Oloneo HDREngine Try Out
I have always used Photomatix for HDR images, however it was recently mentioned that Oloneo is a very good competitor. I decided to give it a go and downloaded a free trial version of the HDREngine. I thought it would be good to experiment with a set of 3 bracketed shots that was used to create 1 of the images in the last post. First impression, an easy to use format & feel allowing quick image selection for processing. Then simple choose couple options before hitting the button to go into the HDR tone mapping editing function. In my opinion I did not find this much quicker or easier than Photomatix.
The edit function is also user friendly, with real time adjustments to the picture on screen. Oloneo also offers you presets for quick effects similar to Photomatix. A quick flick across a few altered the centre image, although none really provided the instant hit effect that I have sometimes experienced when using Photomatix. In the end I plumped for the natural more details preset. I then used the sliders on the left of the screen panel to make adjustments. This element of the tool was in my opinion a lot better, even allowing you to make fine adjustments by holding down the CTRL whilst moving the slider, and you see the change instantly.
There are two real benefits to Oloneo to Photomatix, the real time adjustments and the colour balance control. The one initial disadvantage was the lack of preset quick fix.
This is the end result, with the Photomatix version below for comparison.
