Hello. does anyone have any tips for HDR workflow? right now what i am trying is creating 3 gigapan images 1 High, 1 Mid and 1 Low ex. Then i batch crop them in CS5 but for some reason i can’t get finish the last step of combining them as a HDR. I have tried both Cs5 and Photomatix Pro but they both fail. Could it be that the image size is to big?

I doubt image size is the problem, Jesse. Try batch merging them to HDR and outputting as a JPEG or TIFF in Photomatix, then cropping them.

Hi Tom

THanks for the input i tried what you sugested and this is what came out of it http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/109900

Any thoughts on how to get a smooth image? I think maybe i should use 75% over lap and a then take a general test HDR shot for me to get my numbers right, there is no way to preview when you batch is there?

I agree with Tom on the workflow. It looks like you may have some lens vignette going on. Try batch processing the source images in Photoshop’s Lens Correction module to remove lens vignette before batch merging them in Photomatix. Photoshop needs the EXIF data to choose the correct lens profile for vignette removal, so I doubt it would work post-photomatix.

Oh thanks for the tips. I Will try the lens correction and upload images with your tips added to my work flow as soon as my Epic pro gets fixed.

On another note: I took it out today to get my 2 HDR session and low and behold my pan motor wont pan. I have only had my gigapan for about 3 months now and this is the second issue i have had with it. I am not very happy with it right now especially for the $1000 price tag.

I do this on my last gigapan http://www.3dpan.org/107807
Shot in 1 photo Raw and the process it with photomatrix with bach single photo, so avoid wind movement with tree

I think I see what might be the problem.

I am assuming that you are working with fixed exposures and with fixed apertures (aka manual mode) as per the Gigapan recommendations.

If you process the photos as HDR using individual settings, you end up with autoadjustments that do not allow for a proper merge, it is as if you were using autoexposure when taking the originals, resulting in patchwork exposures.

Instead, batch-process the HDR files using the same settings. I know I can do this with the Oloneo PhotoEngine software, which I use for HDR, but your software of choice may not allow this.

My workflow, usually, is to run the gigapan using the original, unprocessed images to find stitching problems, then run batch for vignetting correction in Lightroom 4, then HDR via Oloneo and final stitching.