Would you like to do some HDR work in? Luminar Neo? It is about to be offered as a paid extension. HDR Merge combines multiple exposure frames into a single HDR image. It can combine up to 10 photos and offers increasing levels of color enhancement, making the end result as close to what the eye sees as possible. HDR Merge is scheduled to be released on July 28, and pre-orders start today.
HDR is nothing new. Photographers have been editing photos for years, and its star has faded a bit over the years as cameras have provided increased dynamic range. It remains a big deal for real estate photographers and landscape photographers who still use it in harsh lighting conditions.
Skylum has offered their own HDR software for a number of years, called Aurora. This feature is now deprecated, so it’s the right time for photographers looking to shoot HDR.
What is the Merge HDR extension for?
If your camera doesn’t have a high dynamic range, one technique to compensate for this is to take multiple exposed frames. That’s where HDR Merge can help, combining up to 10 images into one HDR photo.
Skylum claims Luminar Neo’s HDR Merge does not produce halos or artifacts. In addition, with the help of smart technologies, Luminar artists can create HDR images even from a single photo without brackets. Artificial intelligence enables the highest frame-matching quality and spectacular levels of color enhancement.
What’s unique about Luminar Neo’s HDR Merge is that it can be combined with other Luminar Neo tools to create breathtaking photos. After merging the brackets, artists have a full range of AI-based tools at their disposal. They can be enhanced with a slider, color correcting and toning, adding lighting, playing with super contrast, adding realistic sunbeams or vibrant foliage. Luminar Neo gives photo artists the power to achieve the best HDR photos and go beyond in their editing, all in one app.
I used Aurora a few years ago and thought it did a great job. There’s a lot more versatility than the HDR tools I got in Lightroom, but I think a lot of HDR was used too much for my taste and slowly lost interest in using HDR for landscapes. .
Underneath
I use and like the Skylum tools and I think the Luminar series is a huge step forward for photographers with the addition of AI tools that can speed up the workflow. For example, Luminar Neo has world-class sky replacement tools, which other companies are rushing to copy. There are also smart and powerful masking tools for portraiture.
However, the addition of extensions seems to be an excuse to squeeze more money into a product that is struggling to fulfill all the promised features. It’s sad to see Skylum worry about HDR as Neo is still waiting for things like dodge and burn and copy tools, which I use on almost every image, and while they’re on the final Luminar version, they are absent in Luminar Neo.
The difficulty of products like the original Luminar and its replacement with the Neo forced owners to buy it again, despite significant discounts. Skylum is currently offering subscriptions to Neo, and that should give chills to some photographers who have never been satisfied with Adobe’s subscription.
Neo software, built to be easily extensible, is a good thing, but Skylum would be tempting to add new features this way, charging for every one of them. I’d like to see this HDR extension sent out free to all Aurora and Neo owners as an introduction to this cutting-edge architecture. In the future, I’d like to see things like panorama assembly and zoom features, all part of the basic purchase.
Get the HDR Merge Extension
Pre-orders for the HDR Merge extension start today on July 15. The release is expected on July 28, 2022, but Luminar owners can pre-order HDR Merge right now. for a better price.
Aurora HDR owners will have the opportunity to purchase Luminar Neo with a loyalty discount and receive the HDR Merge extension for free. Additionally, Skylum customers with a Luminar Neo subscription will receive the Aurora HDR Merge extension for free. If not, you will spend for it. You can get detailed information here.
Luminar Neo will also be available in the Microsoft and Apple app stores.
I’m happy to see Luminar Neo expandable, but I foresee more paid updates in the future, which I think goes against some of the original goals at Skylum. I want them to be successful and prosperous. They are good and creative people. Their programmers are working in Ukraine under horrible conditions. However, complete Neo before you expand it.
I will soon have an enhanced copy of the HDR Merge utility and will share my thoughts as I use it.
