HDR Software for Windows 10: Best to Use in 2024
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Key notes
- Combine exposures without damaging the original images with some help from our best HDR software recommendations.
- Get ready to take your visuals to the next level and create clear and vibrant photos thanks to precise algorithm features.
- Make sure your work is always at a professional level and also preserves your unique style by taking a look at our guide.
One of the most popular ways of taking photographs is called HDR (High Dynamic Range). The goal is to capture both the light and dark parts of the images in a way that is similar to how our eyes do.
Most modern cameras and smartphones come with a software solution that allows HDR, but the issue is that you hardly ever have any control over what the final output image looks like.
The best solution for this is using a camera with DSLR (digital single-lens reflex camera). This type of camera allows you to shoot in RAW and use a feature known as Auto Exposure Bracketing, which allows you to combine both the highlights and the shadows to produce a perfect-looking image.
In this article, we will explore the best options for HDR software solutions on the market that you can use on Windows 10.
What is the best HDR software to capture HQ images?
Adobe Lightroom – Best HDR software for HQ images
We highly recommend this HDR software for Windows 10 as it has many HDR photo editing settings.
If you are eager to practice photography and create stunning HDR images, this amazing tool will not disappoint you.
You may process HDR images entirely in Lightroom. Usually, HDR requires that you shoot with a tripod and use complicated HDR plugins, yet with Adobe Lightroom, you don’t need to carry one with you all the time.
To achieve the desired HDR effect, shoot in RAW and focus on these six sliders – Shadows, Highlights, Whites, Blacks, Clarity, and Vibrance.
That’s how you’ll get an impressive HDR-like image in just a few minutes. With its precise algorithm, bringing the HDR effect onto a single image is guaranteed.
However, do keep in mind that Adobe Lightroom does more than produce natural-looking HDR images.
It is a full-package tool for editing, organizing, and sharing photos on desktop and mobile platforms.
Other amazing features include useful keyboard shortcuts for HDR and panorama merge, 3D artwork support, quick export of raw photos to DNG or Cloud storage starting at 1TB.
Another great element is that you also get Lightroom tutorials and content from professional photographers.
Adobe Lightroom
Get the most popular fully-featured photo editing tool that goes perfectly with your HDR images on any device!inPixio Eclipse HDR – Professional HDR editing features
InPixio’s Eclipse HDR is a fast and easy HDR editing software that does not require you to have expensive HDR cameras or to use the classic 3-picture technique.
Instead, Eclipse HDR helps you get the same results as the classic technique but with just one picture. This can be great if you have just one potentially great shot that you want to save or if you are a beginner or amateur and don’t want to invest too much in HDR gear.
However, if you prefer the 3-picture technique, Eclipse HDR can still be used properly. Its comprehensive features support bracketing, lightning control, color adjustments, and more.
Eclipse HDR provides over 40 presets for photographs, from portraits to landscapes.
The included effects can give your pictures all sorts of final looks, from highly realistic to surreal and artistic.
Other key features of Eclipse HDR include:
- HDR ReLight lets you adjust lighting in just a few clicks
- Noise reduction
- RAW processing module
- Exposure adjustments with advanced tone mapping
Eclipse HDR is a licensed product and it can be used on Windows running PCs.
inPixio Eclipse HDR
Get professional HDR editing features and instant fix adjustments with this professional yet easy-to-use tool.Aurora HDR – One-stop HDR photo editor
Aurora HDR is HDR software that was co-developed with Trey Ratcliff (the world’s most famous HDR photographer) and MacPhun (now Skylum), a company that produces many utility image editing software.
One of the best features Aurora HDR has to offer is its HDR Tone Mapping tool, which is presented as a slider that increases or decreases the HDR effect.
Aurora HDR offers several other options, such as adding custom textures and bracketing the HDR mode. It also allows you to selectively include or exclude areas that will be affected by these adjustments.
The feature of selective adjustment using creative adjustment layers makes Aurora HDR one of the best HDR software in the market in 2024.
Aurora HDR can also open RAW files – you can easily import the RAW files directly into the software or export them through Lightroom with or without the changes being applied.
This software lets you change the information in separate sidecar files without affecting the initial photo.
Another essential aspect of Aurora HDR is its interface, which is a lot more responsive and intuitive than the interface of other similar software.
Its patent-pending Quantum HDR Engine automatically analyzes millions of pixels and intelligently builds stunning photos.
Some very important Aurora HDR features include Photolemur 3.0 plugin support, Nik Collection, plugins for Photoshop, advanced image processing engine, HDR enhancer, native RAW support, or fast brackets merging.
It supports Imagenomic Portraiture and offers Pro preset packs. This tool also has a history panel feature, histogram, and before-and-after comparison.
Flawless HDR – allows you to instantly get professional results without halos, ghosting. You can use the lens correction tool or the dodge & burn filter for making your visuals as flawless as possible.
You have a wide range of detail, clarity, structure controls, feather and density features for layer masks and, in addition, batch processing capabilities.
We must also mention the intuitive user interface and the high-quality presets for all HDR styles. This software comes with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom plug-ins and multiple licenses for five computers at once.
Aurora HDR
Use this award-winning HDR image editor and give your photos a crisp, stunning new look within seconds.EasyHDR – Straightforward interface
For over ten years, EasyHDR has been a choice among the best HDR software applications.
This software is easy to install and offers a straightforward interface that enables you to easily create multiple photos, blend them together for a photo sequence, and can also be used for tone mapping.
It has the capability to import several image formats: JPEG, 8/16-bit TIFF, PNG, FITS, or RAW photos.
It also allows you to import OpenEXR, Radiance RGBE, and 96-bit floating-point TIFF HDR images created with other HDR software.
Even though the best results can be obtained by using RAW images, EasyHDR can also load just a single photo for LDR enhancements.
From the perspective of speed and performance, EasyHDR takes a bit longer to load compared to the other software options presented in this article.
But EasyHDR still excels in areas like better integration and a more extensive set of editing options.
Key features include tone mapping options, deghosting, fast and responsive editing tool, and alignment control.
HDR Projects – Provides an add-on system
One of the best options for any photographer’s needs, HDR Projects 8 Pro processes photo files from every possible photo source and allows you to transform the results into a masterpiece easily.
Make the most of this free demo HDR software, which is available without a watermark. It uses individual images, a bracketing series, simple JPEGs, or high-res RAW files without the need to use a tripod.
As a leader in HDR technology, Franzis has guaranteed the very best applications of this fascinating technique.
It offers one of the newest highlights of HDR photography – Ultra HDR – brilliant colors and amazing detail of your photos.
HDR Projects 4 is very easy to understand and use. As soon as you upload your original image, it presents you with 82 versions of your photos, inspiring you to experiment with new ideas.
Every image uploaded to the program is analyzed individually, and with a wide array of possible effects, creating original-looking photos is easy.
HDR Projects 4 comes in two versions – HDR projects standard, and HDR projects PRO.
The standard version of this software offers a good range of features like the ultra HDR technology, advanced RAW features, interactive ghosting removal as well as 19 max number of images in an exposure series
You can restore the image series. You also have 9 HDR algorithms, 64 post-processing effects, and a 360-degree panorama mode at your fingertips.
HDR Projects 4 PRO offers all the standard version features with a few key additions. You can make 33 max number of images in an exposure series.
It provides an add-on system, 13 HDR algorithms, and 81 post-processing effects.
Picturenaut 3.2 – Create HDRIs from multiple exposures
Picturenaut is an HDR photo editor for PC developed by a German photo community and it has been in the works for four years, getting consistent improvements according to user feedback.
It is a more basic HDR software for Windows 10 that allows you to edit images and offers a wide enough variety of tools.
It includes basic automatic alignment and deghosting options, and all tone mapping and editing settings are defined before you create your HDR composite.
This software also comes with a multi-threaded and consistent architecture, making it a fast tone mapper thanks to multicore CPU support – adaptive Logarithmic, Photoreceptor Physiology, etc.
Allows creation of HDRIs from multiple exposures – automatic image alignment, exposure correction, RAW support, noise level compensation
It allows high slide JS – reads EXIF metadata and ICC profiles from the source image, aperture, shutter speed, and EV offset.
The tool can integrate plugins written for HDRShop. It offers a wide array of plugins, such as Gaussian Motion Blur and Diffuse SH (spherical harmonics).
This tool also includes a median cut feature (light show extraction), Absolute HDR Calibration, fake HDRI (stretching out LDR pixel values), and more.
You will definitely enjoy the user-defined Gamma Encoding as well as the high-quality 32-bit resizing.
You also get plenty of LDR formats, such as TIFF, JPEG, TGA, and RAW, as well as HDR formats: TIFF float, OpenEXR, PFM, and Radiance RGBE.
Picturenaut offers a wide range of plugins, including format plugins such as HDR and LDR. You can also create plugins such as 32-bit floating-point image buffers.
In this article, we presented you with a wide array of HDR software options for your image post-processing on Windows 10.
Note that the most professional options with an incredible user interface require more system resources.
Depending on your specific needs, you can also choose HDR software solutions with a lower impact on your system resources that have a lower number of features and still offer a powerful image creation and post-processing program.
Better yet, you can easily calibrate HDR on Windows for better picture quality without looking for a professional tool.
Tell us what you think about the options presented in this article, and let us know if we missed anything in the comment section below.
