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HDR images, when done properly, look awesome. They are a combination of various different exposures, when merged together you get higher definition in the blacks and whites. As a result your image looks a lot more interesting and a lot better. Actually making a HDR image is quite difficult in Phototshop if you don’t have that artistic talent. This is where Hydra comes in. Its an app designed to merge images together to make that perfect HDR image.

Merge Them

Using Hydra is very simple. You import all of your images (each at different exposures) and then you run it through the program. Its designed so you can follow it through to get the best image out of it. There is also an Aperture plug-in it is probably similar.

Using the app is broken down into a couple of simple steps. First you import your images, at this point it will automatically configure the image the best it can, you can usually see good result straight from the start. The next step is to align the images. There are various points picked out which you can use to align the image properly. The more time you spend aligning the image on the various layers the better the final result.

The final step is to render the image. You get given some presets, although you can fine tune settings such as exposure and tone mapping. The final results do look pretty good, from the simple test with my Nikon D40x the results were decent. If I spent longer, with a better shot and a tripod I reckon the final results would be better. Since it is rendered with your GPU it doesn’t take long to re do an image.

Conclusion

Overall this program is decent. However there are a couple of problems with this app. For instance it is really slow at running. Even simple things such as moving a palette around take ages for it to complete and update the background. One other big problem with this app is the price, it costs $79.95. For that price it doesn’t do a great deal. It could be a little cheaper.

Try this application out. If you work with HDR a lot it might be a useful buy. If you want to find out more about HDR I recommend Complete Guide to HDR from Amazon. Its a recommended book if you want to find out more.

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