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Merging hdri with Artizen |
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 Artizen offers its users not simply an hdr converter but an image editor with a set of tools and functions comparable to Photoshop, and hdr merging and tonemapping is one of them.
Consiquently, opening Artizen you see the editor with it’s numerous tools and palettes.
But what really interests us is the menu entry ‘HDR’.
To produce an hdr image you can open files to be merged to hdri first or directly go to HDR > Merge and load your images within the dialogue space of the command.
The Merge window contains the load files space and the preview of the currently active image window. Before merging the file you can auto align it or use free hand aligning (working with the help of layers and opacity. You just move the images until they fit.
The auto alignment does quite a good job of aligning images but the resulted image is very blurred.
Other settings include, among others, Autocrop (to crop away any borders resulted from alignment and able to produce unwanted halos or after strange effects after tone mapping), Black spots removal function (to remove occasionally appearing black spots in low exposure areas), auto noise reduction (reduces the noise that can appear through combination of exposures).
You are offered to save the merged hdr file (taking quite a lot of space) whether you are going to edit and tone map it later in this or other application or start tone mapping right away. To be automatically referred to tone mapping after the hdr image creation you should check Auto Open button in the Merge to HDR window.
Tone mapping (found under HDR > tone mapping menu entry) is available for both hdr images and single jpgs or raw files. The latter are simply converted into hdr workspace and rendered as hdri after that. But we are looking at true hdr images first of all.
Tone mapping in Artizen is performed by tone mapping plug-ins. There's a number of preinstalled plug-ins (or operators) but you can install any other plug-in at any time without even closing the program.
Artizen plug-ins (operators) use local or global adaptation algorithms for tone mapping. Only one of them, Cipher is a combination of the two.
Every operator has a number of changeable parameters for fine tuning (all put on the left of the preview). The parameters can be adjusted by moving a slider or inputting a required number. The Levels tool can be also used with any of the algorithms to adjust contrast.
The settings can be saved and loaded later for the use with other images. Undo and redo buttons let move back and forth within the workflow.
Artizen provides detailed tutorials and explanations on the use of the preinstalled operators at their site: http://www.supportingcomputers.net/
Here’s a short description of them.
Display - global tone mapping operator used for displaying the hdri on the ldr screen correctly. The user is required to adjust contrast mostly.
Lock 05 and Lock 06 - local contrast tone mapping operators with micro contrast option. The most important of their controls would be strength, radius, and micro – all three connected parameters regulating micro contrast.
Fattal - very good for revealing finest detail but can produce unnaturally looking halos. It’s also based on local contrast adaptation algorithms.
Cipher - a combination of local and global operators is said to work best of all.
Upon pressing Apply button the converted image is returned to the main Artizen window (in either 8 or 16 bit mode, whichever you checked in the tone mapping screen) and you can save it to one of the supported formats.
Let’s now look at some of the quality issues with Artizen.
The merging and tone mapping operations produce quite a big amount of noise while revealing a lot of detail. That’s a known issue and you can denoise the images either in Artizen (it offers auto noise reduction in the very beginning and in the main window) or other editors.
There’s no function of reducing ghost effect appearing from the presence of moving objects in the source images. When such objects are present in the photo they produce mess.
And finally, an error occurred every time I attempted to merge raw files and several times with jpgs although Artizen is to support both formats. It could be the lack of memory or the feature of a trial version, the program does not give any information on it.
Otherwise Artizen provides a good help with lots of tutorials, including video ones, online.
You can purchase Artizen HDR at http://www.supportingcomputers.net/Applications/Products.htm for $45.95 CND.
To compare Artizen HDR with other hdr tools see HDR tools - Comparison and HDR tools - Rating articles.
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