new HDR checkbox on Adobe Camera RAW

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

when converting DNGs to 16bit-TIFs

there's now an HDR checkbox

it outputs same size as not checking box

what does checking box do to images?

simply adjust exposure or more...?
I'm making checked-unchecked folders to compare

but me pixel peeking skills are limited...

any comments-advice appreciated

especially from those who have actually tested this new option....

(this is NOT "what is HDR?" question)

 

PS. checking HDR box forces "HDR rec. 2020" setting

whereas my TIFs are normally "Adobe 1998"

Edited October 26, 2023 by Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg

[MDM]

I'm glad you posted this as I've been spending a lot of time in the last few weeks investigating this new world of HDR stills editing. It is absolutely not to be confused with HDR merging of images which has been around a long time now although there is a broad relationship between the two. 

 

This is truly the future of digital imaging although it will be some years before it becomes normalised. It is really amazing and it is in its infancy for stills photography - it's been happening in the world of video for some 8 years or so. Basically HDR is a display technology (as in HDR TVs, some iPhones, iPads and Android devices and some Apple screen ).  It allows you see images literally in a whole new light.

 

The bad or good news depending on your perspective is you need a Mac with an XDR (extreme dynamic range) to be able to use it at the moment with Adobe software. The 14" and 16" M1 or M2 MacBook Pros have XDR screens and Apple also sell a very expensive 32" XDR monitor which can handle the technology. Otherwise you are looking at extremely expensive monitors that are only likely to be seen in the movie and TV color grading business. So right now I'm on my 14" MacBook Pro experimenting with the technology. I've been using it for video for some time now so I'm familiar with it but it's only arrived in the world of stills recently (ACR/Photoshop in late 2022 and now Lightroom).

 

So forget about pixel peeping. There is nothing wrong with your eyesight. You need a MacBook Pro if you want to see it and use it. If you haven't invested yet in your  new laptop, then do have another think. This stuff is truly amazing.

 

If you want the lowdown from Adobe then there is very clear info on their website. The best resource I have found is the Greg Benz website. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by MDM

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

thanks for detailed response !!

yes, comparing ~6 varied images processed each way I saw absolutely without reservation no difference...

if you, or anyone currently with proper equipment capable of demonstrating difference,
can post with-without comparison, PLEASE...

aside: if there are now 2 definitions of "HDR" lawdy be ready to explain over & over & over etc etc

[MDM]

Just to add a few things based on what I have been experimenting with.

 

The really good news is that you can re-edit old images into HDR and export them in formats that can be viewed by others as HDR. This works best for raw images but you can even rework old 8-bit JPEGS. 

 

HDR merges can look really amazing as they can take advantage of the entire tonal range in a scene and then be displayed as HDR on a compatible device. In the past you will have seen this on an SDR (standard dynamic range) device such as the vast majority of monitors out there,

 

There is a method called gain mapping which allows you to create HDR and SDR versions of the same image and one or the other will be displayed depending on the viewing device. This allows simulation of HDR viewing on an SDR device and the results can be quite spectacular. I'm just in the process of learning how to do this - great examples and instructions on the Greg Benz website.

 

Some Sony, Canon and Nikon cameras can shoot in 10-bit HIF (HEIC) format which look fantastic out of the box. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by MDM

[MDM]

1 minute ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

thanks for detailed response !!

yes, comparing ~6 varied images processed each way I saw absolutely without reservation no difference...

if you, or anyone currently with proper equipment capable of demonstrating difference,
can post with-without comparison, PLEASE...

aside: if there are now 2 definitions of "HDR" lawdy be ready to explain over & over & over etc etc

 

This is the problem. You need a HDR device to see them. 

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

MDM, thanks mate.

so this newish "other HDR" does not apply to prints, printed materials...?

only screens...?

Edited October 26, 2023 by Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg

[MDM]

37 minutes ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

MDM, thanks mate.

so this newish "other HDR" does not apply to prints, printed materials...?

only screens...?

 

Don't mention it man.

 

Correct - it's all about viewing on compatible screens and it is likely to be many years before it ever becomes widely accepted. Taken together with HDR video, which is very closely related, it is a minefield of different protocols, file formats and so on with different big players doing different things. I'm just enjoying learning and playing about with it - I'm not thinking of making money out of it as yet. I don't know when it will arrive in the stock world but I expect Adobe have their eyes on it given that they are one of the main players now. 

[wiskerke]

4 hours ago, MDM said:

If you want the lowdown from Adobe then there is very clear info on their website.

 

At the moment your link links to"website".

 

wim

[MDM]

1 hour ago, wiskerke said:

 

At the moment your link links to"website".

 

wim

 

Thanks wim. I thought I checked it but I must have pasted the word website into the URL field. Fixed the original and reposting here. It's an interesting read.

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by MDM

[wiskerke]

1 hour ago, MDM said:

 

Thanks wim. I thought I checked it but I must have pasted the word website into the URL field. Fixed the original and reposting here. It's an interesting read.

 

Thank you! I could not find it. Just the regular HDR stuff.

 

wim

[MDM]

39 minutes ago, wiskerke said:

Thank you! I could not find it. Just the regular HDR stuff.

 

wim

 

Yes it's very difficult searching because of the nomenclature clash. The Greg Benz site is excellent.

 

Outside of the world of HDR video, there appears to be only a handful of stills apps that can be used for editing HDR. ACR and Photoshop introduced it late last year and Lightroom just a couple of weeks ago but it has gone under the radar because of all the excitement about AI. Nikon NX Studio also allows HDR editing. It's also possible to edit stills in HDR in some video editors ( e.g. Apple's Final Cut Pro and DaVInci Resolve (free and cross platform) which is what I was doing until I realised it was possible in the Adobe apps which are more geared towards stills.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by MDM