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HDR Expose 3.1 Adds Panorama Batch Processing Share This on LinkedIn   Share This on Google   Tweet This   Forward This

14 May 2014

Unified Color Technologies has updated HDR Expose, its $119 32-bit HDR image editor, to version 3.1 with a wealth of new features, including a new panorama batch processing assist mode. Other new features include faster merge and alignment tools, improved de-ghosting algorithms and a redesigned merge dialog.

In the video tutorial above, John Omvik, Unified Color's vice president of marketing, shows off the new panorama mode.

"The new Pano Prep Batch Processing feature of HDR Expose 3.1 not only provides a big productivity boost," Richard Sisk, founder of Richard Sisk Productions, said, "but also helps me achieve the best quality results using my Raw image files and Unified Color's 32-bit Beyond RGB HDR workflow. With HDR Expose, I am able to create universal tone mapped 16-bit TIFF files for each panel of the scene, that I can then stitch together for seamless results, using my favorite panorama software."

Highlights of the other new features include:

  • Faster Merge & Alignment: Seamlessly merge images up to 35 percent faster than in previous versions
  • Improved de-ghosting algorithms: New manual controls offer more flexibility minimizing noise and removing ghost artifacts from moving subjects
  • Redesigned Merge dialog: Makes grouping images for the merge process and selecting key frames easier
  • DNG source filter option: Now filters DNG files separately from other Raw file formats
  • Bug fixes and other optimizations

The update is available immediately (just launch HDR Expose to get the update notice) and can be applied to all existing HDR Expose 3 licenses at no charge.

We've installed the update for review on a MacBook Pro running OS X 10.7.5 but are the application is quitting unexpectedly on launch. We're investigating this with Unified Color and will update this story when we resolve the issue.

Update (22 May): Omvik reports, "We've posted the bug fix for the Mac OS 10.7.5 issues. The new build number is 11297." We have downloaded and installed the new version and can confirm HDR Expose 3.1 did launch on 10.7.5.

Unified Color Technologies Announces HDR Expose 3.1

Update Provides Faster Merge Performance and New Panorama Prep Batch Merge Features

BELMONT, Calif. -- Unified Color Technologies, the experts in high dynamic range imaging, today announced HDR Expose 3.1, a significant update to its standalone HDR image processing software. HDR Expose 3.1's newest features, including faster merge and alignment tools, improved de-ghosting algorithms, a new panorama batch processing assist mode and a redesigned merge dialog, are designed to optimize any photographers' HDR workflow and efficiently produce, high-quality, true color HDR images.

"I have been photographing panoramas commercially for over 20 years," said Richard Sisk, founder of Richard Sisk Productions. "Whether shooting film or digital, creating accurate reproductions of high contrast scenes has always been a challenge. The new Pano Prep Batch Processing feature of HDR Expose 3.1 not only provides a big productivity boost, but also helps me achieve the best quality results using my Raw image files and Unified Color's 32-bit Beyond RGB HDR workflow. With HDR Expose, I am able to create universal tone mapped 16-bit TIFF files for each panel of the scene, that I can then stitch together for seamless results, using my favorite panorama software."

"We have consistently worked to change photographers' views of HDR image processing and introduce new tools for unlocking creativity," said John Omvik, vice president of marketing for Unified Color Technologies. "The strike against HDR photography has been that the process of creating the most high quality images was time-consuming and stressed the resources of even the most powerful computer systems. We developed HDR Expose 3.1 to make HDR processing faster, smoother and simpler and to stretch the boundaries of what's been thought possible in the past."

HDR Expose 3.1's full features include:

  • New Panorama Batch Processing assist mode: HDR merge individual panels of a panoramic scene and tone map them as a group to provide even, consistent output that can be stitched into a wide panorama (or 360 panorama using 3rd party applications)
  • Faster Merge & Alignment: Seamlessly merge images up to 35 percent faster* than in previous versions
  • Improved de-ghosting algorithms: New manual controls offer more flexibility minimizing noise and removing ghost artifacts from moving subjects
  • Redesigned Merge dialog: Makes grouping images for the merge process and selecting key frames easier than ever before
  • DNG source filter option: Now filters DNG files separately from other Raw file formats
  • Bug fixes and other optimizations

Pricing and Availability

The HDR Expose 3.1 update is available immediately and can be applied to all existing HDR Expose 3 licenses free of charge. New licenses for HDR Expose 3.1 can be purchased for $119. For more details on HDR Expose 3.1 or additional Unified Color Technologies products, please visit: http://www.unifiedcolor.com.

System Requirements

PC: Widows 8, Windows 7 (for 12-Mp image or larger, 64-bit Windows version is required.) 2.0GHz dual core minimum, 2-GB RAM (recommend 4-GB), 265-MB video card memory.

Apple: Intel Macintosh 2.0 GHz dual core CPU with 2-GB minimum RAM (4-GB is recommended) running, Mac OS 10.7.5 (Lion), OS 10.8.x (Mountain Lion) & OS 10.9 (Mavericks).


Footnote

* Based on internal performance tests comparing merge speeds of multiple image bracketed sets using HDR Expose 3 and HDR Expose 3.1 on a 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 MacBook Pro with 8-GB 1600 MHz DDR3 DRAM running MacOS 10.9.2.


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