{"id":8972,"date":"2011-03-02T04:27:59","date_gmt":"2011-03-02T09:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/captainkimo.com\/?p=8972"},"modified":"2011-03-02T04:27:59","modified_gmt":"2011-03-02T09:27:59","slug":"hdr-efex-pro-software-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/captainkimo.com\/hdr-efex-pro-software-review\/","title":{"rendered":"HDR Efex Pro Software Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n Posted March 2, 2011 – \u00a0HDR Efex Pro<\/strong> by Nik Software is the sixth HDR program to be tested and reviewed by Captain Kimo. I remember testing Nik’s HDR software when it first released and it was dreadfully slow then. Nothing has changed in terms of speed, it’s still slow. My single core laptop could have something to do with the speed, but than again the other HDR programs that I’ve tested seem to run just fine.<\/p>\n Operating System<\/strong> – Windows & MAC Creating an HDR image in HDR Efex isn’t any different than the other five HDR programs that I’ve tested. Loading the exposures is the first thing that needs to be done. This can easily be done in two ways; you can click the Merge (Multile Image Series) in the HDR Efex Pro menu, or you can go to File\/Automate\/Merge to HDR Efex… both will bring up the same window letting you load your exposures.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n I really like the way this window is laid out… it’s basic, simple and has everything needed for merging exposures. Options available in this window are open as Smart Object, Alignment and Ghosting. Not quite sure what the purpose of opening the image as a smart object is… but I never liked using smart objects because Photoshop seem to run slower when used.<\/p>\n After I’m done, clicking the OK button will let HDR Efex merge my exposures. This process can take some time… it’s a little slower than the average HDR software that I’ve tested. When HDR Efex is done merging the exposures, it takes me straight to the tone mapping window. Kudos to Nik for not making me click any more buttons than I need to get to the tone mapping window.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n HDR Efex’s tone mapping windows is the most intuitive and well design user interface of all the other HDR software that I’ve tested, with presets on one side and tone mapping adjustments on the other. However there is something annoying about the interface, the Navigator window. It pops up for no reason and I can’t seem to close it. I’ve always disliked menus that lay on top of the preview image. I also noticed that when the Navigator window appears I can’t view to fit the entire image in my preview area.<\/p>\n Everything about the interface is perfect until I start making adjustments. Than the problem with HDE Efex arises… it’s slow as molasses. I have a hard to moving the sliders in the window, and I’m not talking about the control sliders. I’m talking about the main sliders that move up and down that show more options. And the crazy thing is… when I even touch the slider, or anything else for that matter, HDR Efex wants to recalculate the preview image.<\/p>\n
\nPrice<\/strong> – 159.95 USD
\nStandalone\/Plugin\/Both<\/strong> – Plugin
\n Processing RAW files <\/strong>– Yes
\n HDR from Single RAW<\/strong> \u2013 Yes
\n Overall Speed<\/strong> – Slow
\n <\/strong> Visit Official Website<\/strong> – http:\/\/www.niksoftware.com<\/a>
\n<\/a>Go to HDR Efex Pro Download Page<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n