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 Digital SLR camera to use, feel free to follow that link to read my recommendations.
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!
December 31st, 2008 01:42 | Stuck In Customs» HDR Tutorial - A Step-by-Step Guide to my Style of Photogrpahy
[...] 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 [...]
April 10th, 2009 01:52 | HDR Notes for PhotoNetCast Listeners - News and Views from Dave Wilson
[...] 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 [...]
April 20th, 2009 16:10 | Terry Reinert
Just to note, the screen shots of the interface are not longer present on the blog post above.
April 20th, 2009 19:59 | HDR Photography FAQ | Where Art & Engineering Collide
[...] 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 [...]
May 2nd, 2009 19:25 | matias
hermoso una experiencia que jamas se olvida
May 23rd, 2009 12:26 | Leslie Yim
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
July 15th, 2009 09:45 | BK
Hmm…do you use both Photomatix and Lucis Pro to get the final HDR photo? Or you can use either one of them?
July 15th, 2009 10:42 | Stuck In Customs
Thanks! Yes – I sometimes use both.
August 11th, 2009 14:26 | Steve O'Brien
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
August 11th, 2009 14:36 | Stuck In Customs
Steve – great – thanks and welcome to the blog!
September 14th, 2009 23:06 | HDR Photography | High Dynamic Range Photos
[...] 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 [...]
November 26th, 2009 21:24 | RochNem
I havn’t seen such amazing HDR pictures than these! Wow, it’s just beautiful!
December 9th, 2009 05:23 | kombizz
What a beautiful collection.
December 31st, 2009 10:43 | erwin
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.
January 3rd, 2010 20:32 | Barbara Yasuhara
Ok, I am ready to buy, is it just me, or is the link to buy now not here????
January 3rd, 2010 22:56 | MizzGinn
These pictures are absolutely beautiful. The Christmas picture melts my heart. I might NEED to buy this program. Thank you for sharing!!!
January 11th, 2010 02:19 | Page not found
[...] Photomatix Review [...]
January 18th, 2010 19:42 | Daily Bubble - HDR Photography | Enjoy Every Bubble
[...] 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). [...]