 5 exposures, sometimes 7 and find RAW to be an extreme inconvienience for that many files.

Anyone?

[007]

raw import into photomatix to create the HDR it has more information and makes for clearer images with incredible detail..

[Kevin]

If you go through HDRSoft FAQs they will say that their raw conversion is not the best way to go. They say to save as a 16-bit tiff and then import into Photomatix. I have tired raw, jpg, tiff and dng and for noise I find tiff the best. If you use ACR you can open all images at one time, make all the non-destructive adjustments you need and the in the bottom left corner you can save them as Tiffs. It literally takes me minutes to run a 5 shot series.

This is copied from HDRsoft FAQ section, you may want to take some time to read through all FAQ's, lot's of good info there.

› Do I need to process bracketed RAW files to TIFF format first?
Yes, it is recommended to first process your bracketed RAW files in your favorite RAW converter, and then combine the converted TIFF or JPEG files in Photomatix. This is particularly recommended with Exposure Fusion, given that Exposure Fusion is intended for images that have been fully processed, either in-camera or through a RAW converter.
When generating an HDR image, having Photomatix directly process the RAW files is theoretically better for the accuracy of the 32-bit HDR image produced -- the data in RAW files represent the linear luminance values captured by the camera sensors, which is exactly what is needed for an HDR image. Also, the calculation of HDR values can rely on the exposure information retrieved from EXIF data when RAW files are used.
However, the RAW conversion of Photomatix is not as good as the RAW conversion done in Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture, DxO or other applications specialized in RAW conversion.
This is why you should process your bracketed RAW files in an application that is specialized in the RAW conversion task. Then, use the converted output as source images for Photomatix.
If you have Lightroom, it is easy to integrate both processes with the Lightroom Export Plug-In.
When using a RAW converter with files intended for HDR merging, you should disable sharpening and uncheck all tonal and exposure-related automatic settings (especially the Exposure adjustment setting but also adjustments for contrast, shadow, etc.) which should be set to zero. This does not apply to files intended for Exposure Fusion, though. For Exposure Fusion, it is better to process your RAW files using the auto-settings of the RAW converter.
As a side note: Though shooting in RAW is definitely better than shooting in jpeg for the dynamic range, this is not really relevant anymore when several exposures are used -- if your bracketed shots properly cover the scene's dynamic range, jpegs will work as well as RAWs for creating an HDR image.