Photomatix Review
Photomatix Update
I’m testing the lastest version of Photomatix and will be updating this page soon.. stay tuned! (Hint: It’s great!)
The Photomatix Review
I think Photomatix Pro is great! If you would like to purchase the software, be sure to use the Photomatix Coupon Code code “STUCKINCUSTOMS” to save some money. You can find the software for your OS at the HDRSoft website. They also have a free trial version so you can give it a run.
As many of you know from my HDR Tutorial, I have chosen Photomatix as the main program that I use to create the HDR effect. There are a multitude of products in this HDR software area, and many have promising and cool features. Pound-for-pound, however, Photomatix still has the best results for me.
Whenever I give speeches or demos in real life, I am always using Photomatix to show how to create these sorts of images. People always ask me if the HDR processing inside Photoshop is any good, and my response is usually that it is just not up to snuff. I think that HDR is still such an evolving artform that Adobe has yet to get its head around it, which I completely understand. Smaller more nimble companies can create better software and refine their algorithms via regular patches and updates – something Adobe cannot do.
So why not just HDR Photoshop? I prefer using Photomatix because of the final quality of the image. I’ve tried doing it all in Photoshop, and it is generally understood by professionals that Photoshop’s HDR rendering is lacking.
My HDR process is constantly evolving, and I update my tutorial every six months or so. Photomatix has been there since the beginning, and their updates have been keeping up with my techniques. So they still get my recommendation!
Below is a screenshot of what the latest Photomatix interface on the Mac looks like, but I think the PC version is very similar. Below that, I have added a few Photomatix examples.
If you would like to know what kind of HDR Camera to use, feel free to follow that link to read my recommendations.
Comparing Photomatix Pro 4.0 and Adobe Photoshop CS5 Merge to HDR
Photomatix Pro 4.0 is the clear winner. Photoshop CS5 Merge to HDR is much better than CS4, and it has a few redeeming qualities.
Photomatix Pro 4.0:
- Faster (MUCH FASTER – see the chart below)
- Upgraded noise-reduction just for HDR
- Better ghosting control
- and more image control for higher quality images
Photoshop CS5 Merge to HDR Pro excels in:
- Having one integrated solution right inside Photoshop
- Easier to learn because there are less controls
Photoshop CS5 vs. Photomatix Pro Comparison
| Item | Adobe Photoshop CS5 | Photomatix Pro 4.0 |
| RAW Photos – Loading 7 Images (before Tonemapping) | 1:54 (Test 1)
2:01 (Test 2) |
0:58 (Test 1)
0:56 (Test 2) |
| RAW Photos – I make adjustments, then click to process | 0:50 (Test 1)
0:52 (Test 2) |
0:08 (Test 1)
0:08 (Test 2) |
| RAW Total Processing Time (Average) | 2:48 | 1:05 |
| JPG Photos – Loading 7 Images (before Tonemapping) | 1:01* (Test 1)
0:57 (Test 2) |
0:41 (Test 1)
0:40 (Test 2) |
| JPG Photos – I make adjustments, then click to process | 0:27 (Test 1)
0:29 (Test 2) |
0:07 (Test 1)
0:08 (Test 2) |
| JPG Total Processing Time (Average) | 1:27 | 0:48 |
* Photoshop CS5 Gives you a warning about not using JPG photos to make an HDR. You have to click “OK”, but I did not include that wait time in my timings.
Test Subjects and System:I chose a 7-exposure session from a lake at sunset near Nikko, Japan. The exposures ranged from -3 to +3. I have a speedy 17″ MacBook Pro. I bought it about 9 months ago — the specs are to the right. In the Photoshop CS5 test, the only things running were Photoshop CS5 (in 64-bit mode), Bridge CS5, and Skitch for taking screenshots. In the Photomatix Pro test, I kept those running + Photomatix Pro. |
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Special Conditions:
Now, the Photoshop Merge to HDR Pro option does not allow me to turn on and off Auto-Alignment, Cropping, or anything else. Normally, I turn that off in Photomatix because I use a tripod. To keep the tests fair, I turned on the Align Source Images, Cropping, and Reduce Noise in Photomatix Pro. That way, it was doing the same tasks as Photoshop. However, in my normal conditions, I don’t have those turned on, which makes Photomatix even faster.
Also, as you can see I processed with RAW and JPG files. I preach in my HDR Tutorial that using JPGs is just fine. I don’t see any difference in quality. But, I do notice that JPGs are much faster. This is important!
Overall Speed
In these tests, Photomatix Pro 4.0 was much much faster. There’s almost no comparison.
Photomatix Pro processed the images in 1:05 — Photoshop CS5 did the same job in 2:48. It was more than twice as fast!
There are two intense “Computer Processing” periods. The first is when you load the images into the program. After this is done, the human takes over and adjusts the sliders. Then there is a second period of processing.
Speed – Loading the Images
Photoshop CS5 Merge to HDR was slow. Painfully slow! During the loading of the images, it give a few indications of why it is so slow. After a period of time it says “Aligning”. Then, after another bit, it says. “Transforming”. Then for another longer period, it says “Crop”. I did not touch the computer at all during this time… I kept the timer on my iPhone going to watch.
In these tests, the only thing I had running was Photoshop CS5 and Bridge CS5. This is not typical. Note that I am usually running Google Chrome, Tweetdeck, Mail, and iTunes for music. So all the times you see in the chart are actually much higher, and the delta between CS5 and Photomatix Pro grows even more.
My first broken test:
What I had running in the background for all the tests before the reboot:
- Tweetdeck
- Google Chrome with about 6 tabs (gmail, websites, nothing too taxing)
- iTunes playing music
- Photoshop CS5
- Bridge CS5
- Apple Mail & iCal
- Skitch
The first time I ran it with Merge to HDR Pro, it took 6:05 (six minutes and five seconds) to load. Just amazingly slow! Then, I thought, “Well, I do have it in 32-bit mode,” since I was also running some old plugins. So I tried it again in 64-bit mode. I shut down Photoshop and re-opened. Then I did the Merge to HDR Pro option through Bridge again. The second time it took 13:10. THIRTEEN MINUTES. I was just about to Force Quit the program — I was sure something was wrong! How can this be — in 64-bit mode? Isn’t it supposed to be faster?
So I decided to reboot and try again. I was worried that maybe there had been a memory leak or something had just gummed up the works. Because thirteen minutes just didn’t make sense! Now, I am using big images from a Nikon D3X. And these were RAW files, but that still seems like way too long…
After I rebooted, I loaded NO OTHER PROGRAMS expect for Photoshop CS5, Bridge CS5, and Skitch. I did not like doing this for the test, because this is not a “normal” environment for me. I usually have several things running. This time, it was much faster and clocked in at 1:54. So, after this, I decided to restart the whole test and have nothing else running to keep the results as clean as possible.
Speed – Processing the Images
After you make your slider changes, you can process them. There is a period of waiting whilst the image processes. Again, Photomatix Pro was not just a little faster, but way faster.
For the RAW files, Photoshop took an average of 8 seconds and Photoshop CS5 Merge to HDR Pro took a whopping 51 seconds (two tests at :50 and :52).
And remember… I wasn’t doing anything else on the computer… I wasn’t checking the mail or tweeting or anything… just watching the water boil…
Photo Quality and Control
I’ve been using previous versions of Photomatix for years, so I am familiar with the sliders. Because I am a private tester, Photomatix would not allow me to post screenshots of the new GUI. However, it is very similar to previous versions.
The new Photoshop CS5 Merge to HDR Pro dialogs are very similar to that of Photomatix Pro. However, they do not have nearly as fine control. There are about 1/3 as many sliders, which is good and bad. It’s good in terms of simplicity, but it is bad it terms of flexibility.
I find that there are so many different sorts of HDR shooting conditions. The more sliders you have to adjust one part of a photo for one condition and another for a different condition — the better. I’ve processed a bunch of images with both now, and I prefer Photomatix Pro. I get much more fine-grained control.
More importantly, I feel like I get more “pop” with the Photomatix Pro controls. It’s tough to explain… what do you think? What’s your experience with these tools so far?
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The two above images are from Photomatix Pro 4.0 (left) and Photoshop CS5 Merge to HDR (right). Although it is probably hard to tell at this resolution, I believe the Photomatix Pro one has finer control. Both tools allow you to move the sliders around until you are happy with the image… so there is not really a one-to-one comparison possible here… Also, I did not show the new GUI for Photomatix Pro 4.0 at the request of the developer.
Better Ghosting Control
I remember when CS5 Merge to HDR Pro was announced that it had this cool feature for repairing ghosts. Ghosts are those nasty bits where part of an image is moving around in the various frames. A dog running across the bottom of the frame would be a good example.
Well, Photomatix Pro 1-ups CS5! It allows you to control various ghosts around the frame at the same time! Basically, there is an intermediate step where you can drag the mouse around one area and select a new single “source” image for that area, and then do it again for another section. For example, you may want to pick the dog from one exposure and the blowing tree from another. It’s great flexibility and very smart.
Noise Reduction for HDRCS5 did make some very nice changes with Noise Reduction, but that is part of the RAW import process. Since the Merge to HDR Pro option goes around that, you don’t get any of the good Noise Reduction for HDR images inside CS5. Photoshop Pro 4.0 has a newer, more robust way to reduce noise. It even allows you to adjust the noise in the “input” images before they even begin the processing period. Smart. The image there to the right was taken from a single RAW. As most of you HDR veterans know, noise at night is a big problem. The new Noise Reduction in Photomatix (which works even for a single RAW photo) really saved me a lot of time. You can click on the image there to go see the full size on SmugMug. You’ll notice little white bits… they almost look like stars that I drew in, but they are falling sparkles from previous explosions. |
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HDR Toning – Are you kidding me?
I was also intrigued by another little feature in CS5 that all the videos were raving about. It is called “HDR Toning…” and it allows you to take your image inside Photoshop and give it an “HDR Look”. Cool, I thought! Well, I got in there to try it, and it told me that I had to Flatten the entire image first! That means, basically, that you have to take all of your layers and make them one. This is a deal-killer for me, since I like to have several layers open while I am working on an image.
Worse, it makes no sense! Most of the other Photoshop filters and controls work on a single layer without requiring the entire thing to be flattened. What’s up Adobe? You gotta fix that up… it’s sloppy.
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What are Your Results So Far?
| I’m sure many of you already have Photoshop Pro 3. Now, I understand that the tonemapping algorithms are the same. So I am pretty sure that you will get similar speed results. We have a lot of great HDR Photographers that hang out around here… so I’m interested in hearing your feedback. Am I off my rocker? All I kept hearing about is HOW AWESOME Adobe CS5 is with HDR… but I just don’t see it. Am I living in a fantasy world?
I swear I must have watched about 30 videos when Photoshop CS5 came out — they were all about how amazing CS5 Merge to HDR Pro was. But, really — is it? It’s a big improvement over CS4, but that is like saying WW2 is a big improvement over the first one. Okay… that’s too harsh… but CS4 HDR was really really bad. CS5 is much better, but I just can’t come up with any compelling reasons to use it… from speed to image quality – I think Photomatix Pro 4.0 is a better product all around. |
This is one of the first images I edited with Photomatix Pro 4.0 — I was very happy with the result! |
The Final Photo – The Lake at Nikko
This place was Cold with a capital C, as you can plainly see.
And worse, I had forgotten my special little gloves with the flip-up fingertips. So I was goin’ finger-commando while trying to line up this shot. The wind was pretty stiff in my face. The wind always seems to be against you, eh? I think I just never notice it when it comes from any other angle.
By the way, there is only one place that is convenient to quickly warm up your fingers.
There is an older, historic part of Nikko that is about a 30 minute drive away. The drive is practically straight up a mountain, through a series of switchbacks. During the entire time up the mountain, I was surrounded by clouds. I thought it would be quite miserable at the top. But once I poked out, everything was free and clear. I was between cloud layers, exactly where this chilly lake sat at sunset.
Sample Photomatix Images
Thanks again – and I hope you enjoyed the Photomatix Review!
Any questions about the nature of these reviews? Visit my Ethics Statement. It’s all quite simple!
[...] a sharp stick in the eye. This is the same thing the priest said at my wedding. I wrote a short Photomatix Review, but most of that info and more is included right here in this [...]
[...] you started. The tool itself costs $99 (but if you head over to Trey’s site you can find a 20% discount code along with his review of the [...]
Just to note, the screen shots of the interface are not longer present on the blog post above.
[...] you decide to buy it then it costs $99 USD but you can use the discount code from the Trey Ratcliff HERE. There is a MAC and PC version of [...]
hermoso una experiencia que jamas se olvida
absolutely great pictures you have and absolutely awestruck by the HDR technique! have yet to read your tutorial on how to get it done tho
Hmm…do you use both Photomatix and Lucis Pro to get the final HDR photo? Or you can use either one of them?
Thanks! Yes – I sometimes use both.
I was passed your details by a Fellow Flickr & work collegue your work with HDR on buildings especially is outstanding and I would love dealy to reproduce this in smoe small way as most of my Flickr worj is based around Liverpool/Manchester and Local buildings and castles
I am still reading your notes etc so bye for now
Steve
Steve – great – thanks and welcome to the blog!
[...] the hdr software that he uses and recommends, which is Photomatix Pro. (Trey has an excellent Photomatix review on his website.) Over the course of the next 5-6 months, I continued to practice my skills of [...]
I havn’t seen such amazing HDR pictures than these! Wow, it’s just beautiful!
What a beautiful collection.
Really interesting collection!
But do you really like these shadows, which Photomatix produces in difficult lightning situation? Sometimes they look like some artwork and improve the image. But in cases like the picture of the fire works and the one of Dresden they are really disturbing and ugly.
Ok, I am ready to buy, is it just me, or is the link to buy now not here????
These pictures are absolutely beautiful. The Christmas picture melts my heart. I might NEED to buy this program. Thank you for sharing!!!
[...] Photomatix Review [...]
[...] Photographer Trey Ratcliff is well known for his HDR Photography and has written a book on the subject. Visit his travel blog (Stuck in Customs) here (Stuck in Customs) to see his photos as well as his free tutorial on how to do produce a HDR image. He also has a review of the Photomatix software program on his blog here (Photomatix Review). [...]
very good…………………..
This is a test comment….
Some of these images are quite lovely (good composition, subject matter,) but others are a bit eerie, somehow overdone, unnatural and creepy. Does Photmatix always produce images with such unnatural results?
Certainly, there are many instances I think HDR can be very useful especially when trying to photograph some scenes with more contrast than can be captured by a single frame. Ansel Adams would have loved this software, I am sure, but his photos never looked gimmicky. Just because we have the technology does not mean it has to be used or overused!
Sigma’s Photo Pro 4 is fantastic with things like highlight and show control. It works with Sigma raw very well.
Please keep up the (basically) good work!
[...] Photomatix Review [...]
[...] Photomatix Review [...]
[...] Photomatix Review [...]
Thanks for the info! A small typo in the ‘What are Your Results So Far?’ section – you write ‘Photoshop Pro 3′ but you mean ‘Photomatix Pro 3′
cheers, lior
Thank you for this wonderful review of Photomatix. I just purchased the software myself…well the light version anyway. I plan to upgrade to the pro version soon. I’m absolutely fascinated with HDR images. When they are done very well, such as yours are, the results are absolutely magical. Some people criticize HDR as looking too painterly or unreal. I think that this look is what I actually love about HDR. Sometimes the effect can be almost TOO real. The purpose of HDR, beyond the technical aspect of exposure merging, is often described as a way to evoke the same feeling from a scene as actually looking at it. I often feel more from looking at an HDR image than from looking at the actual scene. I like that…
2010-06-30
Hi Trey,
I just finished watching an online sneak peak of Nik Software’s upcoming ‘HDR Pro’ application and I must admit, it looks pretty darned impressive. Nik seems to have handily raised the bar for HDR software vendors. Sadly it seems to make Photomatix 3 appear to be pretty primitive, comparatively. I notice that Photomatix have been holding off on their version 4 release, I assume in order to see what Nik would be doing with their entry into the marketplace. Let’s hope that Photomatix respond with an equally impressive and competitive v4 release. Competition is good for HDR!
Nik HDR appears to be wrapping the functionality of several of their products into this latest release. Most notably and impressively, the complete functionality of Viveza’s ‘Upoint’ technology is wrapped into Nik HDR. I currently use Viveza on many of my HDR’s (the underlying technology of which made it’s debut in Nikon’s Capture NX software), in order to correct colour, saturation, warmth, etc., on an entity specific basis. I’m particularly excited about the potential of Nik HDR because the power of ‘Upoint’ is that it permits such corrections to be applied in very specific areas of a photo while allowing the rest of the photo to remain unchanged.
You mentioned on this site and in your book ‘A World in HDR’ how the human eye takes in a scene on an entity by entity basis, and our mind then stitches together all those disparate pieces to form our memory of that time or place. Reading your explanation (lacking and poorly paraphrased on my part, I’m sure), switched on a light for me… I then understood why I would so often look at a photo and think, “gee, that sure did look better in real life.” Memories are vivid, but single photos, no matter how good, always seemed to be missing some intangible quality that left them lacking.
HDR processing with Photomatix makes those photos significantly closer to what I remembered, but as my critical ‘HDR eye’ has developed, I have found that while the broad brush approach of Photomatix produces a great result, that result is often a trade off for a good overall look versus accuracy in all areas of the photograph. Post processing a Photomatix HDR photo with Viveza transcended this problem as it is the best way I have found to translate my memory of a scene into a photo that I feel accurately represents what I saw.
Thus my excitement about Nik’s upcoming HDR release!
So, just a couple of things:
First, have you seen the Nik HDR Pro software yet and if so what are your thoughts on it’s functionality versus Photomatix 4?
Second, and more importantly, a big thank you Trey, for being the catalyst to force me to think outside of the current photographic paradigm. I am certain that have touched people’s creativity and thought processes in ways that you will never know. Your continuing contributions have without a doubt advanced this current photographic revival and driven this fairly static art form of photography forward in leaps and bounds!
I just discovered a typo, and I wanted to correct it so that it makes more sense (sorry about that!)Here it is again:
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Second, and more importantly, a big thank you Trey, for being the catalyst that forced me to think outside of the current photographic paradigm. I am certain that you have touched people’s creativity and thought processes in ways that you will never know.
Your continuing contributions have, without a doubt, advanced this current photographic revival and driven this fairly static art form called photography forward in leaps and bounds!
Thank you for this tutorial. I think it is the most comprehensive tutorial I have seen. The fact that I love your images helps!