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Version history

easyHDR software updates and new features

3.16.2 - 27.06.2024:

New features
  • Added AVIF image loading support (*.avif images, with AV1 compression). Supported natively on macOS 13 (Ventura) and later. In case of Windows, the required system version is Windows 10 1903 or newer, but required is also "AV1 Video Extensions" codec utility by "Microsoft Corporation" (free, via Microsoft Store), if not already installed in the system.
Improvements
  • Distortion correction in the crop tool is now split into two separate, X and Y values, allowing better adjustment of photographs taken with fish-eye lenses,
  • Fixed and improved flat frame calibration of RAWs. It was not working properly in case of some cameras due to bad black level (bias) value that was being assumed,
  • Added EXIF transfer option "Keep MakerNotes". Enabled by default (as it always used to be). Uncheck to fix issues with segmented EXIF being not recognized by some other software,
  • Use "Flash Exposure Compensation" value when calculating EV,
  • Improved preview for the sharpening effect being applied at tone mapping stage,
Other changes
  • Corrected linear mode of chromatic aberration correction,
  • Fixed issues with handling huge photos (arithmetic limits),
  • Fixed stability issue in batch processing,
  • Updated LensFun database with new camera and lens definitions for lens correction,
  • Updated LibRAW for new camera RAW support,
  • Updated Exiftool.
3.16.1 - 15.03.2023:

New features
  • Added ACES 2065-1 and ACEScg linear color profiles for HDR/EXR output,
  • MacOS: added automatic detection of monitor color profile (selected by default, but can be changed under Color Management settings), Windows version had it before,
  • Norwegian translation added.
Improvements
  • Better preset, input image, layer & LUT items with thumbnails - the whole item is now clickable, not only the thumbnail itself.
Other changes
  • MacOS: Fixed possible crash when tone mapping presets panel was resized,
  • Fixed crash when new project was created while 3dLUT dialog was previously shown & live tone mapping was enabled,
  • Fixed some problems with DPI scalability (dialog logo sizes or text/value area length), especially visible at larger scaling ratios like 300%,
  • Fixed issue with nested EXIF headers (EXIF was not found in some kinds of photos),
  • Fixed bug in lens detection in case of some models,
  • Fixed problem when loading very wide photos (wider than 46339 pixels),
  • Fixed JPEG/PNG image loading bug causing a single or couple of lines in the bottom of large images to be black,
  • Repaired keeping last aspect ratio setting in the crop tool,
  • Fixed checking available disk space,
  • Updated LensFun database with new camera and lens definitions for lens correction,
  • Updated LibRAW for new camera RAW support,
  • Updated Exiftool.
3.16 - 2.04.2022:

New features
  • New 'Colors' parameter for HDR/LDR noise filter. It allows reduction of high ISO color noise as well as reduction of color fringes (lens'es chromatic aberration artifacts),
  • Added option to step in the middle of HDR Generation - new button allows applying automatic lens correction and alignment followed by manual cropping and return to HDR generation,
  • When loading FITS images, an options dialog with image preview is shown, similar to the RAW import dialog. It allows stretching histogram, setting gamma, correcting white balance, applying calibration frames (darks and flats), etc.,
  • Added new tool for creating master calibration frames by stacking multiple dark or flat frames. It is available for both RAW and FITS import (in the dialogs as well as in the main window's 'File' menu),
  • It is now also possible to load tone mapping settings from ehpx project files,
  • New selectivity options for HDR generation (and stacking) - allows selecting how many brightest or darkest pixels in each location shall be rejected from the merge. It allows some control over fine ghosting, but most importantly it provides a way to automatically reject artifacts caused by hot pixels and satellites in case of astrophotography stacking.
Improvements
  • Switched default RAW demosaicing interpolation algorithm from AHD to DCB (lower moire). Added possibility to select the algorithm (Program Options -> Misc).
  • Added the 'last used' preset to the batch processing,
  • Added new 'Colors/Sigma' parameter in the 'Bilateral filter' in the 'Postprocessing' tab. Allows reduction of color noise,
  • Added option (see Program Options -> Misc) to use the last used preset instead of default when easyHDR starts,
  • Improvements in the auto task creator in batch processing,
  • Crop tool - added option to keep last used aspect ratio selection.
Other changes
  • Fixed installer problem on Windows when the system's User Name contains Unicode characters (the easyHDR installer could not start),
  • Fixed more issues (also possible on macOS) regarding handling of Unicode characters in file paths, especially for the color management support (still there might be trouble with OpenEXR & JPEG2000 handling, in such a case please move the images to folders that do not contain characters not supported by currently set operating system region/language),
  • Repaired some workspace display glitches - i.e. the view was sometimes not updated after image transformation,
  • Repaired white balance sample picker in RAW load dialog, which was not sampling smoothened area, it could have also failed when preview image was switched,
  • Fixed loading grayscale TIFF images,
  • Fixed sorting of image items with the same EV in the input images list,
  • Updated LensFun database with new camera and lens definitions for lens correction,
  • Updated LibRAW for new camera RAW support,
  • Updated LittleCMS library (color management).
3.15.2 - 10.04.2021:

New features
  • Added HEIF image loading support (*.heic images, with HEVC compression). Supported natively on macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and later. In case of Windows, the required system version is Windows 10 1709 or newer, but required is also "HEVC Video Extensions" codec utility by "Microsoft Corporation" - it may be already preinstalled in your system, or you may need to purchase it via Microsoft Store (costs ca. $1).
Improvements
  • Possibility to move tasks in batch processing list (see popup menu - right click on tasks),
  • Added option to assign dark frames to tasks in batch processing (also in popup menu).
Other changes
  • Repaired option allowing turning off automatic rotation of RAW photos.
3.15.1 - 16.03.2021:

Improvements
  • Faster RAW loading (vs. version 3.15, which introduced better interpolation algorithm),
  • Checking for available disk space in the batch processing,
  • Option to add LUT name to default result file name,
  • Better detection of some compact cameras in Lens Correction.
Other changes
  • Updated LibRAW (new camera support),
  • Repaired rare crash that could have happened when starting HDR generation,
  • Fixed automatic RAW white balance option in batch processing,
  • Fixed preview of the manual white balance setting in RAW import dialog,
  • Ask before canceling changes made with clone/healing tool,
  • Fixed loading some ARW RAWs (problem introduced by LibRAW used in version 3.15),
  • Fixed loading RAWs from paths with '#' characters,
  • Fixed random appearance of a warning dialog telling about the "AlreadyApplied" tag being "false" when loading some RAWs,
  • Corrected saving OpenEXR and RadianceRGBE with "normalization" turned off.
3.15 - 10.01.2021:

New features
  • RAW load: added histogram view,
  • RAW load: new dark frame subtract option - useful for long exposures (night, astrophotography),
  • Lens correction: possibility to add user LensFun entries,
  • Lens correction: possibility mark favourite (owned) cameras and lenses (they are treated with higher priority),
  • Possibility to add user watermark/logo/signature to the output photos,
  • Added load/save support of BigTIFF 8/16/32 bit variant of the TIFF format (files larger than 2GB),
  • Added GoPro RAW support and also support for RAW sub-images (multiple RAWs in one file).
Improvements
  • RAW load: improved white balancing options,
  • RAW load: better interpolation algorithm used (difference visible on pixel level),
  • Handling of color profiles when loading and saving OpenEXR and RadianceRGBE image formats,
  • Lens correction: improved searching for matching cameras and lenses,
  • Windows: improved title bar.
Other changes
  • Improved messaging to handle new security restrictions that can be enabled in macOS Catalina or Big Sur,
  • Fixed possible crash (on macOS) when loading the "vintage2" built-in preset,
  • Added possibility to change user folder location (where the user presets, 3dLUT imports, etc. are held),
  • Repaired RAW brightness and contrast in batch processing,
  • Fixed "True-HDR" method with "none" selectivity - it works now like the Stacking method (but allows ghost removal),
  • Updated LibRAW,
  • Updated Exiftool,
  • Updated LensFun database.
3.14.1 - 07.03.2020:

New features
  • Auto task list creation for batch processing - added parameter to define maximum time difference between the photos that should form a single HDR sequence.
Other changes
  • Auto task list creation for batch processing: Repaired bug introduced in version 3.14 causing some image files not to form HDR sequences (problem affected only photos that contained a 'Software' tag in EXIF),
  • Fixed display issues causing rare, short lasting flicker in the main workspace,
  • Windows version only: Repaired a problem with loading photos introduced in version 3.14. Could have been noticed on very fast, newest multi-core CPUs,
  • Windows version only: Fixed issue with missing DLL libraries that could appear on older Windows 7, possibly not kept up-to-date,
  • Windows version: upgraded Qt library version to 5.13.2,
  • MacOS version: lowered CPU requirement in order to allow easyHDR to run on older Macs (year 2009 or newer).
3.14 - 1.02.2020:

New features
  • Lens correction: added vignetting repair (coefficients from LensFun database),
  • Added defringing option (automatic and manual) - better chromatic aberration correction,
  • Added "Details" parameter in the "Local Contrast" tone mapping parameters - allows boosting details around distinct edges. Useful especially in combination with large "Range" values,
  • New "Balance" parameter for the "Temperature" and "Tint" settings - gives control over strength of white balancing for shadows and highlights.
Improvements
  • Added new presets and 2 sample LUTs,
  • Improvements in lens correction due to addition of vignetting compensation, possibility to apply different parameters for each photo in the HDR sequence (in the manual tool),
  • Lens correction tool as well as freehand crop/perspective/distortion tool - possibility to move the center point with mouse,
  • Faster painting with clone/healing tool,
  • Updated Lightroom plug-in, due to the new additions to the program,
  • Added option to disable default comment in result's EXIF (see in the "Program Options"),
  • Added new tag '%1' for default result file name - it translates into the first input image file name,
  • Main workspace: hold the space bar to force image panning, while other tools are enabled, like brush, crop tool, etc. (the space was used before to invert gradient in the layer's mask painting mode, now it's done with backspace),
  • Updated LibRAW (including new CR3 format support and more),
  • Updated Exiftool,
  • Updated LensFun database.
Other changes
  • Dropping support for Windows XP and all 32-bit Windows versions,
  • Windows version: upgraded Qt library to version 5.11.3, which fixes a couple of issues with 4K screens,
  • MacOS version: fixed random crash on program exit,
  • Repaired loading grayscale JPEG image format,
  • Fixed EXIF transfer from/to files in paths containing characters outside of current locale.
3.13 - 13.04.2019:

New features
  • New clone/healing tool - allows removing dust particles, or removing unwanted objects from the photo during tone mapping,
  • It is now possible to load HDR sequence photos that slightly differ in size (the allowance has to be defined first in the Program Options),
  • Possibility to hide all warning message dialogs - warning and error messages are shown in the status bar,
  • Added option to enable/disable auto cropping for automatic Lens Correction and automatic Alignment (in the HDR Generation window).
Improvements
  • Interactive crop tool: possibility to mark the crop area starting from outside of the image (allows no-margin selection),
  • Interactive crop tool: the helper grid is movable, allowing easier rotation and rectification of the photo,
  • Layers: brush stroke can be started from outside of the image,
  • Possibility to minimize/maximize the Layers tool and the 3d LUT browser - allows larger workspace while having these tools enabled,
  • Improved auto cropping in Lens Correction - the cropped area is larger,
  • Updated LibRAW, also added support of DNGs with JPEG compression,
  • Updated LensFun database.
Other changes
  • MacOS: fixed access to the "Photos" library,
  • MacOS: version 3.12.2 required CPUs supporting SSE4, so it was not working on Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs, like those used in Macs from around the year 2010, version 3.13 requires SSE3, so should work on any CPU manufactured after the year 2006,
  • A couple of more or less important fixes.
3.12.2 - 04.12.2018:

New features
  • Batch - added multiple task renaming and an option to duplicate tasks.
Improvements
  • Increased resolution of the temperature, tint and hue sliders. Added possibility to fine tune the settings.
Other changes
  • MacOS: repaired blocking during batch processing (version 3.12.1 was stopping, when there was no user's activity on the computer - batch jobs were resuming when i.e. mouse was moved),
  • MacOS: the batch processing window is not blocked any more while the thumbnails are being generated,
  • Fixed JPEG 2000 thumbnails in batch processing,
  • Minimum macOS version that is supported by easyHDR has been lowered from 10.11 to 10.10.
3.12.1 - 03.11.2018:

New features
  • Quick save and return to Lightroom option,
  • Option to auto generate HDR/LDR with last used settings.
Improvements
  • Improved performance of workspaces - panning, zooming - (should be noticeable especially on HighDPI screens),
  • Better compatibility with smallest logical screen resolutions - the RAW load and Lens Correction windows now fit on smaller screens,
  • Updated LensFun database,
  • Marking the tool bar buttons for the layers, crop and for the split-view when those modes are enabled.
Other changes
  • Swedish translation,
  • Fixed detection of lens model in case of some types of EXIF data,
  • Repaired bug that was causing a crash when an unsupported LUT file was loaded,
  • Added support for more types (sizes) of LUT files,
  • Several HighDPI related improvements - layer brush, batch thumbnails...,
  • Batch processing: click on empty list opens auto task list creator,
  • Batch processing: fixed preset series checkboxes (click on the icon was not toggling the state).
  • MacOS: due to multiple updates, the minimum macOS version supported is 10.11,
3.12 - 17.06.2018:

New features
  • Added support for 3d LUT cubes (color grading),
  • Added support for JPEG 2000 file format (J2K and JP2),
Improvements
  • Possibility to select mode of automatic lens correction (CA or distortion correction only, or both),
  • It's now possible to define own file description in EXIF on saving (and the Artist in Program Options),
  • Added option in batch processing, to disable cropping in case of lens correction,
  • Storing last used lens correction settings (distortion/CA enabled or not) for the camera/lens/file format combinations,
  • Resize on saving - now the longer edge size is defined,
  • Batch processing, ghost removal - more options in base image selection,
  • LibRAW version updated to 0.19.0 (many new cameras are now supported),
  • Updated LensFun database,
  • History - possibility to mark the items with stars (helpful in marking most interesting results).
Other changes
  • Repaired error in Smart Merge - it could have caused banding artifacts,
  • Repaired error in Lens Correction - for some camera/lens combination the crop factor was improperly calculated, which was resulting in slightly improper use of the distortion coefficients,
  • Further fixes and improvements regarding scaling and High-DPI operation.
3.11.1 - 09.12.2017:

Improvements
  • Updated French translation,
  • Updated LibRAW version to 0.18.6,
  • Windows: Added option to provide additional command line parameters to be passed to the external editor (i.e. ACDSee editor requires parameter "/edit"),
Other changes
  • Windows, 32-bit: Fixed LibRAW dependencies,
  • OS X: easyHDR works again on OS X as old as 10.6.8.
3.11 - 16.11.2017:

New features
  • LibRAW (version 0.18.5) instead of DCRAW - support for RAW photos from the newest cameras,
  • Allow setting own default preset.
Improvements
  • Updated LensFun database,
  • Updated Exiftool to version 10.63,
  • When doing crop/rotate/perspective/distortion modification, the layers (all in the history) are also transformed.
Other changes
  • Fixed bugs in layers' gradient mask drawing,
  • Lightroom plug-in - fixed reimport to network drive.
3.10.1 - 17.06.2017:

Improvements
  • Batch processing - possibility to create tasks by dropping a folder or files on the task list,
  • Batch processing - option to run batch without doing tone mapping (possibility to save just HDR/EXR).
Other changes
  • Fixed crash in ghost removal when the tool was applied with Space or Enter keyboard key,
  • Mac OS X: Repaired problem with main window maximization.
3.10 - 03.05.2017:

New features
  • Brightness and contrast adjustment setting in RAW loader,
  • Gradient painter tool in the Layers tool,
  • Added DCI-P3 color profile,
  • Updated lensfun database (devel version).
Improvements
  • Batch processing - show meta data for photos and option to resize the thumbnails,
  • Batch processing - improved image resize option (longer edge defined in pixels),
  • Added option to disable automatic image rotation based on EXIF metadata,
  • Improved workspace maximization,
  • HighDPI support improved,
  • Lens Correction option added to the easyHDR Lightroom plug-in.
Other changes
  • Batch window fits now on small resolution screens,
  • Batch processing - fixed storing last settings,
  • Fixed alpha channel in saved EXR files,
  • Some other bug fixes.
3.9 - 07.06.2016:

New features
  • New threshold setting for the intelligent layer's mask painter,
  • Layer painting - mark the start (sample) point when painting with intelligent brush,
  • Possibility to select the base photo preference for ghost removal in batch processing,
  • Possibility not to embed the input images into the project file in order to minimize its size,
  • New translations: Dutch and Czech.
Improvements
  • User presets are now also marked with an icon, not only with italic font,
  • Possibility to jump to presets on the list by typing first letter of a preset name,
  • Manual alignment - storing the last positions of the pins,
  • Default selection in the crop tool changed to whole image,
  • Shortcuts for layer painting - brush size: ] and [, brush style: Shift+] and Shift+[. When Alt key is down the intelligent brush is temporarily disabled, when Ctrl/Cmd is down the eraser is temporarily turned on,
  • Shortcuts for ghost mask painting - brush size: ] and [,
  • Windows: batch processing - showing the progress in the task bar.
  • DCRAW updated to version 9.27 (support for more cameras).
Other changes
  • Repaired automatic lens correction (including in batch processing) - it could have randomly not worked at all,
  • Fixed crash when manual ghost removal was applied by hitting "Space" key instead of clicking the "Apply" button.
3.8 - 23.01.2016:

New features
  • New Lens Correction tool (replaces Chromatic Aberration Correction). It uses Lensfun camera and lens database in order to fix both - distortion and chromatic aberration of the lens. It may be used in automatic or manual way. The auto mode works if the lens and camera models are read from photo's EXIF and are found in the Lensfun database,
  • Possibility to load resized JPEG and RAW photos. It requires special option to be enabled first: Settings -> Show options when loading photos,
  • Support for High DPI screens on Windows (previously it was fully supported only on Mac OS X),
  • New options in the crop and free rotate tool (Image menu). It is now also possible to apply distortion and perspective,
Improvements
  • More ghost removal settings available in the batch processing,
  • Lightroom plug-in comes now with two default presets, accessible directly from the Export dialog or from the Export with preset menu in Lightroom. To use more advanced options of the plug-in the user may create own such presets.
  • Lightroom plug-in allows file renaming and resizing on export,
  • Restoring windows sizes and positions (batch, manual alignment, lens correction, ghost removal),
  • Default output file name may be now set in a more flexible way, see Program Options -> Saving Result,
Other changes
  • Fixed bug in Lightroom plug-in. When the result was saved in folder with special characters, import to Lightroom catalog was not working,
  • Fixed location (GPS) EXIF data transfer.
3.7 - 30.07.2015:

New features
  • New "Navigator" tool - shows thumbnail view of the entire photo with current viewport marked,
  • Undo/redo in ghost removal tool (use Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y on Windows and Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z on Mac),
  • New translation: Turkish.
Improvements
  • Slight reorganization of the main menu to make it more consistent with image processing software standards - "Settings" renamed to "Presets"; "Program Options" to "Settings"; "Color settings" moved to the "Settings" menu; "Transform" moved to a new "Image" menu, etc.,
  • Auto alignment improvement - previously it could have failed with low contrast input photos,
  • Added option to append preset name to default result file name (it is enabled by default, but can be disabled in the "Program Options"),
  • The mouse middle button, in addition to left and right buttons, can now be used to pan the view,
  • Better AEB sequence detection in the batch processing task list creator.
  • DCRAW updated to version 9.26 (support for more cameras).
3.6 - 23.05.2015:

New features
  • Layer painting - added undo/redo functionality (each change is stored in the "history"),
  • Compare mode - show before and after in one workspace, the view is split by a horizontal or vertical, movable bar (see the new icon in the toolbar),
  • HDR image saving - added 32-bit TIFF format (other formats: Radiance RGBE and OpenEXR do not allow storage of EXIF data; TIFF takes more disk space, but preserves the EXIF),
  • Option to normalize HDR data to 0..1 range (Program Options) on save to Radiance RGBE / OpenEXR / 32-bit TIFF formats - some other software have problems when loading unnormalized images,
  • Option to disable thumbnail generation in batch processing - useful for very large batch jobs,
  • Last used tone mapping settings are available as a "last used" preset on top of the list; the last used settings are stored on program exit and also when the result image is saved,
  • New translation: Greek.
Improvements
  • Improved ghost removal - much better match of the fixed ghosted areas to the rest of the generated HDR image,
  • Faster manual ghost removal preview,
  • More auto ghost removal options - now the manual ghost removal window is always shown when de-ghosting is selected, the mask is drawn automatically. User can modify the mask manually, or get it drawn automatically again using different threshold level. It is also possible to select base photo (key frame) - preferred image for patching the marked, ghost areas,
  • Better auto alignment - it should have now higher success rate,
  • DCRAW updated to version 9.25 (support for more cameras),
  • Better "auto contrast" preview option in manual alignment,
  • Improved default suggested file name for image result.
Other changes
  • Fixed storing of last used result image file format,
  • Mac OS X: fixed bug that was causing workspace display hiccups, when the toolboxes were docked (now the user interface is more responsive and works faster),
  • Mac OS X: repaired problems with image panning,
  • High DPI mode (i.e. in case of Retina display on Mac): fixed another (to the mentioned above) image panning problem - the move was 2x smaller than it should,
  • Mac OS X: fixed loading projects by dropping files on easyHDR app icon,
  • Mac OS X: fixed automatic system shutdown option available in the batch processing,
  • Mac OS X (full version): repaired HDR/EXR file saving (easyHDR watermark was put on the image),
  • Lightroom plug-in: when user cancels loading RAW image easyHDR now exits and the LR export is terminated, previously it had to be killed by the user,
  • Fixed double click on slider - it was setting default value correctly, but the preview was not updated.
3.5.1 - 25.01.2015:

New features
  • Possibility to move the tone curve's and selective saturation curve's knee points with keyboard cursors. Switching the selected point is done by pressing '-' or '+' key. The selected point is marked with a circle, when the tool has focus,
  • Added possibility to save projects in batch processing.
Improvements
  • The File->Save aligned option renamed to File->Save preprocessed input images. Now it is enabled when any preprocessing is done, not only alignment. Therefore, it allows saving input photos after fixing the chromatic aberration correction, or after rotation and cropping,
  • Improved anti-aliasing - the preview looks sharper,
  • Mac OS X & Lightroom plug-in: better access to built-in presets,
  • Maximum number of photos that can be merged into a single HDR image is increased from 32 to 100,
  • Store the exposure settings of FITS images in the project files.
Other changes
  • Fixed problem with EXIF transfer from loaded project into the output image. The projects saved with version 3.5 contain the EXIF data, but previous easyHDR version was not able to transfer it to the result image,
  • Repaired several problems with loading and saving photos (various formats) from folders containing diacritic characters,
  • Mac OS X: Fixed loading photos by dropping them on workspace,
  • Mac OS X: Fixed possible crash when project is saved,
  • Mac OS X: Repaired bug that was causing easyHDR to crash (when working in Lightroom plug-in mode) just when easyHDR was exiting, after successfully processing and saving photo.
3.5 - 13.12.2014:

New features
  • Possibility to save and load projects. The project file contains input photos, pre-generated HDR image (optionally), HDR generation settings, layers with tone mapping settings and also the deghost masks,
  • Support for High DPI Retina display - workspaces, tools and icons,
  • The preset and tone mapping settings panels are now detachable from the main window, it allows moving them to another monitor in case of dual-screen desktops,
  • Option to choose the default HDR image format Radiance RGBE or OpenEXR,
  • Option to resize JPEG ouptut photos in batch processing,
  • Possibility to define crop area aspect ratio.
Improvements
  • Improved white balance (tone mapping settings),
  • Improved smoothing of the deghosting masks,
  • Double click on workspaces toggles zoom - fit or 1:1 centering on the clicked spot,
  • Improved main window state restore - now also the preset and tone mapping settings panel sizes are saved,
  • Option to tweak preset thumbnail size (slider appears when the preset panel is widened a bit),
  • Added layer opacity value and option to copy mask into a new layer,
  • Added RAW white balancing options to the batch processing setup,
  • When working in Lightroom plug-in mode with manual editing option, easyHDR asks whether to save the result on exit,
  • DCRAW updated to version 9.22 (support for more cameras),
  • Qt library updated to version 5.3.2.
Other changes
  • Fixed a possible crash when new layer is added,
  • Repaired rounding of values of tone mapping settings when storing presets,
  • Now it is possible to allocate memory for photos larger than 170 MPix,
  • A couple of other, less important bug fixes.
3.4 - 29.06.2014:

New features
  • Layers - user can manually paint masks on several layers, for which it is possible to define completely different tone mapping settings (see the new, rightmost icon in the toolbar, or use Layers->Enable layers int the main menu),
  • Automatic EV evaluation option; used by default in case of lack of valid EXIF headers,
  • Special performance improvement option - live processing a resampled image - the full resolution one is processed with some delay; this option may be especially useful on slow computers, or in case of very high screen resolutions, when preview size is big.
Improvements
  • Improved HDR generation in case of larger EV differences (3 EV or more),
  • Easier zooming in and out - when using mouse wheel, the center point is defined by the mouse cursor position,
  • Double click on slider to set it to default value (right click does the same),
  • DCRAW updated to version 9.21 (support for more cameras),
  • Exiftool updated to version 9.60 (support for more EXIF tags and cameras),
  • Qt library updated to version 4.8.6.
Other changes
  • Fixed bad color space when loading RAW images one by one separately,
  • Batch processing window does not steal desktop's focus any more,
  • Fixed bug that prevented setting EV values manually in case of photos that have no EXIF,
  • Improved stability - some potential crash possibilities repaired.
3.3.1 - 12.04.2014:

New features
  • New, light-gray skin for the GUI (you can turn it on in Program Options),
  • Option to define GUI scaling (fonts and buttons can be slightly smaller or larger),
  • Possibility to select EV values for batch tasks (True-HDR method).
Other changes
  • Fixed possible crash that could have happened randomly while just panning the image in the main workspace, manual alignment tool and in the ghost removal tool,
  • Repaired slider operation with arrow keys.
3.3 - 20.03.2014:

New features
  • Vignette tool - available at tone mapping step,
  • Show/hide effect buttons for the color adjustment, color saturation and vignette toolboxes (they allow easy comparison of the image with and without application of the effect),
  • Settings lock mechanism for the color adjustment, color saturation and vignette - allows loading presets, while preserving the locked settings; when enabled, the preset thumbnails are regenerated to reflect the real result,
  • New mode in Lightroom plug-in - processing of a series of single photos (LDR),
  • Possibility to run not only True HDR but also Smart Merge algorithm from Lightroom plug-in level.
Improvements
  • Selective strength for the "Mask" operator (the "Strength" parameter is replaced with "Highlights" and "Shadows"; if both are set to the same value the result is the same as would be with "Strength" parameter set to that value),
  • Multi column view of the preset thumbnails (requires the panel to be resized),
  • Dcraw version updated to 9.20.
  • Easier access to built-in and user presets in the Lightroom plug-in (two browse buttons),
  • More image export options available in the Lightroom plug-in,
  • Option to choose whether to remove the exposure time value from the EXIF metadata (see Program Options),
  • Marking the photo's pixel value under cursor on the tone curve and the histogram,
Other changes
  • Fixed behavior of sliders in live tone mapping - when they were moved fast the calculated preview might have not matched the actual value until the handle was released,
  • Repaired problem with applying user-defined color space for RAW and HDR images,
  • Fixed default destination directory when working in manual plug-in mode,
  • Skipping already done tasks in batch processing works now also, when multi-preset processing is chosen,
  • Fixed a couple minor problems in the Lightroom plug-in and in easyHDR when working in plug-in mode.
3.2.1 - 14.12.2013:

New features
  • Possibility to split and combine batch tasks (options available in task's context menu),
  • Possibility to break while HDR is being generated.
Improvements
  • Slightly reorganized manual ghost removal tool's window,
  • Manual ghost removal tool: click on already painted mask with Shift key held - fast way to set current pen type,
  • More RAW load options in batch processing (noise filtering and highlights recovery),
  • Progress bars: in main window, HDR generation window and chromatic aberration correction window,
  • Storing initial tone mapping settings in History list,
  • Shortcuts to show input images: Ctrl/Cmd+1..N, Ctrl/Cmd+0 shows generated HDR,
  • Shortcuts allowing navigation around tone mapping settings history: Ctrl/Cmd+Z and Ctrl/Cmd+Y (undo/redo functionality),
  • Improved guidelines in crop and free rotate mode.
Other changes
  • Fixed export to external editor (there were problems with export to Photoshop),
  • Fixed storing history of tone mapping settings when new knee points are added in the curve tool,
  • Repaired handling of some bad EXIF data (eg. when stored f-number is infinity).
3.2 - 21.11.2013:

New features
  • Custom rotate tool (combined with crop tool) - allows free rotation with sub-degree precision (hold Shift key to rotate with mouse),
  • Batch processing: possibility to apply multiple tone mappings to tasks (using several selected presets),
  • Possibility to group user presets in separate, user-defined folders,
  • Possibility to break while preparing for tone mapping,
  • Option to resize photo on save (only in case of JPEG),
  • Option to disable auto histogram clipping for batch tasks - may be useful when processing frames of a movie,
  • Added possibility to choose which RAW image to preview, out of those selected for loading,
  • Double click on workspace to toggle zooming: fit to screen, or 100% zoom centered at the clicked spot,
  • Option to maximize workspace area by hiding tool, status and title bars (press F11 key or choose option from main menu).
Improvements
  • Improved sliders: they look better; they are wider because the spin box and default button are hidden by default (click the label to get access to them); set to default by right clicking on the handle,
  • Much better responsiveness to tone mapping parameter change (live tone mapping),
  • Raw loader: wavelet filter is stronger allowing better noise reduction in case of very noisy images. If you used it with high values, you should reduce it to get similar results.
  • Mac: added possibility to load photos by dropping files on program icon,
  • Spinner is displayed on workspace during time consuming operations,
  • Preset selection improved: buttons instead of drop-down list,
  • Possibility to navigate around presets with keyboard arrows,
  • Possibility to open file import dialog by clicking on empty workspace,
  • Automatic batch tasks creation: possibility to filter input photos,
  • Option to reset all program settings to factory defaults (available in Program Options dialog),
  • Possibility to mark over and underexposed image areas separately,
  • Option to select mouse wheel functionality for workspace - it may be for zooming (default), or to pan around (zoom with Ctrl/Cmd key held),
  • Improved stylesheet for tabs.
Other changes
  • Mac: fixed export to external editor,
  • Fixed handling of some rare error conditions - eg. bad temporary folder,
  • Repaired bug causing program to hang when big number of HDR/EXR photos was added to batch list.
3.1 - 23.09.2013:

This is the first version available not only for Windows, but also for Mac OS X 10.7 and above (should work even with 10.6.8, 64-bit).

New features
  • History of tone mapping settings changes - gives undo/redo functionality,
  • Possibility to use chromatic aberration correction also in batch processing (requires presets to be prepared earlier),
  • Auto preview option in RAW load dialog,
  • Option to remove GPS tags from EXIF while saving photos.
Improvements
  • Presets - 'none' and 'default' moved to top of the list,
  • Sliders don't react on wheel event to allow easier scrolling of the tone mapping settings container,
  • Click on slider to move the knob to cursor,
  • Possibility to break while batch list is being created,
  • Chromatic aberration correction presets moved from Windows Registry to an INI file (C:\Users\{name}\easyHDR 3\CApresets.ini),
  • Display timer (elapsed time) during batch processing.
Other changes
  • Fixed possible crash in manual ghost removal - could have occured while navigating mouse cursor away from the photo, while still in the workspace,
  • Fixed possible crash while automatic alignment,
  • Some other problems repaired.
3.0.1 - 27.07.2013:

Improvements
  • Faster RAW image loading,
  • Storing last used directories in the batch processing dialog,
  • Added possibility to define whether the target directory shall be the same as the source - see in Program Options,
  • Updated Italian translation (now all the translations are 99% or fully complete).
Corrected bugs
  • Repaired automatic batch tasks creation - the option: "each task consists of a fixed number of photos",
  • Repaired problem that was preventing big number of batch tasks to be created,
  • Fixed saving of very wide photos in TIFF format; it was failing if the photo was wider than 10666 pixels in case of 16-bit TIFF, or 21332 pixels in case of 8-bit TIFF,
  • Fixed various problems with handling paths or file names with non-ASCII characters,
  • Removed problem with EXIF transfer when aligned source photos are saved,
  • Repaired a couple of other problems - some of them could, in rare cases, cause easyHDR to crash.
3.0 - 08.07.2013:

EasyHDR's code has been completely rewritten. The design of workflow is however very similar to what was in version 2. Also the HDR generation and tone mapping algorithms are almost the same. The only difference in this field is slightly different behavior of the Local Contrast -> Range setting.

Upgrade from version 2 to version 3 is free for users who purchased a license in 2013, all the rest can upgrade for reduced price.

New features
  • New GUI design, dark colors, anti-aliased controls, resizeable windows and panels,
  • 64-bit version of the program (there is a common installer for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, the 32-bit version is installed on 32-bit systems, while 64-bit is installed automatically on 64-bit systems),
  • Batch processing: task list creation with automatic HDR sequence detection; option to skip already done tasks; task thumbnails,
  • Possibility to define DPI value for saved photos.
Improvements
  • Live tone mapping preview, always processing at full resolution ("Process all" button is removed),
  • Improved anti-aliased view in workspaces,
  • Redesigned batch processing window: task specific and global settings split into separate tabs; improved logging; improved settings editing for tasks (task multi-selection is always enabled),
  • EV value editing improved and moved from the HDR generation options window to the tab in the main window,
  • Increased speed of input photo loading,
  • Increased speed of auto alignment,
  • Improved curve adjust tool - possibility to edit locations of the first and last curve anchoring points,
  • Simplified, but more powerful editing of paths and names (preset names, batch task names),
  • All the image transform options (rotate, mirror and cropping) are available at any step of processing,
  • Redesigned manual ghost removal tool,
  • Improved manual alignment tool,
  • Better preview in the Chromatic Aberration Correction tool,
  • Improved behavior of the histogram clipping,
  • More performance tuning options - possibility to disable live preview, or live anti-aliasing (for older computers),
  • Dcraw version updated to 9.19.
Other changes
  • Removed auto alignment setup dialog - now only the fully automatic mode is available, for semi-automatic workflow please use the manual tool and press "Auto" or "Auto all" button,
  • Removed project saving and loading - it seems it was not making much sense,
  • No Chromatic Aberration correction available in batch processing - it's planned to be reimplemented (edit: re-implemented in version 3.1),
  • No preset configuration dialog - all of it's functionality is now possible straight in the main window,
2.30.5 - 17.06.2013:

Improvements
  • DCRAW updated to version 9.18 - added support for newest cameras' RAW images,
  • Added 360° panorama option to the HDR image load dialog (previously it was not possible to use panorama mode when loading HDR or EXR files),
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed very rare, but possible crash in Smart Merge,
  • Fixed inconsistency in white balancing when loading a series of RAWs - concerning automatic white balancing modes (whole image and selection).
2.30.4 - 09.02.2013:

New features
  • Added Lightroom 4 plugin support.
Improvements
  • Anti-aliased view in main workspace. Much better display, especially in case of noisy photos shown at full resolution (after "Process all").
2.30.3 - 19.01.2013:

Improvements
  • Storing source folder also when photos are loaded by dropping files on program window, or when photos are "opened with" easyHDR,
  • DCRAW updated to version 9.17,
  • Exiftool updated to version 9.13.
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed problem with Smart Merge, when strength is set to maximum,
  • Fixed suggested file name for project,
  • A couple of other tiny issues repaired.
2.30.2 - 03.12.2012:

Improvements
  • Exiftool updated to version 9.08.
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed problem with Smart Merge, when all photos have the same EV value,
  • Corrected possible bug with saving results,
  • Fixed problem with opening photos with external editor automatically on saving (problem occured only if the target file path contained spaces),
  • Repaired charset in case of Portuguese translation.
2.30.1 - 11.11.2012:

Improvements
  • Improved auto image alignment - it has higher success rate and it's faster,
  • Better ghost removal (both, automatic and manual) and improved input image calibration,
  • "Mask" tone mapping is improved - now it doesn't introduce halo effect (or it's very small). There is now just one parameter that controls the strength,
  • Built-in tone mapping presets improved,
  • Batch processing - multiselection is turned on automatically and the newly added tasks are marked immediately after they are added with "Add directory" option,
  • Improved HDR noise filter - does not cause loss of detail in dark areas and better accommodates to various kinds of photos,
  • Default save-to directory policy can be defined by the user in the Program Options,
  • 360° panorama mode checkbox moved to "HDR Generation" window.
Corrected bugs
  • Batch processing - fixed error that caused limitation to only 253 tasks when Color Management was enabled (more tasks could be added to the list, but they were ending with errors after the limit was exceeded),
  • Repaired possible crash, when manual ghost removal tool is shown,
  • Fixed image display problem in manual alignment tool in case of 48-bit TIFFs as input photos,
  • Fixed bug in manual alignment tool - non-critical error message was appearing when "Auto All" button was pressed for the first time.
2.22.1 - 29.08.2012:

New features
  • Possibility to choose which of the loaded photos shall be used in HDR generation - no need to remove or load new photos,
  • LZW compression support for TIFF.
Improvements
  • Improved Smart Merge HDR generation method - now it does not introduce halo effect,
  • Manual ghost removal tool, loading previously saved mask: matching masks to adequate photos in the sequence,
  • Exiftool updated to version 9.00,
  • New, Romanian translation.
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed possible occasional crash when 360° panoramic mode is used,
  • Fixed auto alignment in batch processing - problem was occurring only if input photos had no EXIF,
  • Fixed tone mapping bug related to a case when reseting color adjust settings for new projects was disabled (not a default option),
  • Fixed disappearing of workspace area (related only to very small screen resolutions - i.e. on netbooks).
2.21.2 - 13.07.2012:

Improvements
  • Faster Sample/Target balance tool,
  • Lower memory usage, when color management is used,
  • Lower memory usage, when "photo before processing" view is used,
  • Lower memory usage in case of noise filtering at HDR generaion step,
  • DCRAW updated to version 9.16,
  • Option to disable automatic open dialog execution when "New" is pressed (see misc in Program Options),
  • New, Slovak translation.
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed: the generated HDR image was erased and not forced to be regenerated when chromatic aberration correction was cancelled.
2.21.1 - 13.06.2012:

New features
  • Option to open the edited photo directly in external editor (configurable by the user in the Program Options),
  • Support for OpenEXR HDR image format (import and export),
  • Raw HDR image added as one of possible "photo before processing" viewing options,
  • Option to automatically shutdown system when batch processing is completed,
  • Option to convert image to sRGB color space when saving.
Improvements
  • Much faster chromatic aberration correction tool,
  • Much faster post-processing filters (Gaussian blur, sharpen, median and bilateral filters),
  • Improved median and bilateral noise removal filters,
  • Built-in and user presets are now sorted separately in the drop-down list,
  • Possibility to transform image (rotate, or flip) at any step - it is possible to do it and then still go back and align photos or regenerate HDR,
  • Improved crop tool - possibility to reshape the area with mouse,
  • Possibility to save in TIFF format even if the photo is not processed at full resolution (saving preview image),
  • Improved memory handling when loading and saving TIFFs - lower memory usage,
  • Lower memory usage for the whole workflow; memory usage reduction mode has been removed because it no longer makes sense,
  • Anti-aliased view of "photo before processing",
  • Faster import and export of Radiance RGBE image format,
  • Possibility to choose color space of the loaded Radiance RGBE image (previously only the definition embedded in the file was used automatically).
Corrected bugs
  • Repaired calculation of selective color saturation parameters when tone mapping settings are loaded,
  • Chromatic aberration tool in batch processing - crash fixed,
  • Fixed 32-bit floating point TIFF import,
  • Fixed crash when undoing sample/target balance in post processing.
2.20.1 - 13.03.2012:

New features
  • Redesigned tonal curve tool. Added possibility to edit R, G and B curves separately. Several curve presets are available.
  • White balancing at tone mapping level, also a new: "Hue" parameter has been added.
  • Selective saturation tools (selective by hue and brightness).
  • New parameter for Local Contrast: "Blackness". It gives control over shadow deepness.
  • RAW load dialog has more options - most notable is preview area and white balancing settings.
Improvements
  • Improved tone mapping - better color preservation in lights; lowered darkening of completely overexposed areas; slightly modified "Highlights" and "Shadows" parameters; improved "Compression" parameter. Please note that previously saved tone mapping settings won't give the same results! Built-in presets have been updated.
  • Redesigned tone mapping and post processing toolboxes.
  • Redesigned histogram tool. Auto clipping improved.
  • Sorting option for input images in the HDR Generation window.
  • Save and restore last size and position of the main program window.
  • Possibility to close various dialogs with Esc key and to accept them by pressing Enter.
  • Improved workflow - "New" automatically displays the Open dialog; "Open" button renamed to "Add".
  • Added new selectivity setting for True-HDR method: "Get best exposed". It favors best exposed pixels. "Normal" selectivity is now called "Balanced".
  • Auto alignment enable checkbox added to the HDR Generation dialog - allows application of alignment right before HDR is generated, without the need to configure it.
  • If photo is already saved, do not ask again to save it when user tries to close the application.
  • Removed first "underscore" character in the suggested output file name.
  • Possibility to define not only prefix, but also suffix for aligned photos being saved.
  • Some of the toolbar icons have been changed.
  • A couple of other, smaller improvements...
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed error: loading some specific image files with partial EXIF could lead to program crash.
2.13.2 - 25.01.2012:

Improvements
  • Updated DCRAW to version: 9.12.
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed problem related to temporary files created while transferring EXIF while saving the result. The temporary file couldn't be renamed if it had been locked eg. by photo manager software,
  • Fixed problems with loading some photos in FITS format.
2.13.1 - 01.12.2011:

New features
  • Feature based auto alignment method - compensating for shift, rotation and perspective,
  • Auto pin setting in manual alignment - allows semi-manual workflow.
Improvements
  • Faster auto and manual alignment,
  • "Save aligned photos" option added to the "File" menu - it's now accessible at any step,
  • Manual alignment - sub pixel accuracy for pin positions (lower error if the pins are closer to each other),
  • If the EXIF data: exposure time, ISO and f-number seem to be incorrect, the EV is not calculated, but taken from the "AEB EV" tag (only if the photos were taken as an AEB sequence),
  • If ISO value cannot be read from standard EXIF tag, it's taken from Maker Note area (it fixes problems with photos from some cameras, i.e.: Canon PowerShot S3 IS),
  • Updated DCRAW to version: 9.11.
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed - second alignment attempt without cancelling previous transformation,
  • Pressing Alt key no longer causes some window controls to disappear on Windows 7,
  • Batch Processing - some multi-selection issues fixed (i.e. defining custom tone mapping settings for several selected tasks),
  • Fixed problem with loading some TIFFs (that have a "predictor" tag in their EXIF).
2.12.1 - 07.10.2011:

New features
  • Display EXIF info for input photos - on mouse hover over the thumbnails in the main as well as HDR Generation window.
Improvements
  • Faster Radiance RGBE import,
  • Color management support for Radiance RGBE photos,
  • Batch, "Add directory" - option to add task's ordinal number to the task name,
  • Improved default result file name generation,
  • Got rid of jhead.exe and jpegtran.exe.
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed problem in the installer, under Windows 7 - it's now possible to install correctly as a standard user (user with no possibility to elevate rights to Admin),
  • No more flickering of the image area while resizing it (also the case for some other GUI components),
  • Fixed exposure time reading from TIFFs' EXIF encoded in Motorola byte order,
  • Batch, "Add directory" - fixed bug related to the case when the last used directory no longer exists,
  • Fixed problem with exiftool being hanged after completing a big number (more than 200-300) of EXIF transfers.
2.11.2 - 21.08.2011:

New features
  • New user interface language: Hungarian.
Corrected bugs
  • A couple of tiny bugs corrected in the batch processing - most important: window scaling for screen resolution equal 1024x768.
2.11.1 - 10.08.2011:

New features
  • Noise filtering of the HDR image (before tone mapping),
  • Sharpening option at tone mapping level,
  • Possibility to manually set path for temporary data storage,
  • Possibility to define the output file name suffix.
Improvements
  • Much faster tone mapping,
  • Possibility to re-run LDR enhancement (i.e. to change filtering, alignment or chromatic aberration correction without reloading the photo),
  • Completely redesigned Batch Processing window - simplified and improved,
  • Faster HDR generation,
  • Anti ghosting: more options for pen size; cursor's shape represents the current pen's shape,
  • Anti ghosting: possibility to save and load the mask,
  • Support for more input photos (single HDR sequence), the limit is now 64 photos,
  • Improved and a bit faster auto alignment,
  • Remembering last file type used in open and save picture dialogs,
  • Updated LCMS library to version: 2; no more need for SSE2 support - SSE (Pentium III) is now sufficient,
  • Updated DCRAW to version: 9.10.
Corrected bugs
  • Possible crash when using tone mapping curve - when there are more than one knee points,
  • Possible crash when saving aligned photos in JPEG format.
2.10.2 - 06.04.2011:

Improvements
  • "New" button added to Tab 1. Now it's not only in the tool bar,
  • Improved auto EV calculation for input photos,
  • Updated DCRAW.
Corrected bugs
  • Batch Processing - fixed bug that was sometimes causing the application to crash,
  • Repaired problem with task names crated with "Add directory" option,
  • Save aligned photos - transfer color profile of the input photo,
  • Save aligned photos - transfer EXIF to TIFF,
  • Fixed some screen DPI scaling issues.
2.10.1 - 19.03.2011:

New features
  • Ghost removal - manual and automatic,
  • Possibility to change workspace background color.
Improvements
  • Faster image loading (especially when color management is enabled),
  • Faster HDR generation (especially True-HDR method - multiple CPU cores are now used),
  • Improved photo calibration with True-HDR method - better blending of photos near over-exposures,
  • Modified True-HDR Selectivity behavior for the "Cut off only over and under-exposures" option,
  • Improved HDR preprocessing, better tone mapping of high-contrast photos - i.e. night shots,
  • Changed default tone mapping settings - Gamma & Compression,
  • Alignment and Chromatic Aberration correction options moved to the HDR generation window,
  • Option to automatically apply LDR enhancement if only one photo is loaded (see the Program Options, it's disabled by default),
  • EV value appended to file names in the image lists,
  • Gamma correction for previewing Chromatic Aberration correction,
  • HDR generation and Batch Processing windows scaling now allow using the program even on netbooks with screen resolution as small as 1024x600,
  • Message dialogs - buttons swapped, possibility to cancel with Esc key,
  • Updated DCRAW and EXIFTOOL.
Corrected bugs
  • Mask tone mapping operator - corrected problem with 360° panoramic mapping,
  • Batch Processing: transferring color profile to the output image.
  • Status bar - image size after transformations,
  • Detection of CPU core count - now also the logical cores are detected (CPUs with Hyper-Threading).
2.02.2 - 02.12.2010:

Improvements
  • It is now possible to generate HDR with True-HDR method of a photo sequence, in which there are photos with the same EV values.
  • Added some new presets.
Corrected bugs
  • Fixed problem with generation of HDR (True-HDR method) out of photos in FITS format.
  • Program will not pop up any more, while loading an image sequence. Now it's possible to leave easyHDR in background while it loads photos.
  • Fixed a couple more, but minor problems.
2.02.1 - 25.11.2010:

New features
  • Completely rebuilt manual alignment tool - it's now much easier to use & faster.
  • Automatic cropping of aligned photos (auto alignment and manual alignment).
Improvements
  • Smoother tone mapping previews.
  • Support for RGB FITS format. Contrast correction options at loading FITS images.
  • Shortcut to presets in the batch processing.
  • File browser windows on Windows 7 - new style instead of legacy XP style.
  • Improved workflow - auto sizing.
  • Status bar shows position of mouse cursor and pixel values.
  • Updated DCRAW to version 9.05.
Corrected bugs
  • No more crash at program startup when Color Management is enabled (problem was present only in case of very old CPUs, that don't support SSE2 instruction set).
2.01.1 - 21.08.2010:

New features
  • Color management support (get/save color space information from/to image files; transform colors in respect to defined monitor color profile).
  • 360° panoramic mapping in case of "Local Contrast" and "Mask" local operators.
  • Projects (as in version 1.70.4).
Improvements
  • Show selected (from a listbox) input photos in the main program window.
  • Over/under-exposed warning automatically recalculated after reprocessing.
  • Batch processing: option to save photo results in the directories of the input photos.
  • Support for 8-bit, gray-scale TIFF.
Corrected bugs
  • RAW loading: corrected problem with folder paths that was happening when a path did not have a short name (non-default option of NTFS file system).
  • Batch processing: corrected error that was happening when the input photos had the same EV.
  • RAW loading: corrected problem with image size that could have prevented loading photos taken with FOVEON image sensors.
2.00.1 - 08.05.2010:

This is the next major version of easyHDR PRO software. License valid for version 1.xx is not valid any more starting at this point.
New features and improvements in respect to version 1.70.4
  • Completely reworked tone mapping algorithms (better quality and easier control).
  • New image display system - faster and much less memory consuming.
  • Improved RAW loading (faster; added control over noise reduction provided by dcraw).
  • Presets - faster way to use predefined tone mapping settings.
  • Improved workflow.
1.70.4 - 08.05.2010:

Bug fixes and changes vs. version 1.70.3:
  • Corrected problem with "Local contrast" not working properly if there were big, plain surfaces in the tonemapped image. This problem only occured in case of very big photos.
  • Corrected problem with histogram display - the problem was that it could have gone all white.
  • Corrected calculation of histogram clipping points in case when the size reduction is enabled.
  • Repaired problem with the splash screen not closing properly.
  • Updated DCRAW to version 8.99.
1.70.3 - 13.11.2009:

Bug fixes and changes vs. version 1.70.2:
  • Corrected bug in auto and manual alignment. It could have happened in some cases that the aligned image data was corrupted, which prevented HDR to be generated (problem was introduced in version 1.70.1).
  • Corrected bug in HDR generation - Smart Merge method. Trying to process very small images resulted in an error (actual minimal size was depending on the "smoothness" parameter).
1.70.2 - 06.11.2009:

Bug fixes and changes vs. version 1.70.1:
  • Changed default "Mask->Strength" - from 1.00 to 0.60. The results at the default settings are now looking more realistically.
  • Modified "Local Contrast->Level" setting. Now it's more useful as it controls how the Local Contrast shall influence areas of different global brightness.
  • Corrected bug in Post Processing that was causing that only half of the photo was actually processed (problem was introduced in version 1.70.1).
  • Corrected bug in TIFF loader that was preventing some specific TIFF formats to be loaded (i.e. some big-endian encoded 16-bit TIFFs from DxO).
  • Repaired bug in Manual Alignment tool that was preventing 48-bit images to be aligned (problem was introduced in version 1.70.1).
1.70.1 - 26.10.2009:

New features
  • Chromatic aberration correction tool.
  • White and black histogram clipping points can now be also selected with an eyedropper tool.
Improvements
  • Tone mapping: improved "Mask" operator. It is now better preserving contrast and color in dark areas, while still attenuating highlights.
  • Tone mapping: improved "Local Contrast" operator. Now it gives sharper, more detailed and less desaturated results.
  • Improved performance of many functions - faster image loading and processing.
  • Improved anti-aliasing in manual and auto alignment.
  • Faster and less memory demanding manual align tool.
  • Batch processing task-list creation: possibility to apply settings to many tasks at once (multi-selection).
  • Automatic selection of the base photo in auto alignment. EXIF is needed to detect the middle exposed photo.
  • TIFFs compressed with PackBits method are now supported.
  • Updated dcraw to version 8.98.
Corrected bugs
  • Corrected detection of CPU core count on Windows XP SP2. Additionally added possibility to manually override the detected maximum core count to be used.
  • Repaired transferring EXIF in the batch mode in case of saving in TIFF format.
  • Added a possibility (Program Options) to disable automatic enlargement of open/save file dialogs. Useful to override a problem when running the program under Wine in Linux.
  • Corrected bug in JPEG and TIFF save dialogs that could prevent EXIF to be transferred.
  • Corrected some problems with GUI when non-standard screen DPI is used.
  • Repaired scrolling of the toolbox panel. Now it's possible to use it even when the screen resolution is lower than 1024x768 (i.e. in netbooks).
1.60.3 - 17.01.2009:

Bug fixes and changes vs. version 1.60.2:
  • Repaired bug that was causing removal of easyHDR's own temporary files when the program was running for more than one hour.
  • Corrected automatic result file name generation.
  • Corrected German translation.
  • Repaired bug that could lead to crash when non-valid FITs or Radiance RGBE files were loaded (reported by Stefan Cornelius, Secunia Research).
  • Added new feature: Memory Usage Reduction Mode (in Settings menu). When enabled it is possible to load and process much bigger photos, however at the same time the Alignment and Post-Processing are disabled.
1.60.2 - 17.12.2008:

Bug fixes and changes vs. version 1.60.1:
  • Corrected bug in "Add Directory" function in the Batch Processing. Image files without archive attribute are now recognized.
  • Windows Vista: corrected detection of the number of CPU cores.
  • Added *.rw2 extension to the list of supported RAW formats.
1.60.1 - 13.12.2008:

New features
  • New HDR generation method - "Smart Merge". Generates a pseudo-HDR image that contains best exposed details taken from the input photographs. This method can produce very realistic results. Also the results look good just with the default settings, so less tweaking is needed.
  • Support for multicore CPUs. It is possible to select the maximum number of cores to be used in the normal or in the batch mode separately.
  • New translation: Brazilian!
Improvements
  • The program works much faster (even when using single CPU core). The highest improvement in performance has been achieved in case of image loading (JPEG, TIFF & RAW), and in case of LDR enhancement (3-5x faster). However other functions like tone mapping, alignment, image transformation and HDR generation are now also at least several percent faster.
  • New format (XML) for tone mapping settings files, batch job lists and project files. XML means more flexibility and that the files could be edited with a simple text editor - like Notepad.
  • Completely redesigned batch processing window.
  • Zooming with mouse wheel.
  • Recently used tone mapping settings file list is saved when the program is terminated.
  • Possibility to use both: dot or a comma as a decimal separator. Prevoiusly only one of these characters was allowed, regarding the regional settings of the Operating System.
  • Updated dcraw to version 8.89.
  • Exiftool has been added to the installation package.
Corrected bugs
  • Corrected bug that was causing the histogram to become all white.
  • Scanline error in manual alignment tool.
  • Error in curves tool, when two knee points were created at the same position, by double clicking on the graph.
  • It's now possible to load JPEGs from read-only media.
  • Corrected problem with automatic JPEG rotation.
1.50 - 28.05.2008:

New features
  • New tone mapping option - Local Contrast. The function allows to create much more 'dramatic' results, by strongly amplifying local contrasts. It is useful especially in case of scenes with cloudy sky or fine detailed textures. It is very sensitive, so making the effect too strong can bring out noise or JPEG compression artifacts, especially on flat surfaces like blue, cloudless sky.
  • Full EXIF data transfer from JPEG, TIFF and RAW formats to JPEG and TIFF (installation of an additional program: EXIFTOOL is needed).
  • Color tone adjustment in post-processing. Possibility to tweak color saturation selectively for highlights and shadows as well as possibility to adjust color temperature.
  • Russian translation!
Improvements
  • Improved histogram tool.
  • Extended capabilities of the cropping tool.
  • Improved image selection creation. Possibility to move the selection with the mouse while holding the Shift key.
  • Choosing the preview in manual alignment: buttons instead of a combo-box.
  • Hiding mouse cursor while moving pins in the manual alignment.
  • After a cursor key is pressed while moving a pin in the manual alignment, the following mouse movements are not used for updating the pin position. Easier pin position fine tuning with the keyboard.
  • Gamma correction when LDR enhancing RAW photos.
  • Most recent version of DCRAW was added.
  • Possibility to break batch processing.
  • Extended capabilities of the 'Add Directory' feature in the batch processing.
  • Possibility to manually edit the 'save to' path in the batch processing.
  • Automatic tone mapping settings loading in the batch processing - when a task is selected on the list.
  • Improved toolbox switching when the multi-tool option is selected in the 'Program Options' - useful in case of high resolution computer screens.
Corrected bugs
  • Repaired bug with the Open Picture Window and thumbnail view - on some PCs (only 2 cases were known) the program just crashed when the 'Open' button was hit.
  • Corrected problems with the main progress bar.
  • Repaired a compatibility problem that prevented from running the program on Win95/98.
1.42 - 11.02.2008:

New features
  • FITS (Flexible Image Transport System) image format support. The format is used i.e. in astrophotography.
  • Automatic JPEG rotation (on load) upon camera tilt sensor data stored in EXIF.
  • HDR image generation size reduction. Allows faster generation of a HDR image if full resolution is not needed. Can be also used for faster previewing.
  • Drag and drop functionality. Photos that are dropped on the program window are automatically loaded.
  • Possibility (set in the Program Options) to register the program as default for opening Radiance RGBE (*.hdr) image files.
  • Saving the last settings of the HDR Generation window.
Improvements
  • Improved workflow - auto alignment as a separate tool, saving aligned photos at any time, possibility to undo alignment.
  • Twice faster automatic alignment with rotation compensation.
  • About 20% faster tone mapping.
  • Possibility to choose photos to be involved in the Image Stacking.
  • Possibility to select photos to be aligned manually or automatically.
  • Improved curves tool. Adding knee points with left mouse button click. Removing with right mouse button.
  • More powerful White Balance tool. User defined selectiveness - stronger effect for brighter or darker areas.
  • Showing an effect strength map for White Balance as well as Sample/Target Balance tools.
  • Image Stacking now possible also in the batch processing mode.
Corrected bugs
  • The "Add directory" option now correctly adds directories that have an "archive" attribute.
  • Repaired copying to clipboard.
1.41 - 04.12.2007:

New features
  • Image stacking - calculation of simple average of input photos instead of generating HDR. This feature shall be used with noisy photo sequences taken at the same exposure settings, however could give good results also with bracketed shots.
  • Additional option in the Manual Alignment tool - possibility to compensate for shift and rotation only, without scaling.
  • Possibility to move the pins in the Manual Alignment tool with keyboard arrows. Click with the mouse on the pin and while still holding the mouse button use the arrows.
  • The program warns if the user tries to save the result photo when the size reduction is enabled.
  • Possibility to turn off some of the confirmation dialogs, i.e. when a new project is started.
Improvements
  • The memory usage is smaller, so bigger photos can be processed. With the /3GB switch enabled it is possible to process photos even bigger than 50MPix.
  • The program windows don't pop up during the batch processing any more. So, during the batch processing, other applications can be used without interruption.
Corrected bugs
  • The program will finally work on systems with /3GB switch enabled.
  • Default values in the tone mapping settings are now written with the proper decimal separator - as defined in the Regional Settings in Windows.
  • Corrected bugs in the RAW loader and converter - long paths or filenames (not in 8.3 format) shouldn't be a problem any more.
  • DCRAW should work on Windows Vista.
  • Temporary TIFFs created by DCRAW are now properly deleted during the batch processing.
  • TIFFs saved with AutoPano software will now load without problems.
  • The "Maximal image dimension" setting in the "Program Options->Automatic size reduction" is now working.
1.40 - 09.10.2007:

New features
  • Saving the HDR image in Radiance RGBE (.hdr) file format.
  • Completely new manual alignment. Compensates for shift, rotation, scale and perspective.
  • Automatic histogram clipping.
  • "Add directory" button in the batch processing. Automatically adds tasks of files groupped in directories and subdirectories.
  • Creation and saving HDR files in the batch processing mode without applying tone mapping.
  • "Before processing" and "after processing" preview buttons allow easy and fast possibility to compare the input photos with the result.
  • Free hand panning - move the mouse over the photo while holding the right button down.
Improvements
  • Modified tone mapping mask calculation procedures - faster and more universal.
  • Windows XP theme support - new, modern look.
  • Modified anti-blooming "slight" setting.
  • No more long program window freezing while image loading and RAW conversion.
  • Faster image loading and saving.
  • Redesigned batch processing window.
  • Opacity setting in the white balance and sample/target balance tools.
  • Help hints for the most important settings.
Corrected bugs
  • Possibility to run many instances of the program (i.e. two easyHDR's running in batch processing mode to more efficiently use the multi core processor capabilities).
  • Loading RAW files from root directory (i.e. "C:\").
  • The program crashes no more when HDR is regenerated and the size reduction is other than 1x.
  • Corrected sample tool in the white balance and sample/target balance.
  • Possibility to process *.hdr photos in the batch processing mode.
1.32 - 24.06.2007:
  • Possibility to break tone mapping and HDR generation.
  • Automatic size reduction and preview calculation after HDR is generated (configured in the 'Program Options').
  • 3-channel or luminance only histogram (click in order to change).
  • Resizeable open and save picture windows.
  • Direct raw photo loading with DCRAW.
  • Reading the EXIF tags from TIFF (and RAW).
  • Better tone mapping sliders.
  • Underexposed and overexposed areas marker (blinking).
  • Bug correction: Now it is possible to convert many files with the RAW converter in one batch.
  • A dozen other, but minor modifications.
  • New language versions: Portuguese and Italian!
1.31 - 21.04.2007:
  • More sophisticated auto-alignment feature - now there is an option to compensate rotation between the images. May be useful with hand-held photo sequences.
  • Crop tool.
  • Corrected window behavior. No freezes during HDR generation, no problems with using other applications during photo loading and HDR generation, no half-destroyed windows that cannot be closed.
  • Better noise reduction capability when the "normal" anti-blooming is chosen.
  • Corrected bug - wrong EXIF data if "Remove" button was used.
  • Corrected bug - spin edit control in the slider popups.
  • Corrected bug - now it is possible to do LDR enhancement in the batch processing.
  • New version of dcraw (program that is used to convert RAW to TIFF) - it should work with photos taken with more recent cameras.
  • Corrected bug with BMP or JPEG saving - occurred on Windows 2003 Server and there has been one report that also on Windows XP.
  • Corrected auto file name suggestion.
  • Correction of the photos loading order.
  • Corrected German and French language versions.
1.30 - 08.02.2007: New HDR generation and tone mapping algorithms - more realistic results, anti blooming feature. About 30% lower memory usage, so now it should be possible to load much bigger input photos. Image transformations (rotate and mirror). Automatic histogram clipping (white and black point). Auto alignment (for now translational only). Much improved toolbar and extended abilities of settings sliders. Preview size reduction - it is possible to process a resampled version of the HDR during tone mapping settings tuning instead of the entire photo. Possibility to hide the right panel, go back to the default settings, revert settings...

1.24 - 21.12.2006: Bigger open and save picture windows. Bigger and more handy sliders. Real saturation parameter instead of the "old saturation" tool that is since now called "compression". New language version: easyHDR in French.
1.23 - 06.12.2006: Additional language versions (German & Spanish). Added JPEG EXIF headers transfer capability. Corrected auto-preview feature. Some other minor changes like progress window showing up when photos are loaded.
1.22 - 11.11.2006: Much faster (3-8x) tone mapping with the Gaussian and bilateral shadows/highlights mask. New tone mapping method - combination of results created with the Gaussian and bilateral masks. Automatic preview option. The preview area is updated automatically when one of the tone mapping parameters is changed. Also, a bug preventing RAW conversion has been repaired. The bug concerned cases when there were spaces in the RAW file path name.
1.21 - 19.10.2006: JPEG error #36 issue has been resolved. Two bugs that were causing crash in Sample/Target Balance have been repaired. Result saving settings (like JPEG quality or TIFF compression) are now saved and restored as program starts.
1.20 - 28.09.2006: The 'Step 3' tab has been redesigned and two new tools have been added to it. The new tools allow color tone adjustment to the tone mapped image. More on that can be found in the documentation. Also DCRAW integration with easyHDR has been improved and the DCRAW converter has been updated to the most recent version (which finally works fine also on Windows 2003 Server). Some additional minor changes like: new cursors, '1:1' and 'fit to screen' zoom buttons.
1.19 - 13.08.2006: Added Radiance RGBE (*.HDR) file format support and a built-in RAW image converter (to 48-bit TIFF). Tone mapping (especially bilateral method) is much faster. Now it's possible to load many images at once (by multiselecting them). Some other, but minor changes and bug fixes.
1.18 - 06.07.2006: Batch processing, project save/load, tone mapping settings save/load.
1.17 - 13.06.2006: No crash during processing if "Auto Add" is checked before the first image is opened. Status of "Auto Add" and "Shadows/Highlights Mask" checkboxes is saved on exit and restored when the program starts.
1.16 - 05.06.2006: Two bugs corrected - crash when bilateral tone mapping was applied at low edge value and a crash on loading some TIFF images i.e. saved in PTGui).
1.15 - 14.05.2006: TIFF format support added. You can load 24, 48 or 96-bit (HDR floating-point) uncompressed or compressed with "deflate" method TIFF images. The tonemapped result can be saved as 24 or 48-bit TIFF (with or without compression).
1.14 - 04.05.2006: If you have purchased or you are going to purchase easyHDR please be sure that you have downloaded at least v1.14. A small bug that could occur on some computers has been repaired. This error affected only a licensed version.
1.12 - 30.04.2006: The most time consuming procedures as tone mapping and filtering are executed in a thread that works in the background so the application window does not freeze during processing. The median filter functionality has been improved (opacity and threshold parameters added).
1.11 - 12.04.2006: Bug correction. Now the program can be used at other screen dpi resolutions (eg. 120 dpi), not only at 96 dpi.
1.10 - 07.04.2006: New tone tmapping algorithm (shadows/highlights mask) - allows much greater contrast reduction between bright and dark areas, but preserves local contrasts, so the images look really neat. Corrected filters (gauss, bilateral and unsharp mask) - now they are faster and have greater functionality (opacity, amount values). Auto add feature (can be used if there is no shift between images to be stacked).
1.04 - 25.02.2006: New stacking and tone mapping method that does not loose color information and allows higher contrast. Corrected gamma adjustment and some minor bugs. (LAST FREE VERSION).
1.03 - 08.02.2006: No image size limit, image alignment with a mouse, contrast enhancement - setting points on the histogram.
1.02 - 04.02.2006: Two errors in image shift procedures corrected.
1.01 - 03.02.2006: New compilation (for 6MPix images).
1.00 - 03.02.2006: First release.



Current easyHDR version
3.16.2   (June 27th 2024)