Nik HDR Pro 2 & 32 Bit

The short version:

HDR Efex Pro 2 changes my images from 8 bit to 32 bit which the other Nik plugins do not support. This either flattens or blows out my image.

How do you get around this?


The long version:

I seem to be having problems with the Nik suite of PS plugins while working through an HDR image.

My first step is to open 3 images in PS. These are CR2's at 8 bit.

I then click Merge in HDR Efex Pro 2 and I go through the source dialog select my images and click Merge Dialog and "Create Smart Object".

The Merge Dialog comes up and I get through that.

I then do what I have to do in HDR Efex and click OK.

At this point in my layers palette I have "Layer 0" connected to that is "Smart Filters" and under that HDR Efex Pro 2".
Also at this point my image has changed to 32 bit.

If I then attempt to open it in say Silver Efex Pro 2 I get the following error:

"The command Silver Efex 2 is not currently available."

Note: All the Nik plugins will bring up the same dialog error, yet with their appropriate name.

If I flatten the image it doesn't help.

The only thing that helps is if I change the mode from 32 bit to 16 bit in Image --> Mode --> 16 Bit.
When doing so I get a PS popup saying:

"Document appears to have active smart filters. Some filters may not work properly in the converted document depth."

I then click OK and get the following popup:

"Reducing the document depth can effect the appearance of layered HDR images. Merge layers before changing depth?"

I'm then given the foliowing choices "Don't Merge" "Cancel" "Merge"

If I click "Don't Merge" the image processes and loses my HDR Efex changes and get's really flat.

If I click "Merge" I get an "HDR Toning" dialog box with my image in the background blown out. This dialog contains "Edge Glow" "Tone and Detail" "Color" and "Tone Curve and Histogram" category's with sub category's below them.

At this point I have to tweak these controls until I get the image to where I remember it coming out of HDR Efex Pro or Load a Preset that I've saved from a previous encounter that get's me close, but far from perfect.

Now I can finally get into Silver Efex or other Nik plugin, yet my image has lost it's Smart Filter in the Layers palette that it received coming out of HDR Efex Pro. It's just a single layer at this point, "Layer 1".

or

If I change my images to 16 bit when I first open them. HDR Pro changes this to 32bit, which, again, cannot be opened in any of the other Nik plugins without changing it to 16bit and end up with the same scenario as above.

How do you get around this?

Thanks for any help.

I don't use the smart filters option and when I save the file (after processing in HDR Efex) it returns it to PS as a 16bit file.

Try disabling the smart filter option and see if you have the same problem.

I also don't open the images first in PS...I launch HDR Efex from the automate menu in PS and then select my CR2 files. (your raw files aren't 8 bit, they're 16)

Opened individually, my images are 8 bit in PS, Image --> Mode --> = 8 Bit.

I just tried without the Smart Filters option and yes it takes care of the problem. So does the Automate solution. The bummer is losing the Smart Filter, as I like the idea of going back later to re-tweak.

Thanks a bunch.