HDR options using a Linux distro?

[drnothing]

Hi,

I took some captures with a SD1 Merril in raw x3f format in bracket mode of the sunrise t his morning.

What tools can I use under Linux that can take the 5 bracketed shots and combine them into an HDR output 16/8bit final tiff/jpg?


Regards,
JP
___________________________________________________
Shortest Distance Between Two Points is No Fun!

 

[paulsch]

Hi,

I took some captures with a SD1 Merril in raw x3f format in bracket mode of the sunrise t his morning.
What tools can I use under Linux that can take the 5 bracketed shots and combine them into an HDR output 16/8bit final tiff/jpg?

Regards,
JP
___________________________________________________
Shortest Distance Between Two Points is No Fun!

I think you could use a photo stitching software like Hugin (free) or PTGui (paid) to “stitch” together your photos and the software should account for the different exposures.

I also found this article with a list of linux HDR softwares: <https://www.linuxlinks.com/HDRImaging/>.

I suspect that none of these solutions will support x3f-files so that you need to export your Sigma photos from SPP into an accepted format such as TIFF.

 

[xpatUSA]

Hi,

I took some captures with a SD1 Merril in raw x3f format in bracket mode of the sunrise t his morning.
What tools can I use under Linux that can take the 5 bracketed shots and combine them into an HDR output 16/8bit final tiff/jpg?

Welcome to the forum, Dr.

Quite a tall order, I reckon, Linux being beyond the pale for most of us.

I'm told that the GIMP and darktable run under Linux.

If so, layers with luminance masks plus separate adjustments followed by blending (merging down) would work.

Post five half-size JPEGs from your bracket

and I can demonstrate the layer work.

I am familiar with GIMP but not darktable ...

--
"Continue without supporting" ... click!!

 

[paulsch]

Hi,

I took some captures with a SD1 Merril in raw x3f format in bracket mode of the sunrise t his morning.
What tools can I use under Linux that can take the 5 bracketed shots and combine them into an HDR output 16/8bit final tiff/jpg?

Welcome to the forum, Dr.

Quite a tall order, I reckon, Linux being beyond the pale for most of us.

Most likely true. But I am now actually very interested in Linux-related topics because I am thinking about switching to Linux for various reasons.

I'm told that the GIMP and darktable run under Linux.

If so, layers with luminance masks plus separate adjustments followed by blending (merging down) would work.

Post five half-size JPEGs from your bracket

and I can demonstrate the layer work.

I am familiar with GIMP but not darktable ...

 

[drnothing]

Hi,

I took some captures with a SD1 Merril in raw x3f format in bracket mode of the sunrise t his morning.
What tools can I use under Linux that can take the 5 bracketed shots and combine them into an HDR output 16/8bit final tiff/jpg?

Welcome to the forum, Dr.

Quite a tall order, I reckon, Linux being beyond the pale for most of us.

I'm told that the GIMP and darktable run under Linux.

If so, layers with luminance masks plus separate adjustments followed by blending (merging down) would work.

Post five half-size JPEGs from your bracket

Will do in a moment. I re-took the pictures this morning with bracketing exposures. I experienced the last SSD getting errors in the MBR and didn't feel like recovering the work I had done. Instead I just installed a Linux OS that I am more familiar with. I shot in raw only....

and I can demonstrate the layer work.

I am familiar with GIMP but not darktable ...

 

[xpatUSA]

Hi,

I took some captures with a SD1 Merril in raw x3f format in bracket mode of the sunrise t his morning.
What tools can I use under Linux that can take the 5 bracketed shots and combine them into an HDR output 16/8bit final tiff/jpg?

Welcome to the forum, Dr.

Quite a tall order, I reckon, Linux being beyond the pale for most of us.

I'm told that the GIMP and darktable run under Linux.

If so, layers with luminance masks plus separate adjustments followed by blending (merging down) would work.

Post five half-size JPEGs from your bracket

Will do in a moment. I re-took the pictures this morning with bracketing exposures.

Cool, I am not an expert on HDR but will play and will let you know how it goes ...

 

[drnothing]

Need color balance....had set to overcast WB and as a result these look terrible however usable for trying HDR your method.

https://shavidica.cc/pvblic/#photos

I also had an issue with bracketting. Per series I wait for the buffer to clear and even then sometimes it takes only 3 exposures. Might be because the CF card I am using is slow.

 

[xpatUSA]

Need color balance....had set to overcast WB and as a result these look terrible however usable for trying HDR your method.

https://shavidica.cc/pvblic/#photos
I also had an issue with bracketting. Per series I wait for the buffer to clear and even then sometimes it takes only 3 exposures. Might be because the CF card I am using is slow.

Thank you, but there are 15 images in the link all dated the same..

Please tell me which five to use ...

... and I asked you for half-size ( I don't have unlimited bandwidth).

P.S. a thought occurs to me - bracketed exposures will inevitably have some camera movement between shots even on a tripod, meaning that they should be aligned before opening with the GIMP layers.

--
"Continue without supporting" ... click!!

 

[drnothing]

Gotcha...will do after I get laundry going.

 

[xpatUSA]

Gotcha...will do after I get laundry going.

Remember I asked for half-size SPP jpegs. Will they be perfectly aligned?

 

[drnothing]

Need color balance....had set to overcast WB and as a result these look terrible however usable for trying HDR your method.

https://shavidica.cc/pvblic/#photos
I also had an issue with bracketting. Per series I wait for the buffer to clear and even then sometimes it takes only 3 exposures. Might be because the CF card I am using is slow.

Thank you, but there are 15 images in the link all dated the same..

Please tell me which five to use ...

... and I asked you for half-size ( I don't have unlimited bandwidth).

P.S. a thought occurs to me - bracketed exposures will inevitably have some camera movement between shots even on a tripod, meaning that they should be aligned before opening with the GIMP layers.

You can check it now:

https://shavidica.cc/pvblic/#photos

I picked a series best suited. Download the ones that read in suffix "compressed" they are ~100kb each.

Also the waves will look blurry; perhaps the subject matter is not ideal for a HDR setup.

 

[drnothing]

Gotcha...will do after I get laundry going.

Remember I asked for half-size SPP jpegs. Will they be perfectly aligned?

not perfectly. Used a mono-pod.

 

[xpatUSA]

Gotcha...will do after I get laundry going.

Remember I asked for half-size SPP jpegs. Will they be perfectly aligned?

not perfectly. Used a mono-pod.

Ok. If necessary, I can align them.

I guess HDR apps include auto-alignment ...

 

[xpatUSA]

Gotcha...will do after I get laundry going.

Remember I asked for half-size SPP jpegs. Will they be perfectly aligned?

not perfectly. Used a mono-pod.

Ok. If necessary, I can align them.

I guess HDR apps include auto-alignment ...

Sorry, I don't think I can help. I wish I knew more about HDR!

In spite of asking for half-size (I meant pixel size, not file-size) the images are still full-size which slows down my copy of GIMP.

The images can not be aligned because the waves are in different positions for each capture and there are no static features in the sky to lock onto.

Again, sorry!

 

[drnothing]

Gotcha...will do after I get laundry going.

Remember I asked for half-size SPP jpegs. Will they be perfectly aligned?

not perfectly. Used a mono-pod.

Ok. If necessary, I can align them.

I guess HDR apps include auto-alignment ...

Sorry, I don't think I can help. I wish I knew more about HDR!

In spite of asking for half-size (I meant pixel size, not file-size) the images are still full-size which slows down my copy of GIMP.

Have you tried Krita yet ? There is also PhotoGIMP which is GIMP with similarities to Photoshop.

I use Krita more than GIMP.

The images can not be aligned because the waves are in different positions for each capture and there are no static features in the sky to lock onto.

That was my concern and revelation today, unless somehow I can get 5 exposures within 1/60th. Lining it up according to the sun could be the only way. I'm not particularly proud of the captures either. Manually aligning them probably the only way to start somewhere.

Again, sorry!

Thank you for offering

 

[drnothing]

Method using Krita:

Order the exposures:

Arrange your layers from darkest (underexposed) to lightest (overexposed). The darkest exposure should be at the bottom of the layer stack, and the brightest at the top.

Set blending modes:
For each layer (except the bottom one), select a blending mode that will help merge the exposure information effectively. Common blending modes for HDR-like effects include:
Multiply: This can be useful for darker exposures, helping to add shadow detail.
Screen: Use this for lighter exposures to enhance the brightness and highlight detail.
Overlay or Soft Light: These can enhance contrast and give a more balanced overall exposure.

Adjust the opacity of each layer as needed to balance the effect.
You can find the blending modes drop down in the Layers panel on the right side of the screen.

First attempt below, using method above, healing brush for dust removal and curves and levels for attempt to color correct:














--
___________________________________________________
Shortest Distance Between Two Points is No Fun!

 

[xpatUSA]

Method using Krita:

Order the exposures:

Arrange your layers from darkest (underexposed) to lightest (overexposed). The darkest exposure should be at the bottom of the layer stack, and the brightest at the top.

Set blending modes:
For each layer (except the bottom one), select a blending mode that will help merge the exposure information effectively. Common blending modes for HDR-like effects include:
Multiply: This can be useful for darker exposures, helping to add shadow detail.
Screen: Use this for lighter exposures to enhance the brightness and highlight detail.
Overlay or Soft Light: These can enhance contrast and give a more balanced overall exposure.

Adjust the opacity of each layer as needed to balance the effect.
You can find the blending modes drop down in the Layers panel on the right side of the screen.
First attempt below, using method above, healing brush for dust removal and curves and levels for attempt to color correct:

Not bad, and thanks for the method!

Here's my attempt with your method on a five-shot simulated bracket.

brightest:

darkest:

HDR merge:

Pretty good, eh? Of course no need to align simulation images.

--
"Continue without supporting" ... click!!

 

[Jeffry7]

Hi,

I took some captures with a SD1 Merril in raw x3f format in bracket mode of the sunrise t his morning.
What tools can I use under Linux that can take the 5 bracketed shots and combine them into an HDR output 16/8bit final tiff/jpg?

Regards,
JP
___________________________________________________
Shortest Distance Between Two Points is No Fun!

I would suggest trying Hugin. Hugin is not exactly easy to use. Also it is a pano stitcher. But, it has the alignment function built in and does HDR because some folk like to do HDR Panos.

It will do HDR by itself. I have used it for that, although only on the Windows platform.

I can't speak for the other HDR solutions Paul posted because I haven't used them for HDR. But if I had to choose doing it by hand, including alignment, in GIMP or using Hugin, Hugin wins every time.

 

[drnothing]

Looking good!

Fill light kinda has same affect?

 

[drnothing]

Yep I came across Hugin used in some other open source softwares. Such as "Luminance HDR"