Pandster1981
Suspended / Banned
- Messages
- 161
- Name
- Andy
- Edit My Images
- No
I'm currently using Lightroom 3 and Oneone's Perfect Photo Suite 7. I generally just use Lightroom for processing other than for landscape and portraits, where I use Perfect Photo Suite, however over the past year or so I've started shooting a bit of HDR, and the main area I don't have covered at the moment is a good HDR program. I've downloaded demos of Photomatix Pro 5 and the Nik suite, and am currently a bit torn between them.
Nik HDR Efex offers an easy to use package, and I have been pleased with the output. Going for the Nik option would also give me better options for Noise reduction (Dfine) and Sharpening (Sharpener Pro) than I have at the moment, though I've never felt as though I'm desperately lacking in these areas. For noise reduction and sharpening, I've generally just used Lightroom in the past, but appreciate that (a) I'm probably not the best at getting the most from it, and (b) my experience with the Nik package is limited (trying to get used to such a big software package in 2 weeks is a challenge).
The other packages in the Nik Suite strike me as overlapping with what I currently have from OnOne, though I'm happy to be proved wrong in this!
I've found Photomatix a bit more challenging to get to grips with, and initial output isn't as good, though I appreciate there is a learning curve to go through. It has the benefit that I can buy either the 'Essentials' software, or the full package, both of which are much cheaper than Nik, though clearly I'd not be getting the benefits of a noise reduction or sharpening package.
Can anyone offer any advice on this, or suggest any alternatives?
Nik HDR Efex offers an easy to use package, and I have been pleased with the output. Going for the Nik option would also give me better options for Noise reduction (Dfine) and Sharpening (Sharpener Pro) than I have at the moment, though I've never felt as though I'm desperately lacking in these areas. For noise reduction and sharpening, I've generally just used Lightroom in the past, but appreciate that (a) I'm probably not the best at getting the most from it, and (b) my experience with the Nik package is limited (trying to get used to such a big software package in 2 weeks is a challenge).
The other packages in the Nik Suite strike me as overlapping with what I currently have from OnOne, though I'm happy to be proved wrong in this!
I've found Photomatix a bit more challenging to get to grips with, and initial output isn't as good, though I appreciate there is a learning curve to go through. It has the benefit that I can buy either the 'Essentials' software, or the full package, both of which are much cheaper than Nik, though clearly I'd not be getting the benefits of a noise reduction or sharpening package.
Can anyone offer any advice on this, or suggest any alternatives?
