Tone mapping or exposure fusion ?

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Geoffrey LORD

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Sep 10, 2024, 6:29:53 AM9/10/24
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Hello,

I was trying to find video resources in regards to Tone Mapping and Exposure fusion for regular non-HDR panos but couldn't find any.

 Could you please explain why I should use one or the other for regular panos? It would be my last step before exporting and using the image on my website. Also, should I use the post-process tab before these? 

For reference, my goal is to use PTGui as my only editing software for panos, no more lightroom or photoshop before/after. I import raws into ptgui and export the finished product. Working with multi-gigapixel images has made me want to reduce my workflow drastically haha...

Please note that I'm asking these questions after having tried to use both options and managing to get similar results each time. However, I'm scared that I might be losing image quality or degrading my image in some other way by using the wrong settings in the wrong order...

Thanks in advance,
Geoffrey

Michał Niedźwiecki

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Sep 10, 2024, 8:01:11 AM9/10/24
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I use Lr for adjusting RAW and export to TIFF and PTGui Pro for stitching. PTGui is not good for RAW files. When I have a very bright sky and dark nadir I use Tone Mapping in PTGui for brightness adjustments but not greater than 1EV to boost shadows and reduce light.

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Geoffrey LORD

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Sep 10, 2024, 9:49:50 AM9/10/24
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Thanks for the response! 
I see, I started skipping LR first after noticing banding in the skies of my images and asking this forum about it here; it fixed my issue almost entirely.  
I agree that I also try to go for small adjustments for tone mapping like you say. Have you experimented with Exposure Fusion? Same results?

Michał Niedźwiecki

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Sep 10, 2024, 10:33:43 AM9/10/24
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Yes, I sometimes use Exposure Fusion but usually the Tone Mapping has better results. Sometimes I render two panoramas. One with good brightness in terrain, second with good brightness in sky. Then I open in Ps as layers and mix by gradient mask with some manual fixes.

My examples:

Geoffrey LORD

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Sep 10, 2024, 11:54:15 AM9/10/24
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I see, I'll fiddle around with tone mapping and try to get what I'm looking for, thanks! I have tried to do that in Ps before but I find Ps to be too slow once you have very large images...
Nice pics!  

Philip Chong

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Sep 10, 2024, 7:15:17 PM9/10/24
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I do all my photo edit (tone mapping/exposure fusion/luminosity masking/lut, lens corrections profile, hot pixel, sharpening, denoise, remove CA/PF, etc, etc) in my favorite editing software, then I save it as 16 bit TIFF and only let PTGui  do the stitching only, thats what its good for.

Wolfgang Weber

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Sep 11, 2024, 3:12:11 AM9/11/24
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Hi Michał,

 

really nice pictures. How do you do this and how do you get these good  crossover, from terrain to sky ? Normally it is really difficult to crop when you have  trees and leaves as crossover to sky. But very often, the way to increase the quality of a picture you have to do something only with the sky. It would be nice if PTGui could do all that stuff, better than edit all single pictures.

 

Cheers Wolfgang

 

Von: pt...@googlegroups.com <pt...@googlegroups.com> Im Auftrag von Michal Niedzwiecki
Gesendet: Dienstag, 10. September 2024 16:34
An: PTGui Support <pt...@googlegroups.com>
Betreff: Re: [PTGui] Tone mapping or exposure fusion ?

 

Yes, I sometimes use Exposure Fusion but usually the Tone Mapping has better results. Sometimes I render two panoramas. One with good brightness in terrain, second with good brightness in sky. Then I open in Ps as layers and mix by gradient mask with some manual fixes.

 

My examples:

 

wtorek, 10 września 2024 o 15:49:50 UTC+2 Geoffrey LORD napisał(a):

Thanks for the response! 

I see, I started skipping LR first after noticing banding in the skies of my images and asking this forum about it here; it fixed my issue almost entirely.  

I agree that I also try to go for small adjustments for tone mapping like you say. Have you experimented with Exposure Fusion? Same results?

Le mardi 10 septembre 2024 à 14:01:11 UTC+2, Michał Niedźwiecki a écrit :

I use Lr for adjusting RAW and export to TIFF and PTGui Pro for stitching. PTGui is not good for RAW files. When I have a very bright sky and dark nadir I use Tone Mapping in PTGui for brightness adjustments but not greater than 1EV to boost shadows and reduce light.

 

 

wt., 10 wrz 2024 o 12:29 Geoffrey LORD <glor...@gmail.com> napisał(a):

Hello,

 

I was trying to find video resources in regards to Tone Mapping and Exposure fusion for regular non-HDR panos but couldn't find any.

 

 Could you please explain why I should use one or the other for regular panos? It would be my last step before exporting and using the image on my website. Also, should I use the post-process tab before these? 

 

For reference, my goal is to use PTGui as my only editing software for panos, no more lightroom or photoshop before/after. I import raws into ptgui and export the finished product. Working with multi-gigapixel images has made me want to reduce my workflow drastically haha...

 

Please note that I'm asking these questions after having tried to use both options and managing to get similar results each time. However, I'm scared that I might be losing image quality or degrading my image in some other way by using the wrong settings in the wrong order...

 

Thanks in advance,

Geoffrey

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Michał Niedźwiecki

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Michał Niedźwiecki

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Sep 11, 2024, 7:14:27 AM9/11/24
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1. Take photos in AEB5 in DNG and merge to HDR in Lr or take photos with different shutter speeds for terrain and sky. It is dependent on time and the dynamics of the scene (if merge to HDR causes ghosts I use single DNG).

2. Make adjustments and export to 16-bit TIFF. I use the same settings for all TIFFs but sometimes manipulate exposure sliders because TIFF may lose details in blacks or whites. PTGui corrects exposure after load without losing details. Sometimes I use gradient for reduce light in sky but when sky line is not straight (i.e. in mountains) I use follow method:

3. Load in PTGui and stitch. Sometimes I use Tone Mapping to reduce brightness in sky and boost light in terrain but if I am not satisfacted I export two stitched files: one with "exposure" slider in Post Process tab adjusted on sky and second with exposure adjusted on terrain. 

4. Open in Photoshop as layers and mix by mask. I start with a gradient mask and adjust manually using a brush. It's tedious work, so I do it as a last resort.


I have many other advanced panoramas:
https://photo.nkg-mn.com/pano/tilt-shift/2023-06-07-polana/ - tilt-shift lens for achieve sharp very near nadir and far in very large resolution (50mm lens, 33MPix full frame camera)


https://photo.nkg-mn.com/pano/bielsko-biala/focus_stacking/ - focus stacking by masking in Photoshop - one panorama with focus on near and second with focus on far

https://photo.nkg-mn.com/gigapan/2023-03-12-kozia_gorka_4/ - gigapixel panorama, over 100K resolution from source images. ~500 photos from 166mm tele-lens for -45° to horizon and ~20 upscaled photos from 24mm lens for fill clouds and terrain from -90° to -45°

https://photo.nkg-mn.com/pano/nolink/przywidz_2024/2024-07-31-noc/ - night with starts in sky, 30s exposure time

Wolfgang Weber

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Sep 11, 2024, 7:25:27 AM9/11/24
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Thanks a lot Michal

Das Bild wurde vom Absender entfernt.

 

wt., 10 wrz 2024 o 12:29 Geoffrey LORD <glor...@gmail.com> napisał(a):

Hello,

 

I was trying to find video resources in regards to Tone Mapping and Exposure fusion for regular non-HDR panos but couldn't find any.

 

 Could you please explain why I should use one or the other for regular panos? It would be my last step before exporting and using the image on my website. Also, should I use the post-process tab before these? 

 

For reference, my goal is to use PTGui as my only editing software for panos, no more lightroom or photoshop before/after. I import raws into ptgui and export the finished product. Working with multi-gigapixel images has made me want to reduce my workflow drastically haha...

 

Please note that I'm asking these questions after having tried to use both options and managing to get similar results each time. However, I'm scared that I might be losing image quality or degrading my image in some other way by using the wrong settings in the wrong order...

 

Thanks in advance,

Geoffrey

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Pozdrawiam
Michał Niedźwiecki

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