HDRMerge - an open-source tool for merging exposures in RAW

[apater]

This is an update about the usability of HDRMerge for m4/3 shooters.

Solution

The main problem is solved by using a patch for exiv2. The patch copies the lens correction data from an input file to the merged file.

exiv2 0.25 was just released. Is the patch still needed or is it already included?

http://exiv2.org/whatsnew.html

 

[assaft]

This is an update about the usability of HDRMerge for m4/3 shooters.

Solution

The main problem is solved by using a patch for exiv2. The patch copies the lens correction data from an input file to the merged file.

exiv2 0.25 was just released. Is the patch still needed or is it already included?

http://exiv2.org/whatsnew.html

Actually this problem was already solved with the release of HDRMerge 0.45. This version copies the lens correction data by itself (although it is compiled against exiv2 0.24) so no need for the patch I prepared. Simply convert the ORF files to DNG using Adobe DNG Converter and then merge them in HDRMerge. Both tasks can be automated and executed from the command-line.

 

[1Plus2equals4]

I'm trying HDRMerge for the first time because Lightroom doesn't offer batch processing and I can't be bothered pressing CTRL+SHIFT+H 400 times and waiting for 4-8 processes to complete concurrently before pressing CTRL+SHIFT+H again to add another process before maxing up RAM.

But I can't find a tutorial about how to use the command line.

How do you tell HDRMerge which files to use?

The Manual just says "RAW_FILES". What does that mean?

So far I've figured out that I've got to navigate to the HDRMerge.exe directory in CMD, then type this in to get no crop/align and file name same as the 2nd to last bracket (or first image in set of 3 bracket):

hdrmerge -B --no-crop --no-align -o %if[-2].dng

But how do I indicate the source files, and the location of the output files?

I also tried to set -g gap to 5 seconds by adding "-g 5" but it gave an error.

Also the timing gap is a problem because I'm shooting both short and long exposures, which can throw off the grouping. Is it possible to simply indicate bracket of 3 taken from files in source folder starting from first one in alphabetical order?

 

[assaft]

I'm trying HDRMerge for the first time because Lightroom doesn't offer batch processing and I can't be bothered pressing CTRL+SHIFT+H 400 times and waiting for 4-8 processes to complete concurrently before pressing CTRL+SHIFT+H again to add another process before maxing up RAM.

But I can't find a tutorial about how to use the command line.

How do you tell HDRMerge which files to use?

The Manual just says "RAW_FILES". What does that mean?

So far I've figured out that I've got to navigate to the HDRMerge.exe directory in CMD, then type this in to get no crop/align and file name same as the 2nd to last bracket (or first image in set of 3 bracket):

hdrmerge -B --no-crop --no-align -o %if[-2].dng

But how do I indicate the source files, and the location of the output files?

I also tried to set -g gap to 5 seconds by adding "-g 5" but it gave an error.

Also the timing gap is a problem because I'm shooting both short and long exposures, which can throw off the grouping. Is it possible to simply indicate bracket of 3 taken from files in source folder starting from first one in alphabetical order?

To merge a set of 3 files, for example P1240122.ORF, P1240123.ORF and P1240124.ORF, I open a command line, navigate to the directory where the files are, and run:

"c:\Program Files\HDRMerge\hdrmerge" -a P1240122.ORF P1240123.ORF P1240124.ORF

The '-a' flag tells HDRMerge to give the merged file a name based on a formula that combines the names of the source files. The file will be saved in the local directory.

If I want to give the merged file a custom name and to save it in a different directory, I skip the '-a' parameter and use '-o' instead, followed by the desired full path. For example, to have the output file stored at C:\temp\hdr-test.dng, I run:

"c:\Program Files\HDRMerge\hdrmerge" -o C:\temp\hdr-test.dng P1240122.ORF P1240123.ORF P1240124.ORF

Regarding gap problem, I see your problem with the long exposures. So a possible solution is to write a small batch file that loops over the files in the local directory, and in each iteration copies a set of 3 consecutive files to a temporary directory, runs the merging command at that temporary directory and deletes the copied sources.

By the way, in order to maintain the lens correction profile you need to convert the ORF files to DNG before merging. To do that automatically you need to install the free Adobe DNG converter and then run it for each set of files you intend to merge. For example, to merge P1240122.ORF P1240123.ORF P1240124.ORF, it's better to convert them to DNG first by:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe DNG Converter.exe" -c P1240122.ORF P1240123.ORF P1240124.ORF

This will create 3 DNG files: P1240122.DNG P1240123.DNG P1240124.DNG

And then to merge the DNG files by:

"c:\Program Files\HDRMerge\hdrmerge" -a P1240122.DNG P1240123.DNG P1240124.DNG

That's the only way to get a merged flie with the lens correction profile included.