I really like the Franzis tools and some are quite excellent (their B+W converter is the best I know and Sharpen Projects is again excellent once you get away from its default attempt), so I always try to see if I can help people get over the initial learning curve. (Registering if you haven't done it for a Franzis tool before is also an adventure, but the tools are good IMHO.) I like their HDR tool (which you can easily use by taking three bracketed exposures, the correct one and typically ones at plus and minus two stops, allowing you to overcome the limited range of brightnesses cameras support) and think it is well worth installing. Another free option is HDR Efex 2 which is part of the Nik Tools which were Google and are now DXO, but are available as a free download from https://www.google.com/nikcollection/ (see link at top right). Note the Nik tool is a Plugins but you can just (on Windows) drag a link to the HDR Efex 2 .exe to the desktop and go from there (although IIRC it just saves the result in a "standard" location rather than offering a choice). If you have Lightroom that also has built-in HDR support.

Note that HDR Projects 3 Pro has a lot of options and you may need to play around a bit to get a natural looking HDR, unless you fancy doing something with a more unnatural look (although some people are not fans of highly processed HDRs others like the effect).

Oh and while I am doing a bit of a quick start guide don't forget to check out the manual, especially the stuff of Ghosting removal on page 14: https://www.projects-software.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/70453_HDR-3_pro_user_manual_EN.pdf

Anyway, the following is mostly what I wrote last time, with a handful of updates, I hope it's of some use (I just missed my train writing it):


It's a bit of a pain to register but persevere and you'll get there.

Oh, if anyone reading this doesn't know what HDR is, it stands for "High Dynamic Range" and is usually used to combine differently exposed photographs of a scene to end up with an image capturing a greater range of brightness than the camera can. The classic example is being in a dark room looking out on a brightly lit scene. The camera can show the detail in the room, with the Window solid white, or the detail outside the window but everything in the room is black. But taking a set of (typically three) exposure-bracketed (standard, brighter, darker) images of the scene you can then combine them in some HDR software and have room and outside both visible in the picture.

You can either combine multiple images into an HDR or just select a Raw file (if you have one) and work from that (it won't be as good, but a fair bit better than the JPEG).

The Projects software is a set of (basically) stand-alone photographic processing tools, they do install as Photoshop plugins, but under File->Export, not as Filters, which IMHO doesn’t really count. Note the very latest Franzis tools do install as filters, but you need to buy those. Also to properly support 4k and 5k displays you again need the latest tools (to get the user interface sizing correct).

With the HDR software in today's give-away you have an additional step beyond just opening a photograph, you have to select the images to combine and choose some options. I was very pleased to see it has support for Raw file import, although as a 2015 program I don't know how it will do with the very latest cameras (but see at the bottom for a partial solution to this).

Once you’ve imported the images it works in basically the same way as the other Franzis Projects software.

The thing to get your brain around with the Projects software is they are a huge pile of image processing tools, which are gathered together into presets in the left pane. All those options do is select a bunch of processing tools and choose options for them, so they are infinitely tweakable.

After you've loaded the image(s) you want to work with you can then play with the canned effects on the left side, play with assorted things on the right side panel (which should start on the “Finalise” tab).

Once you are happy with that changing to "Expert" in the right panel means you can add filters from the list at the top, select them in the middle of the panel and tweak their effects at the bottom (may need scrolling down). (The options on the left are just choosing and configuring a bunch of these options for you.)

The boxes at the top of the left panel filter the effects that are listed in the panel, so ignore them initially. On a faster computer you can use the Eye icon on the toolbar to disable the preview mode and show the final image in the main window, which IMHO is worth trying.

When saving the final image note that the first dialog, where it asks for the title, is going to write that over the image, it isn't the file name. The main disadvantage is the lack of Undo operations.

I literally spent 90 seconds working on an image and was really quite pleased with the result. If you don't mind the learning curve and fancy playing with HDR I'd recommend it.

Oh, and to add raw support for more recent (although not very recent) cameras download this (if you're running 64-bit Windows):
http://transfer.franzis.de/projects/RawImageDllprojects_Win64.zip
and replace C:\Program Files\Franzis\HDR projects 3\FreeImage.dll with the dll file it contains.
If you're not running the 64-bit version of Windows, i.e. your computer doesn't have a directory "C:\Program Files (x86)" then the file you want for upgraded raw support in 32-bit Windows is: http://transfer.franzis.de/projects/RawImageDll_projects_Win32.zip
If you have a Mac you'll need to get the OSX version of FreeImage from SourceForge and replace the existing one, wherever it might be.

Good luck and enjoy!

JohnL  –  7 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+53)

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P.S. if you want to compare their different versions look here:
https://www.projects-software.com/hdr/comparison

P.S. if you want to compare their different versions look here: https://www.projects-software.com/hdr/comparison
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JohnL  –  7 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+9)

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JohnL, Thank you for sharing your knowledge, very decent of you !
I'm sure many will also find it helpful, especially if they're not expert already

JohnL, Thank you for sharing your knowledge, very decent of you ! I'm sure many will also find it helpful, especially if they're not expert already
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Louis  –  7 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+7)

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I downloaded the file, extracted the contents, installed, filled out the requested information including making sure that the Country was United States, but the response was Hello Paul ...... then the rest was in German. Still waiting for email.

Paul  –  7 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (-1)

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Paul, the good news is you still have over 6 hours to learn German.

Paul, the good news is you still have over 6 hours to learn German.
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earwig  –  7 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+10)

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I think HDR is more of a thing now that UHD 4k TVs have experienced such a dramatic price drop, & so have become much more popular. The idea's the same -- pack more color into what we see -- though HDR is concerned with packing extra data into image files, while UHD is all about the ability to display more color data. And that's the catch with HDR photos -- the ability to view them in all their glory depends on the monitor & its calibration [though you can have higher end prints made]... bringing out subtle shadow detail means little if the display crushes blacks, can't display true [pure] black etc. Which is IMHO one of the reasons Franzis HDR Projects exists, to in their words: "... enables elementary enhancement of the primary colours’ vividness...". Put another way, it can help make the HDR in photos more noticeable.

To create a HDR photo you take 2 or more shots at different exposure settings, e.g. one under-exposed, one over-exposed, & one normal. Then you create one photo using the best parts of each individual image, e.g. the shadow detail from one, the highlight detail from another. You can do it manually, your camera may have a bracketing feature, where it takes more than one photo at different settings when you press the shutter button, or many cameras, & some cell phones, can automate the whole thing for you -- some phones will even do HDR automatically when the picture you're trying to take calls for it.

Now you probably don't really *Need* Franzis HDR Projects to do HDR -- there's a good chance that your image editing software already can do that -- but as with adding vividness, the Franzis software may help. Ideally you'll use a tripod to lock things down, so the images you use match perfectly, but practicality can get in the way, & you might have little choice but to use some alternative, e.g. a bean bag. HDR Projects might help with that slight mismatch. When you do low light photography you often get more noise -- over-exposing a photo to bring out shadow detail can add noise too. This is another example of where HDR projects might help.

As others have mentioned, the current version of HDR Projects is 5 -- today they're again giving away v. 3. Once you sign up for their emails you will get occasional offers -- till 11/1 they're offering HDR Project Std [not pro], along with several other apps, each for $20. The coupon code for HDR Projects 5 is NHR-3TD-VTB , though I've no idea if it will work for anyone else.

Last, plug-ins... I've seen Franzis apps install or supply included P/Shop compatible plug-ins in various ways. I've had them work copied into the image editor's plug-in folder, & not. I've had better luck personally putting the plug-ins in the Franzis program's folder, then adding a simple shortcut to that plug-in(s) in whatever app's plug-in folder.

mike  –  7 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+9)

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