Tone Mapping

There's a lot of discussion about HDR and there is no doubt about the amazing effects that can be achieved.

But without owning a copy of Lightroom what else is there that can handle Nikons' "NEF" images?

With just a D3100 camera and the 18-55mm kit lens I've been experimenting with "Tone Mapping" from a single hi-res jpeg.

The results are mixed and it's very easy to over process an image. But sometimes the effects can be surprising.

If you've tried Tone Mapping then post 'em up, lets see what you made.

Here's a few of mine to start.....

Karmann_65 said:

There's a lot of discussion about HDR and there is no doubt about the amazing effects that can be achieved.

But without owning a copy of Lightroom what else is there that can handle Nikons' "NEF" images?

With just a D3100 camera and the 18-55mm kit lens I've been experimenting with "Tone Mapping" from a single hi-res jpeg.

The results are mixed and it's very easy to over process an image. But sometimes the effects can be surprising.

If you've tried Tone Mapping then post 'em up, lets see what you made.

Here's a few of mine to start.....

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There are a few free programs that can process RAW (NEF)images like Nikons View NX2 I believe. There are also a few free HDR programs out there as well, so you can take bracket shots on your D3100 and get some pretty good HDR results. The D3100 doesn't have auto bracketing, so you have to shoot the exposures one by one. I recommend a tripod, although I have done it hand held with my D3100 in good light.

Here is an example of a handheld 3 exposure HDR with a D3100 and an 18-55mm lens, when I first started out on my DSLR journey.

There are plenty of options besides LR, the question is how much editing do you want to do in that software? If you want something simple that can then interface with other editors there are plenty of options, including ViewNX2 that you get free.

As for Tone Mapping, yes, it's very easy to overdo it. Some people love that effect, others loathe it. I've lived in both camps. I don't do it as a rule any more, but have used HDR techniques on multiple copies of a single image to facilitate pulling details out of shadows and highlights. I've been slowly migrating away from that and moving to luminosity masks to handle those things. It's a tougher hill to climb, but ultimately it gives you more control over the image. Basic tone mapping just feels overly compressed to me any more, clipping a lot of the dynamic range. Not always, but more times than not.

BackdoorHippie said:

There are plenty of options besides LR, the question is how much editing do you want to do in that software? If you want something simple that can then interface with other editors there are plenty of options, including ViewNX2 that you get free.

As for Tone Mapping, yes, it's very easy to overdo it. Some people love that effect, others loathe it. I've lived in both camps. I don't do it as a rule any more, but have used HDR techniques on multiple copies of a single image to facilitate pulling details out of shadows and highlights. I've been slowly migrating away from that and moving to luminosity masks to handle those things. It's a tougher hill to climb, but ultimately it gives you more control over the image. Basic tone mapping just feels overly compressed to me any more, clipping a lot of the dynamic range. Not always, but more times than not.

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This is why I suggested to the OP to try and get at least 3 different exposures. I agree with using layers and masks, one can bring out a much cleaner and natural looking High Dynamic Range image.

I've had a go with a couple of softwares and the first thing they do is to convert the NEF images (manually bracketed and using a tripod) into jpeg's and then process these.

Is there a recommended place to get a copy of ViewNX2? I'm keen to try HDR properly because I realise what I'm doing now is downgrading the images enormously. It's punchy colours and decent reflections I'm mainly looking for as I take a lot of pictures at car shows.

Karmann_65 said:

I've had a go with a couple of softwares and the first thing they do is to convert the NEF images (manually bracketed and using a tripod) into jpeg's and then process these.

Is there a recommended place to get a copy of ViewNX2? I'm keen to try HDR properly because I realise what I'm doing now is downgrading the images enormously. It's punchy colours and decent reflections I'm mainly looking for as I take a lot of pictures at car shows.

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For a standalone HDR program I use Photomatix Pro. It converts the NEF files to TIF files and gives yo a TIF result at the end. It is around a hundred dollars, but they have a basic program that costs a lot less.
IMHO however, if you are going to spend that kind of money, I would go with NIK Tools. For about the same price as Photomatix Pro, you get HDR Pro, with a lot of other programs. I would really look into it.

Blacktop said:

For a standalone HDR program I use Photomatix Pro. It converts the NEF files to TIF files and gives yo a TIF result at the end. It is around a hundred dollars, but they have a basic program that costs a lot less.
IMHO however, if you are going to spend that kind of money, I would go with NIK Tools. For about the same price as Photomatix Pro, you get HDR Pro, with a lot of other programs. I would really look into it.

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do you need Photmatix, when you have an hdr plug in Nik Tools? Just wondering what your thoughts are on getting both?

Here's a re-edit of my Unstill Life weekly contest entry that has been tone mapped. I think I might like this one bit more than the original edit, hehe.

Unstill Life - Tone Mapped by Matthew Krei, on Flickr

sonicbuffalo said:

do you need Photmatix, when you have an hdr plug in Nik Tools? Just wondering what your thoughts are on getting both?

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HDR efex Pro is quite capable. I just like the ghost reduction better in Photomatix.
Plus, I already had Photomatix before I got NIK, so I just kept it.

If I didn't have neither, I would get Nik without hesitation.

Blacktop said:

There are a few free programs that can process RAW (NEF)images like Nikons View NX2 I believe. There are also a few free HDR programs out there as well, so you can take bracket shots on your D3100 and get some pretty good HDR results.

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I downloaded and installed ViewNX2 last night but havn't yet had time to experiment with it. Is this software aimed at making level adjustments to single NEF images?

Having searched, I can't find any free HDR software that can cope with the NEF file format. Guess I'd just like to try it before splashing the cash.

On another note, I ordered a new Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR lens last night with a Hama UV filter. A belated birthday present from the wife.

Tone mapped from a single JPG

Probably my best ever tone mapped image (I'll let you be the judge of that)

Whereas normally the mapping process degrades the image leaving a grainy effect, I somehow managed to save this one.

I find ViewNX to be really buggy... and all you really want it for is for conversion.

Now that Capture NX-D is free, you really want to download install and use that. I find that Nikon does better with their nef to 16 bit tiif conversions than anything else (including ACR). While you can do 'some' development in CaptureNX before converting to tiff, don't get heavy handed.

If you're on Mac, there is no better bang for the buck than Affinity Photo. This is as close to PhotoShop as you can get (and does a number of things actually better), and sit down... it's under fifty bucks (actually 40 'till the end of today).

If you're on windows there is always the interface horror show that is GIMP... but it is free and very capable. There may be other good, low rent choices on windows but I am not a windows guy so don't really know.

You want a graphics app that supports multiple layers. And ideally you want some very powerful (and clever) selection tools so that is is easy to create masks on those layers. The auto-HDR algorithms simply take the best exposure from a series of bracketed shots so you have excellent shadow exposure without blowing out the highlights. The lesser exposed images are used for the brighter parts of the end result, and the longer exposures are used for the darker areas.

While there are good software solutions for auto-HDR (including in-camera on some cameras), you can always do a better job yourself, layering the different exposures, and creating masks on those layers to let the desired parts of the various exposures show through. You can even create multiple copies of the same image, adjusting each one for levels, exposure, B&C, etc.; to combine for psuedo HDR, but you will aways get better results by having bracketed exposures.

Having non-destructive adjustment/filter layers in your software also makes things easier, as you can go back and tweak things without having to start from another copy of a layer should you make changes you're not really happy with.