Lightroom CC -- HDR and Pano Modes
kdog
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I'm sure most LR users are aware of the newly announced Lightroom CC with built-in HDR and Pano features. Previously one had to invoke Photoshop to get those features, so having them built-in to LR is much more efficient.
But what I'm really jazzed about is how easy it is to create HDR panos. That is, have a pano shot with each segment having multiple blended exposures. The reason that works so well is that both HDR and Pano merge modes output DNG files that can then be fed right back into the other mode. Before this version, it took multiple trips from LR into PS, a real pain. In fact, I rarely processed HDR panos for this reason. That's all changed for me now and I will be doing lots more of these.
One thing to note about the HDR mode is that there's no tone-mapping in the normal HDR sense. The HDR function simply generates a a 32 bit DNG with the full dynamic range that you captured. You then use the usual raw sliders in LR to compress it using the tone control sliders as you see fit, with one exception: The tone control sliders now go up to +-10, instead of just 5 to cover the range. That reminds me of the old joke from Spinal Tap where the guitar player was bragging about his amplifier that went up to 11. But in this case, the sliders do cover a much wider range than the old ones. If you're not editing a 32 bit file, then the sliders revert back to a range of +-5 as usual.
Since there's no usual HDR tone mapping, it's harder or possibly downright impossible to add the surrealistic effects of commercial HDR programs like Nik, Photomatix, etc. However, it does generate very realistic exposure blends, free from the halos and other artifacts that most people grow to hate about HDRs.
This is an HDR pano made up of 5 exposures per segment, and 5 segments, for a total of 25 frames.
Click on the picture to see the full-size original and scroll around it. It's pretty cool. :cool
The HDR and Pano operations were done entirely in LR. However, I had to go into Photoshop to fill in some empty spaces in the corners as a result of the pano operation. I probably could have done that in LR with the spot removal tool, but I really like the Content Aware features in PS for this sort of thing.
And yes, the umbrella on the right is shaking in the wind which caused some pretty serious ghosting. That's because I had anti-ghosting turned off. Turning anti-ghosting to high completely eliminate the ghosting, however it also seems to introduce a lot of noise into the shot. I actually like this particular shot without the anti-ghosting. Plus anti-ghosting uses a lot more CPU. So be sure and keep anti-ghosting off unless you really need it.
The house is for sale, btw, in case anyone wants it. I think it's going for around $6M (it's in a good neighborhood. :wink)
But what I'm really jazzed about is how easy it is to create HDR panos. That is, have a pano shot with each segment having multiple blended exposures. The reason that works so well is that both HDR and Pano merge modes output DNG files that can then be fed right back into the other mode. Before this version, it took multiple trips from LR into PS, a real pain. In fact, I rarely processed HDR panos for this reason. That's all changed for me now and I will be doing lots more of these.
One thing to note about the HDR mode is that there's no tone-mapping in the normal HDR sense. The HDR function simply generates a a 32 bit DNG with the full dynamic range that you captured. You then use the usual raw sliders in LR to compress it using the tone control sliders as you see fit, with one exception: The tone control sliders now go up to +-10, instead of just 5 to cover the range. That reminds me of the old joke from Spinal Tap where the guitar player was bragging about his amplifier that went up to 11. But in this case, the sliders do cover a much wider range than the old ones. If you're not editing a 32 bit file, then the sliders revert back to a range of +-5 as usual.
Since there's no usual HDR tone mapping, it's harder or possibly downright impossible to add the surrealistic effects of commercial HDR programs like Nik, Photomatix, etc. However, it does generate very realistic exposure blends, free from the halos and other artifacts that most people grow to hate about HDRs.
This is an HDR pano made up of 5 exposures per segment, and 5 segments, for a total of 25 frames.
Click on the picture to see the full-size original and scroll around it. It's pretty cool. :cool
The HDR and Pano operations were done entirely in LR. However, I had to go into Photoshop to fill in some empty spaces in the corners as a result of the pano operation. I probably could have done that in LR with the spot removal tool, but I really like the Content Aware features in PS for this sort of thing.
And yes, the umbrella on the right is shaking in the wind which caused some pretty serious ghosting. That's because I had anti-ghosting turned off. Turning anti-ghosting to high completely eliminate the ghosting, however it also seems to introduce a lot of noise into the shot. I actually like this particular shot without the anti-ghosting. Plus anti-ghosting uses a lot more CPU. So be sure and keep anti-ghosting off unless you really need it.
The house is for sale, btw, in case anyone wants it. I think it's going for around $6M (it's in a good neighborhood. :wink)
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"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Link to my Smugmug site
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Link to my Smugmug site
I haven't played with the new MERGE Tools in LR CC yet but your post inspires me that I need to get moving and give them a try. I have just been doing the 32 Bit Merge to HDR plug in in Photoshop, but this new set of tools looks intriguing.
Bu I think I could find similar homes in the Midwest for 1/6 to 1/3 the price you are quoting. Just saying....
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This is exactly the 32 bit merge to HDR function from Photoshop I believe. Or at least it behaves the same.
To be fair, this house is actually nicer than meets the eye. It's 5700 sq/ft spread out over two floors (doesn't look like it, I know.) But still, $6M seems crazy. The lot just isn't all impressive.
Front views -- looks tiny. I would guess maybe 2500 sq/ft tops from these two view.
Couple random interior shots.
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