Autor: rattkin

I use a combination of several software packages. Excellent PTGui from the Netherlands and Photomatix plus you favourite image editor.
I just got a good question on Google+:

Q:
I’m already using photomatix. I’ll have to give ptgui a try. My guess is that you batch process all the frames in photomatrix and then stitch them using ptgui. I’ll assume you shoot in RAW.

A:
You guess correct, that is the fastest method, but it requires that you shoot all frames from a stable tripod. Don’t use image-align and crop functions in Photomatix, because PTGui can’t handle different sized source images. I usually just merge to 32-bit .exr HDR image, run ptgui and tonemap last.

You might also need a good panoramic head, especially in close quarters. When shooting landscapes, usually any tripod head will do.

I shoot raw, but I don’t think it is really necessary if you specify white balance manually upfront and watch your histograms.
Also, I shoot manual in case I can’t get photomatix batch to line up.

Album: Lasenice