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AKVIS HDRFactory

Design, Photo & Graphics Software > Graphics - Photo Editing

Create Awesome HDR Photos

*** Great News! AKVIS has agreed to extend this deal for another day - Enjoy! ***

Folks, today's promotion includes options to purchase the AKVIS HDRFactory standalone version, plugin version, or bundled standalone+plugin version. Make sure to check out the comparison chart to decide which one is right for you.

By now, you've certainly come across those photographs on the web that just pop out at you, but you couldn't quite figure out what sort of sorcery results in such stunning imagery. After all, you take digital pictures all of the time, and no matter how much you play around with your settings, you can't duplicate that effect. But with today's software promotion, it's easy! The effect that you're seeing is called High Dynamic Range, which blends together several different exposures of the same shot to bring out the best of each part of your photo. And AKVIS HDRFactory can do this for you, quickly and easily!

AKVIS HDRFactory is your workshop for creating amazing HDR images and performing photo correction. With AKVIS HDRFactory, you'll be able to take a series of digital images and combine them to form one HDR photo, exploding with colors and effects that you never thought possible. Even if you just have a single image, you'll be amazed at what the pseudo-HDR functionality of AKVIS HDRFactory can do! You can even use AKVIS HDRFactory to tweak color saturation and brightness, gamma, and saturation to coax out details that would normally remain hidden.

If you happen to find a combination of tweaks that you really love, AKVIS HDRFactory lets you save those settings as a preset that you can use over and over again. Or, just browse through the integrated set of presets to expand your creativity and experiment with your photos!

Today's AKVIS HDRFactory discount promotion includes the following license types:
Home Standalone ($38.64)
Home Plugin ($38.64)
Home Deluxe Plugin + Standalone ($55.44)
Business Plugin + Standalone ($105.84)

Review Written by Derek Lee
AKVIS HDRFactory

Mac & PC

44
%
OFF
$38.64
RETAIL $69.00
39 People Want This Deal
or
AKVIS   Website
Platforms: Windows, XP, Vista (32 and 64 bit), 7 (32 and 64 bit) and Mac OS X 10.4-10.7 (32 and 64 bit)
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Email Updates Load 23 Older Comments
Software Guy HDR is great fun. Some people like it, but there are a few that don't. For examples and some software suggestions check these links:
http://captainkimo.com/hd...omparison/
and http://www.blamethemonkey...fore-after
and http://www.smashingmagazi...-pictures/
Media chance has another favorite program here:
http://www.mediachance.co...index.html
and many photo editors have HDR built in - example Zoner 14.
Akvis makes MANY quality programs for photo processing
http://akvis.com/en/produ...ftware.php
The big question with HDR - what if I didn't take the 3 different exposure photos, can this program simulate the HDR effect - the answer is YES, this program can simulate the HDR effect on a single photo.
Akvis programs are pricey and this is a good price today. It would be nice (hint) to see Akvis offer other programs or even their bundles on BDJ as future promotions. They have many great photo tools.
Sep 27 2012 at 5:22am
Peter R @ Software Guy: I fully agree that AKVIS has great programs, I own several of them. However, some of their programs share one problem: they only run on 1 CPU, no matter how many physical/virtual CPUs your PC has. The same with HDRFactory: if you load a few bracketed pictures (say 1,5 MB each) and make adjustments, it takes waaaay too long for processing. It runs on 1 CPU (100%),the others are idle. Maybe they will change this in a future version...
Sep 27 2012 at 5:49am
Bxxxx Oxxxx Many small cameras today, already have HDR built in.
In HDR mode, the camera takes 3 pictures and creates one HDR in a fraction of a second.

Does Akvis HDR Factory offer anything in addition to what can already be done automatically in the camera?
Sep 29 2012 at 12:07am
Frank Stephens It does say that you can enable GPU acceleration if your computer supports it. That should be much faster than using multiple CPU cores, depending upon implementation. The settings are comparable to other software that I have, but I noticed there's a huge number of presets, so I may check this out later today.
Sep 29 2012 at 2:00am
Software Guy @Bxxx HDR software varies from easy to complex and offers a wide range of HDR effects. In Akvis they have presets for a wide variety of very different HDR effects. Other programs use a series of sliders to achieve the 'effects'. The presets are quick and easy. Cameras usually give the basic three exposures and a single enhanced HDR image. To explore all of the possibilities you really need an editor, and that is what these software programs effectively are. Have a look here:
http://www.blamethemonkey...d-hardware

Then go to here for another look at a different HDR editor. the videos are very good.http://www.oloneo.com/en/...ngine.html

You may say this is just photo gimickry - perhaps, but an HDR photo in a plain format more closely mimicks the visual dynamic range of the human eye. The eye can see a huge variation in light levels and a camera sensor can not. So 3 photos are taken over a series of different exposures and merged to look visually more similar to the vision you actually see. That is HDR. But once you have the dynamic range, and the control offered by photo editors, creativity takes over to make an unexiciting scene more visually stimulating. Hence the Akvis presets to alter the visual mood of the photo.
Sep 29 2012 at 6:00am
Tazzie I was perusing the comparison chart, and am wondering why the ghost removal function is limited to the home deluxe version only? Is there an actual purpose to this, or is it a marketing scheme to sell more deluxe versions?

Considering that my question is not the only one posted here, it would be great if these questions would be addressed by the vendor. I do have my qualms about this software/the company, which the no-show status of the vendor does not alleviate.

I would appreciate some serious recommendations for alternative HDR software ... they could be posted in a forum thread that I will set up, since I have other questions about HDR in general. (Hint, hint, Software Guy!)
Sep 30 2012 at 4:09pm
Software Guy @ Tazzie The AKVIS standalone is a good HDR program. I have only used the standalone. That being said, HDR programs require a good editor, and if you use photoshop then it becomes an extension of that editor.
If you are looking for some programs with which to compare, I would suggest have a look at oloneo (two versions, standard and pro). I also have used and like the one by media chance - who also makes a solid screen capture program and a mesmerizing photo to art program. Luminance, Fusion and Photomatix are also worthy of consideration, and editors such as zoner have hdr built-in. It all depends on what you intend to do - high impact photos, or maybe use HDR to boost print coloration or use as the basis for photo to art. Next, do you want an all in one solution?? then get the plug in. Or can you suffer through separate programs to get your result? And finally, most HDR programs have effect sliders, and I think they are necessary but I will say that because everything seems to be time constrained - I like preset filters, whether it be to boost colors (like in Perfectly Clear) or to achieve, say a vivid, or cool or maybe warm effect like the presets shown in AKVIS yield quickly.
IMHO the preset filters kick out a quick and attractive result, and you can tune them with the sliders. When I get a photo, I give it about 5 minutes or less to get a final (ideally). And yes, I have buddies who easily spend 40 minutes to 2 hours in full manual mode to get a similar result - and you can then debate whose result is best. In the end it is all a matter of personal preference - and the time it takes to get to that final result.
Sep 30 2012 at 8:08pm
Tazzie @Software Guy ... wow! Thanks bunches for the great comments and questions to consider ... definitely got my wheels spinning. I definitely need to do more research and reading, and trying out some open source/free programs before deciding on a pay version.

Besides, AKVIS definitely is not impressing me. Two days is more than enough time to make even a token response. Too bad, cos I was even looking at their bundles as a possibility eventually, but they've lost my interest. I'm not so desperate for an HDR program that I'll shell out big bucks for DRM-ware by non-existent developers.

Anyway, thanks again for your time and help, and I'm greatly looking forward to learning more about HDR and having yet another excuse to stay on the computer all night :)
Sep 30 2012 at 10:23pm
AKVIS HDRFactory
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