The Experts’ HDR Solution! FREE for 24 hours on GOTD!

#44

Ivo, Yep. This is so mixed up system. I already have account, but if I told id, then got some error from server. They have too complicated process so their system cannot handle itself.

Reply | Comment by Nice to know – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+5)

#43

Looks like this site has been attacked by one or more bots. I have never seen each and every comment with negative values for comment usefulness. Sad.

Reply | Comment by Dan J – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)

#42

Finding it impossible to register this giveaway. I can log in to my Franzis account but trying to register using the internet button does not work. The internet button takes me to a log in page. When I hit send on this page one of three things happen: 1) I get a blank page 2) Get a 504 bad gateway error 3) Get a message saying whoops something went wrong. This "Click the blue button "Request registration code"." thus becomes impossible to do.

Reply | Comment by Etienne – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

#41

Looking through the comments and there is not one positive up-vote.After the authors spent their precious and valuable time to try to help you all out.What a miserable lot of whinging and whining bastards you all are.

Reply | Comment by Pissonu – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-10)

#40

It installed for me in just a few minutes and I was ready to use it . I opened a photo and began to see all the preset choices that are available. What an Awesome Program. Thanks Giveawayoftheday.

Reply | Comment by Ron – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-10)

#39

Giveaway of the day,
Please, why don't you provide 2 separate links for the Windows and the Mac versions, so everyone downloads only the version of the software he needs?

Reply | Comment by Reussite Oisillon – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-16)

#38

Wow, I’ve never had an issue with a GAOTD offering before this one.
HDR makes you jump through hoops and provide way too much information when registering. (Why do they need my address, birthday, and telephone number?)

After giving up all my personal data they were to send another email with the final activation code and....... nothing.

Looks like I’ll be deleting this one.

Reply | Comment by Kyle – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

#37

All I can get on the registration site is
"Whoops, looks like something went wrong."
Tried multiple times, either a blank page or the above error message which is the best they can describe the error. I even tried resetting the password, got same error after getting the registration screen back after changing password.

Reply | Comment by Leo – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

#36

Can't complete the bloody registration process. Took several tries and using a different email address than the one already registered with Franzis (for Analog Projects) to complete the first step.

I received the first email, but the link to complete the next stage of registration takes me to a page that says I don't have any registered products. There are no links to further the registration process. What am I supposed to do next. The registration window closes in a few hours.

The same sort of thing happened the last time I tried to register GotD software. Broken links and convoluted registrations methods that don't work have me ready to quit trying.

Reply | Comment by Jim – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#35

For a start, you should make the registration process less complicated.
It took me a couple of hours to get registered but still dis not get the activation code. The email I got stated that I had the GAOD but the account page said that there were products registered for me.

Reply | Comment by Yousuf – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-6)

#34

C'mon folks. READ THE INTRUCTIONS!! Got mine installed and registered without a hitch. Nice program.

Reply | Comment by Jeff Sedlock – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-6)

Jeff Sedlock, Cmon, read comments: registration not worked like is in readme. Believe me, I have registered two their another programs/plugins already.

Reply | Comment by Tsutsutrain – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#33

Tried several time to install the "Giveaway Of The Day" HDR projects, and never could get the ID or registratiin code, only recieved the following message
"
This page isn’t working
reg.franzis.de is currently unable to handle this request.

HTTP ERROR 500"

Waste of time, deleted all the code....

Reply | Comment by Ed Weiss – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#32

With every Giveaway-of-the-Day I've tried to download I get the following message, "404 Oooops! Sorry, the page you're looking for isn't here.
Maybe you've clicked on an obsolete link or mistyped the URL, or maybe it's just us. Don't fret! Just go to our home page and proceed from there."

When I go to the home page as instructed and try to proceed, I get the same error message.

Other people seem to be able to download. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks.

Reply | Comment by Bonnie – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)

#31

I have worked for years as a professional stage photographer and most of my life behind the lense.

Personally, I really do not like HDR photographs at all. I find them unnatural and cartoonish. The Art of photography is in the contrast, manipulating the mind's eye to "see" what the photographer envisioned through the lense complete with its dramatic content. IMHO HDR photos appear flat and lacklustre.

However, if one works with it, experimenting over significant time, we may change viewpoints and find the proper niche for this newly approachable technology. This is how I approached the HDR Projects software and so my comments follow here:

I found that the software installed and registered correctly. Just carefully follow the instructions to the letter.

I found that the software ran well and with reasonable speed. Everything seemed stable, which is paramount as you do not want to be significantly into an editing stage only to find a software crash (the old "blue screen") just when you had reached perfection.

HDR files are inherently large. Poor coding practices can easily compound in even the most robust of system resources to kill performance to a total chore.

Adobe Photoshop is the de facto standard in image processing. It is my go-to tool. But any tool is only as good as the user's skill in its implementation. HDR Projects is a welcomed and able addition to the software arsenal that will be sure to fullfill the needs of a large number of HDR photographers in that its natural workflow can be more approachable.

For these reasons, I give FRANZIS high marks for this current version of their software HDR Projects. In spite of my reticence for this type of digital technology, I will be keeping this on my PC as a new tool to explore HDR photography in greater depth. In all likelihood I dislike HDR just because no one else has done it as well a I can eventually discover can be done. ;) And that is what keeps photographers engaged and constantly 'pushing the envelope'.

Try it and give it some time to really evaluate.

I have worked for years as a professional stage photographer and most of my life behind the lense.

Personally, I really do not like HDR photographs at all. I find them unnatural and cartoonish.  The Art of photography is in the contrast, manipulating the mind's eye to "see" what the photographer envisioned through the lense complete with its dramatic content.  IMHO  HDR photos appear flat and lacklustre.

However, if one works with it, experimenting over significant time, we may change viewpoints and find the proper niche for this newly approachable technology. This is how I approached the HDR Projects software and so my comments follow here:

I found that the software installed and registered correctly. Just carefully follow the instructions to the letter.

I found that the software ran well and with reasonable speed. Everything seemed stable, which is paramount as you do not want to be significantly into an editing stage only to find a software crash (the old "blue screen") just when you had reached perfection.

HDR files are inherently large. Poor coding practices can easily compound in even the most robust of system resources to kill performance to a total chore.

Adobe Photoshop is the de facto standard in image processing. It is my go-to tool. But any tool is only as good as the user's skill in its implementation.  HDR Projects is a welcomed and able addition to the software  arsenal that will be sure to fullfill the needs of a large number of HDR photographers in that its natural workflow can be more approachable.

For these reasons, I give FRANZIS high marks for this current version of their software HDR Projects.  In spite of my reticence for this type of digital technology,  I will be keeping this on my PC as a new tool to explore HDR photography in greater depth.  In all likelihood I dislike HDR just because no one else has done it as well a I can eventually discover can be done. ;)  And that is what keeps photographers engaged  and constantly 'pushing the envelope'.

Try it and give it some time to really evaluate.

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Reply | Comment by PaulB – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)

PaulB,
Just to add that I found the software very approachable and efficient to use. However, bear in mind that I am certainly no stranger to image processing software. Your experience may differ, and so that is why I did not mention this in my review.

Reply | Comment by PaulB – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#30

followed instructions installed and registration went well thanks GAOTD

Reply | Comment by swammpy – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-7)

#29

Comment #5 Originally: Still can't install with serial # sent to me by Franzis.
I have B&W Project Elements installed on my computer.
Today's Giveawayoftheday Project HDR Project 4 will not install with the serial # sent to me by Franzis .
The Serial # says that it is for CutOut 5 (windows) and it will not activate todays giveaway.
I have sent several e-mails to FRANZIs about this and they keep saying follow the instructions with the serial # in the box (copy and paste)

Reply | Comment by Joe – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-44)

#28

Followed all instructions...firewall disabled...still getting "Enter serial number..." and "30 days trial" message. Also, tried the Registration Code sent via email....nothing works...program is worth keeping it this issue is resolved.
Please Help!!!!

Reply | Comment by Evaluator – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-100)

Evaluator, reboot

Reply | Comment by MOV – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-67)

MOV, same message after rebooting...

Reply | Comment by Evaluator – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-6)

Evaluator, Did you try to start the program with Admin-rights and then register it?
And did you use the long code twice?

Reply | Comment by Ootje – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#27

HDR projects 4 is decent enough software, but it's based much more on special FX than it is on actual HDR photography. The basic concept of HDR is pretty simple... using probably the most common example, you want to take a landscape photo, but the exposure setting that will show cloud detail in the sky is too dark for everything else, while the correct exposure for everything else blows out the sky. The HDR solution is to take 2 or more photos at different exposure settings, in this case one darker exposure setting for the sky, & one normal exposure setting for the actual landscape. Then you take the data from both & combine them into one file. The catch is that for best results it's then up to you to adjust the exposure-related settings for the different parts of your HDR photo in editing software -- you now have the data to lighten or darken specific parts, which is what HDR gives you. Software can't do that as well as you can, but it takes a little bit of artistry on your part. Enter HDR Projects, where you pick FX that you think look cool. That's nice for those less artistically inclined, &/or those that don't want to bother, or if you want to go [IMHO sometimes garishly] beyond what the subject you took photos of really looks like.

That said, HDR Projects can be pretty complicated to use if you dive into all the fine tuning & controls it offers you. In my experience the Photoshop / Lightroom combo is likely the easiest -- you combine your photos, then get about your editing, which requires nothing special in the way of added work. Paintshop Pro fits in between, though it's closer to P/Shop than HDR Projects. Adobe recently added a the feature of being able to generate a HDR panorama from the original, bracketed shots [a bracketed shot is where the camera is set to take 2 or more photos at different settings when you press the shutter button].

Now HDR image files have drawbacks, like the files themselves are huge, and you're limited in how you can save them. Adobe Lightroom saves the RAW images you combined into an HDR photo in Adobe's DMG RAW format, which can be opened by quite a few apps. Many apps won't even let you save them -- you do your HDR magic, then output a regular image file with the results. Here's a quick breakdown of the few formats available, though app support is pretty limited.

dummies[.]com/photography/digital-photography/types-of-photography/hdr-photography-choose-a-file-format/

You can often get the same end results avoiding HDR entirely if/when you use an image editing app with layers. You still need 2 or more photos taken with different exposure settings, but instead of combining them you put them on separate layers. then you apply a mask to the upper layer(s), so only the part's you want show, e.g. a darker photo on the top layer [for the sky detail] with a [usually gradient] mask blocking out the landscape, with the layer below it showing that landscape properly exposed. Same end result as HDR in this case without the fuss & inconvenience.

While the gimmicky aspects [& yes, including HDR Projects here] are often promoted for their gee whiz factor, HDR is becoming more common -- it's even on some cell phones, both as legitimate HDR & fake. A great many people just set their cameras [or the cameras on their drone] to always take bracketed shots, so the extra data is available if wanted/needed, and it's no big deal to ignore those extra shots when you don't. Since you do want the photos to line up when combined, you need to use a tripod or rest the camera somehow at slower shutter speeds. When you see stuff about "Ghosting" in HDR software [e.g. HDR Projects], that has to do with fixing the parts where the photo's don't 100% match.

HDR projects 4 is decent enough software, but it's based much more on special FX than it is on actual HDR photography. The basic concept of HDR is pretty simple... using probably the most common example, you want to take a landscape photo, but the exposure setting that will show cloud detail in the sky is too dark for everything else, while the correct exposure for everything else blows out the sky. The HDR solution is to take 2 or more photos at different exposure settings, in this case one darker exposure setting for the sky, & one normal exposure setting for the actual landscape. Then you take the data from both & combine them into one file. The catch is that for best results it's then up to you to adjust the exposure-related settings for the different parts of your HDR photo in editing software -- you now have the data to lighten or darken specific parts, which is what HDR gives you. Software can't do that as well as you can, but it takes a little bit of artistry on your part. Enter HDR Projects, where you pick FX that you think look cool. That's nice for those less artistically inclined, &/or those that don't want to bother, or if you want to go [IMHO sometimes garishly] beyond what the subject you took photos of really looks like.

That said, HDR Projects can be pretty complicated to use if you dive into all the fine tuning & controls it offers you. In my experience the Photoshop / Lightroom combo is likely the easiest -- you combine your photos, then get about your editing, which requires nothing special in the way of added work. Paintshop Pro fits in between, though it's closer to P/Shop than HDR Projects. Adobe recently added a the feature of being able to generate a HDR panorama from the original, bracketed shots [a bracketed shot is where the camera is set to take 2 or more photos at different settings when you press the shutter button].

Now HDR image files have drawbacks, like the files themselves are huge, and you're limited in how you can save them. Adobe Lightroom saves the RAW images you combined into an HDR photo in Adobe's DMG RAW format, which can be opened by quite a few apps. Many apps won't even let you save them -- you do your HDR magic, then output a regular image file with the results. Here's a quick breakdown of the few formats available, though app support is pretty limited.

dummies[.]com/photography/digital-photography/types-of-photography/hdr-photography-choose-a-file-format/

You can often get the same end results avoiding HDR entirely if/when you use an image editing app with layers. You still need 2 or more photos taken with different exposure settings, but instead of combining them you put them on separate layers. then you apply a mask to the upper layer(s), so only the part's you want show, e.g. a darker photo on the top layer [for the sky detail] with a [usually gradient] mask blocking out the landscape, with the layer below it showing that landscape properly exposed. Same end result as HDR in this case without the fuss & inconvenience.

While the gimmicky aspects [& yes, including HDR Projects here] are often promoted for their gee whiz factor, HDR is becoming more common -- it's even on some cell phones, both as legitimate HDR & fake. A great many people just set their cameras [or the cameras on their drone] to always take bracketed shots, so the extra data is available if wanted/needed, and it's no big deal to ignore those extra shots when you don't. Since you do want the photos to line up when combined, you need to use a tripod or rest the camera somehow at slower shutter speeds. When you see stuff about "Ghosting" in HDR software [e.g. HDR Projects], that has to do with fixing the parts where the photo's don't 100% match.

Save | Cancel

Reply | Comment by mike – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

mike, don't understand the negative reactions to your comment (-14 as of now). You're *the* most well-informed contributor on this site and one can always learn something from you. I re-read your comment and still don't get the negativity???

Always appreciate what you have to say! Thanks...

Reply | Comment by Tony S – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-6)

#26

I have HDR projects 4 - V4.41.02511. Is this the same version?

Reply | Comment by Shirley Temple – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-59)

Shirley Temple, as already mentioned, it is.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

#25

uninstalled this program without trying it first. is it free because all I got after installing is 30 day trial and that is after installing correctly acording to your instructions. I just wasted my time on this this

Reply | Comment by William – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

William, once you got the email, paste the ID into the second field and the registration number into the third field of the launcher. Then click OK and install the program. From there on i would suggest you start the program from the Desktop shortcut with administrator rights, then register the program with the registration number (the long one). Just make sure it has access to the internet and can access Franzis's servers, since activation happens online.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

William, Did you register an account on their site and get an e-mail with a User ID and registration code?
Should be something like:
ARL76-Z5OX2-ARL76-Z5OX2-ARL76-Z5OX2-ARL76-Z5OX2-ARL76
Except more random.
Per the Readme:
"Run the installer, click "Internet" button and get re-directed to the online page.
Fill in your email first and then your password for Franzis account if you already have one
or you'll be required to create one. Click the blue button "Request registration code".
After this, you'll receive your USER-ID and personal registration code to your registered email address."
BTW once you've made an account future Franzis registrations go much more quickly. The first time is a bit of a pain, as I recall.

Reply | Comment by JohnL – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-46)

Chasm, thanks for the reply but I did all you sugested when I installed program. It will not except registration no a second time

Reply | Comment by William – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-40)

JohnL, thanks for information, very helpful but when I tried to register number a second time to remove 30 day trial it said that Internet connection unavailable and then product already registered it seems others having same trouble but thanks anyway

Reply | Comment by William – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

William , Sorry if I couldn't help, but if you have the program installed and a serial number then you can register it any-time, it's only the install that's limited to today...

Reply | Comment by JohnL – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-56)

William , the Same problem see comments #5 and now #30. It will not accept the serial # sent for registration by Frazis.
I believe the serial number is for a different program but they seem unable to understand this.

Reply | Comment by Joe – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-47)

JohnL, Did all that stuff multiple times and the email with the code does NOT come through.

Reply | Comment by Jim Koup – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-40)

#24

I installed and registered the program with no problems. However it say it is just a 30 day trial and asks for the serial number. Where is the serial number ?? I tried both numbers I was given and neither worked.

Reply | Comment by Bruce Giles – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

Bruce Giles, the long one is the serial number you need to register the program. Activation happens online so you should make sure that the program can connect to Franzis' servers.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

Bruce Giles, See my response to #26 above, you need to make an account with Franzis (per the Readme) and they e-mail you the registration.

Reply | Comment by JohnL – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-43)

#23

Tried to register, said I already had an account so requested password. Their site said an email was sent, waited 30 min's and no email received. Requested password again....still waiting for the email.

Reply | Comment by Jim Cook – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-98)

Jim Cook, where did you try to get the email from? I assume https://www.franzis.de/account/password

If you don't receive a mail at all, you can try opening a ticket with them here https://www.franzis.de/kontaktformular

If you don't know how to fill out the form, here is some help, afaik Google can't translate this page https://i.imgur.com/iahXzsE.png

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

Your assumption is correct, www.franzis.de/account/password page.

Submitted a ticket but haven't heard anything from that either. And yes, did check spam and junk file folders on my email account. No emails from them at all.

Reply | Comment by Jim Cook – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-6)

#22

Downloaded, and went through the registration process with no trouble. It is important that you use the same activation code again in the proper provided text box after the installation and opening the application for the first time. I did so and the registration process was completed successfully, as well as the activation.

Once I got it up and running, I tried a royalty free astro-photo of NGC 1300, a Barred Spiral Galaxy of exceptional beauty. The program created a large collection of different style images based on the original. I then selected my choices of how the HDR would be made, and hit Finalise. All choices are now in the finalised version. I saved it as a .HDRproject.

It appears to be working as expected.

Thank you GOTD and Franzis!

Reply | Comment by L. Cleveland Major – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-42)

#21

Here are two decent examples of single image HDR with this program. It did pull stuff out of the shadows.

https://pbase.com/nupbase/tempstuff

Reply | Comment by Harry – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

BTW default settings were used.

Reply | Comment by Harry – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-45)

#20

Each time I open it I get 30 days remaining. I re-enter the serial and it says successful. Is this a trial giveaway. Hope not.

Reply | Comment by Harry – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

Harry, The big question is......Will it still activate tomorrow. I saved the code, but if I reenter tomorrow, will it say the give-away is over ??

Reply | Comment by Harry – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

Harry, you can reinstall and re-register as much as you want, personally haven't experienced anything else with stuff from Franzis, as long as you have the matching installer and registration info.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-127)

Harry, The serial you got in an e-mail from them? Curious if so - I assume you cut-and-pasted, any chance you had an extra space or something?

Reply | Comment by JohnL – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-69)

#19

Registered just fine for me. I tried one image. I look forward to experimenting when I have more time.

Reply | Comment by Anita – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-57)

#18

Why are there always a bounce of people on here who can't figure out to get these offers to work? Is it really that hard for you to read the readme.txt ? I never had any problems with installing and registration on any of these software.
Thanks to Franzis for this one. Very much appreciated! (No problems on reg or install - works fine here)

Copy of README:
"Unzip the package you`ve downloaded to a separate folder and run Setup_Win.exe or
Setup_Mac.app which is included in the package to start the software installation.

Run the installer, click "Internet" button and get re-directed to the online page.
Fill in your email first and then your password for Franzis account if you already have one
or you'll be required to create one. Click the blue button "Request registration code".

After this, you'll receive your USER-ID and personal registration code to your registered email address.

Please paste both values within the registration form of the software and confirm your input by hitting the "OK" button."

Reply | Comment by Brian – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-59)

Brian, you left out the part that is probably tripping people up. The email with the two codes says this:
Your personal customer number (user ID) is as follows: [redacted]
Your registration code is as follows: [redacted]
- and this is the part you left out -
--->>>>(This code is also necessary to activate HDR projects 4)<<<<----

After the program launches, a popup will ask for activation code. As stated above, use the registration code sent to you. Enter it and WAIT. I thought it hadn't worked but it just took a few seconds.

Reply | Comment by Bebop17 – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-6)

Brian, the readme instructions DO NOT WORK !!!!!!!!!
Here is there error message when trying them after entering the password:
"Whoops, looks like something went wrong."

Reply | Comment by Leo – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

Brian, you omitted the final step, which is entering the Serial Number. The email provided a userid and registration code, but no Serial Number. The registration code does not work for the Serial Number.

Reply | Comment by History Doc – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-21)

History Doc, it works for me. The registration code also functions as the serial number. As I said, it took a few seconds, during which I thought nothing was happening, but it then activated. I have shut down and relaunched it and it is registered and fully working.

Reply | Comment by Bebop17 – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)

#17

Hi, strangely enough when I checked today if my HDR Projects 4 (from May 22, 2018) was still 'ok' and the same as today's Giveaway - I found out that it managed to deactivate itself(??) showing it was Trial with 30 Days left, and a pop-up window appeared asking for Reg Code.. Luckily I still had an e-mail from them in my archives to apply that Code and be accepted. Looks like FRANZIS can do that too to their once installed and activated Software!.. So, be aware and keep everything from them (including snapshots of installations, online registration details a.s.o) safe, best in special Folder. I truly despair, not another one!.. I thought FRANZIS with so many decent Programs was better class than this:(

Reply | Comment by fran – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-55)

fran, Glad you checked. I just now fired up my previously installed HDR 4. The same exact thing happened to me -- showed as a Trial with 30 days left. I too save everything and the reg code from the previous Giveaway worked just fine.

Reply | Comment by Dan J – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-57)

fran, I'm willing to bet that it was your or your computer's fault. FRANZIS's customer service is so good, customer-centric... and fast, that, in my extensive experience with them, I have always received superb, beyond-fair service. For example: having to reinstall seven (7) of their titles due to irreparable hard disk corruption, not only did they "reset" all my license-codes but did so within 18 hours. Then, 24 hours later, they sent an unsolicited follow-up email to make sure all went well. Also, remember that licensing data is (often) stored in the Windows Registry. So, beware of "cleaner" software, especially so-called "Registry Cleaners(Destroyers?)". My 2 cents. :)

Reply | Comment by jmjsquared – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-110)

Dan J,
Thanks for checknig it out, I wasn't kidding! Glad to be of help.

Reply | Comment by fran – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-45)

jmjsquared,
My computer is fine, I don't DO 'so-called Registry Cleaners' (Destroyers?? Don't make me laugh!) My 2 cents.

Reply | Comment by fran – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-59)

fran,

I always keep a copy of a plain .txt file with the codes in the folder with Franzis software. I've had to use it more than once. On the bright side, when I added a 2nd, fresh copy of win10 on this PC when I upgraded hardware, just copied the Franzis program folders over & those codes still worked, so I didn't lose any.

Reply | Comment by mike – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-42)

mike,
Hi, thanks Mike. I do the same with all other FRANZIS Software, but oddly enough didn't store HDR4's Reg code on txt file in relevant Folder, so added it today from my e-mail - in case it happens again in future.. Glad to learn from Others and Your good self that apparently it can.

Reply | Comment by fran – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-57)

#16

What is the purpose of registering if the actual program does not come with the download package zipped file?

Did it several times and given up.

Reply | Comment by Peter Key – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-40)

Peter Key, The zip contains Setup_win.exe, Readme.exe and a directory with the Mac install (which has a 113MB .dat file buried below it, which is the Mac setup). It should be 186,944,905 bytes. Did you not get this?

Reply | Comment by JohnL – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-40)

#15

Tried 6 times to install this program after downloading it 5 times. Registration was a complete and utter waste of time.
Uninstalled it now

Reply | Comment by Robert Jenkins – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-42)

#14

Getting the codes from this company is a mystery. They say " Now request a free unlock code" but it is never received. When I see the name Franziz Verlag I know I'm not getting the program like I did not many times before. Wasted a lot of time for not getting the program.

Reply | Comment by Dywd Moroz – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-57)

#13

Registered fine, but is asking for a serial number, 30 day evaluation copy is what I have?????

Reply | Comment by David – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-63)

David,

Use the registration code that came in the email as your serial number. the 45 digit??? code.

Reply | Comment by Soundman – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

Soundman, I have the same problem, says it's the wrong sn. copied and paste from the email, will not activate.

Reply | Comment by David Gates – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-5)

#12

Can´t get it to activate.

The registration code does not work as serial number

Reply | Comment by MIck – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

#11

I did not test today very much as it is the same version as may 22, 2018:
https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/hdr-projects-4/
Then I uploaded a series of examples:
https://ootjegotd.stackstorage.com/s/gI8jG2D6cY4Lw1X

Reply | Comment by Ootje – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-48)

#10

Downloaded and installed fine. I got it registered, and that was easy. Opened the program and tried to get a picture to be opened with the program, and it gets stuck at 50% and nothing more, ever, on any picture. Uninstalled.

Reply | Comment by exaybachay – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

#9

Can any of the power users of this software please comment on how its HDR creation quality compares to that of Zoner Photo Studio (e.g. version 17, which was given away here a couple of years ago). Thanks!

Reply | Comment by MS – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-85)

#8

Run setup_mac.app and get the following message "The application “Setup_Mac.app” can’t be opened.". I'm running 10.11 so it should be supported.

Reply | Comment by Steved – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

Steved, maybe it's the first answer here (i'm not a Mac user but worth a shot):
https://superuser.com/questions/898124

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-72)

Chasm, that did the trick. My default unzip utility is WinZip for Mac and it must have done something to the app image. By using a different unzipper, namely Archive Utility I'm able run setup. It then complains about not being a verified developer but that is easily fixed in system prefs. Thanks a lot for the hint.

Reply | Comment by Steved – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-42)

Spoke too soon!!. Setup app then appears to crash after entering personal ID and registration code. Giving up...

Reply | Comment by Steved – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

#7

I wrote this for the previous HDR Projects 4 Giveaway (which seems to have been the same version) so I'll repeat it here, in case of use (with minor edits - edit, that was the plan, but actually quite a few edits)...

I really like the Franzis Projects tools and some are quite excellent (their B+W converter is the best I know and Sharpen Projects is again excellent once you get away from its default attempt), so I always try to see if I can help people get over the initial learning curve. (Registering if you haven't done it for a Franzis tool before is also an adventure, but the tools are good IMHO.) I like their HDR tool (which you can easily use by taking three bracketed exposures, the correct one and typically ones at plus and minus two stops, allowing you to overcome the limited range of brightnesses cameras support in a single image) and think it is well worth installing. Another free option used to be HDR Efex 2 which is part of the Nik Tools which were Google and are now DXO, and were available as a free download whne they were Google, so might still be around. Note the Nik tool is a Plugins but you can just (on Windows) drag a link to the HDR Efex 2 .exe to the desktop and go from there (although IIRC it just saves the result in a "standard" location rather than offering a choice). If you have Lightroom that also has built-in HDR support.

Note that HDR Projects 4 has a lot of options and you may need to play around a bit to get a natural looking HDR, unless you fancy doing something with a more unnatural look (although some people are not fans of highly processed HDRs others like the effect).

Oh and while I am doing a bit of a quick start guide don't forget to check out the manual, especially the stuff on Ghosting removal on page 58: https://transfer.franzis.de/support/70514-1-HDR-projects_4-manual.pdf (which they have handily moved since last time I used this post, this is taking a while updating).

So remembering that it's a bit of a pain to register (unless you've done one of their tools before) but persevere and you'll get there.

Oh, if anyone reading this doesn't know what HDR is, it stands for "High Dynamic Range" and is usually used to combine differently exposed photographs of a scene to end up with an image capturing a greater range of brightness than the camera can. The classic example is being in a dark room looking out on a brightly lit scene. The camera can show the detail in the room, with the Window solid white, or the detail outside the window but everything in the room is black. But taking a set of (typically three) exposure-bracketed (standard, brighter, darker) images of the scene you can then combine them in some HDR software and have room and outside both visible in the picture.

You can either combine multiple images into an HDR or just select a Raw file (if you have one) and work from that (it won't be as good, but a fair bit better than the JPEG).

IIRC Projects 4 has a couple of advantages from 3, namely you get a Photoshop plugin as a Filter, not an Export Filter and you get support for high-resolution displays (4k. etc).

With the HDR software in today's give-away you have an additional step beyond just opening a photograph, you have to select the images to combine and choose some options. I was very pleased to see it has support for Raw file import, although as an older version I don't know how it will do with the very latest cameras (but see at the bottom for a partial solution to this).

Once you’ve imported the images it works in basically the same way as the other Franzis Projects software.

The thing to get your brain around with the Projects software is they are a huge pile of image processing tools, which are gathered together into presets in the left pane. All those options do is select a bunch of processing tools and choose options for them, so they are infinitely tweakable. HDR Projects adds a multiple image merging option on top.

After you've loaded the image(s) you want to work with you can then play with the canned effects on the left side, play with assorted things on the right side panel (which should start on the “Finalise” tab). I'd go with the defaults in the "HDR Preparation" dialogue initially. Note the "do it" option in the bottom right.

Once you are happy with that changing to "Expert" in the right panel (entirely optional and can be ignored) means you can add filters from the list at the top, select them in the middle of the panel and tweak their effects at the bottom (may need scrolling down). (The options on the left are just choosing and configuring a bunch of these options for you.)

The boxes at the top of the left panel filter the effects that are listed in the panel, so ignore them initially. On a faster computer you can use the Eye icon on the toolbar to disable the preview mode and show the final image in the main window, which IMHO is worth trying.

When saving the final image note that the first dialog, where it asks for the title, is going to write that over the image, it isn't the file name. The main disadvantage is the lack of Undo operations, although you can save Restore points.

I literally spent 90 seconds working on an image and was really quite pleased with the result. If you don't mind the learning curve and fancy playing with HDR I'd recommend it.

Oh, and to add raw support for more recent (although not very recent) cameras download this (if you're running 64-bit Windows):
http://transfer.franzis.de/projects/RawImageDllprojects_Win64.zip
and replace C:\Program Files\Franzis\HDR projects 34\FreeImage.dll with the dll file it contains.
If you're not running the 64-bit version of Windows, i.e. your computer doesn't have a directory "C:\Program Files (x86)" then the file you want for upgraded raw support in 32-bit Windows is: http://transfer.franzis.de/projects/RawImageDll_projects_Win32.zip
If you have a Mac you'll need to get the OSX version of FreeImage from SourceForge and replace the existing one, wherever it might be.

Good luck and enjoy!

P.S. if you want to compare their different versions look here:
https://www.projects-software.com/hdr/comparison
(Click on items to select then "Show results".)

P.P.S. one other thing, sometimes they screw up and send English users an e-mail in German rather than English, just be laid back about it... it's part of their charm (err...)

P.P.P.S. I should also say never pay full price for their software but if you want something subscribe to their newsletter and wait for the (usually) inevitable deal.

I wrote this for the previous HDR Projects 4 Giveaway (which seems to have been the same version) so I'll repeat it here, in case of use (with minor edits - edit, that was the plan, but actually quite a few edits)...

I really like the Franzis Projects tools and some are quite excellent (their B+W converter is the best I know and Sharpen Projects is again excellent once you get away from its default attempt), so I always try to see if I can help people get over the initial learning curve. (Registering if you haven't done it for a Franzis tool before is also an adventure, but the tools are good IMHO.) I like their HDR tool (which you can easily use by taking three bracketed exposures, the correct one and typically ones at plus and minus two stops, allowing you to overcome the limited range of brightnesses cameras support in a single image) and think it is well worth installing. Another free option used to be HDR Efex 2 which is part of the Nik Tools which were Google and are now DXO, and were available as a free download whne they were Google, so might still be around. Note the Nik tool is a Plugins but you can just (on Windows) drag a link to the HDR Efex 2 .exe to the desktop and go from there (although IIRC it just saves the result in a "standard" location rather than offering a choice). If you have Lightroom that also has built-in HDR support.

Note that HDR Projects 4 has a lot of options and you may need to play around a bit to get a natural looking HDR, unless you fancy doing something with a more unnatural look (although some people are not fans of highly processed HDRs others like the effect).

Oh and while I am doing a bit of a quick start guide don't forget to check out the manual, especially the stuff on Ghosting removal on page 58: https://transfer.franzis.de/support/70514-1-HDR-projects_4-manual.pdf (which they have handily moved since last time I used this post, this is taking a while updating).

So remembering that it's a bit of a pain to register (unless you've done one of their tools before) but persevere and you'll get there.

Oh, if anyone reading this doesn't know what HDR is, it stands for "High Dynamic Range" and is usually used to combine differently exposed photographs of a scene to end up with an image capturing a greater range of brightness than the camera can. The classic example is being in a dark room looking out on a brightly lit scene. The camera can show the detail in the room, with the Window solid white, or the detail outside the window but everything in the room is black. But taking a set of (typically three) exposure-bracketed (standard, brighter, darker) images of the scene you can then combine them in some HDR software and have room and outside both visible in the picture.

You can either combine multiple images into an HDR or just select a Raw file (if you have one) and work from that (it won't be as good, but a fair bit better than the JPEG).

IIRC Projects 4 has a couple of advantages from 3, namely you get a Photoshop plugin as a Filter, not an Export Filter and you get support for high-resolution displays (4k. etc).

With the HDR software in today's give-away you have an additional step beyond just opening a photograph, you have to select the images to combine and choose some options. I was very pleased to see it has support for Raw file import, although as an older version I don't know how it will do with the very latest cameras (but see at the bottom for a partial solution to this).

Once you’ve imported the images it works in basically the same way as the other Franzis Projects software.

The thing to get your brain around with the Projects software is they are a huge pile of image processing tools, which are gathered together into presets in the left pane. All those options do is select a bunch of processing tools and choose options for them, so they are infinitely tweakable. HDR Projects adds a multiple image merging option on top.

After you've loaded the image(s) you want to work with you can then play with the canned effects on the left side, play with assorted things on the right side panel (which should start on the “Finalise” tab). I'd go with the defaults in the "HDR Preparation" dialogue initially. Note the "do it" option in the bottom right.

Once you are happy with that changing to "Expert" in the right panel (entirely optional and can be ignored) means you can add filters from the list at the top, select them in the middle of the panel and tweak their effects at the bottom (may need scrolling down). (The options on the left are just choosing and configuring a bunch of these options for you.)

The boxes at the top of the left panel filter the effects that are listed in the panel, so ignore them initially. On a faster computer you can use the Eye icon on the toolbar to disable the preview mode and show the final image in the main window, which IMHO is worth trying.

When saving the final image note that the first dialog, where it asks for the title, is going to write that over the image, it isn't the file name. The main disadvantage is the lack of Undo operations, although you can save Restore points.

I literally spent 90 seconds working on an image and was really quite pleased with the result. If you don't mind the learning curve and fancy playing with HDR I'd recommend it.

Oh, and to add raw support for more recent (although not very recent) cameras download this (if you're running 64-bit Windows):
http://transfer.franzis.de/projects/RawImageDllprojects_Win64.zip
and replace C:\Program Files\Franzis\HDR projects 34\FreeImage.dll with the dll file it contains.
If you're not running the 64-bit version of Windows, i.e. your computer doesn't have a directory "C:\Program Files (x86)" then the file you want for upgraded raw support in 32-bit Windows is: http://transfer.franzis.de/projects/RawImageDll_projects_Win32.zip
If you have a Mac you'll need to get the OSX version of FreeImage from SourceForge and replace the existing one, wherever it might be.

Good luck and enjoy!

P.S. if you want to compare their different versions look here:
https://www.projects-software.com/hdr/comparison
(Click on items to select then "Show results".)

P.P.S. one other thing, sometimes they screw up and send English users an e-mail in German rather than English, just be laid back about it... it's part of their charm (err...)

P.P.P.S. I should also say never pay full price for their software but if you want something subscribe to their newsletter and wait for the (usually) inevitable deal.

Save | Cancel

Reply | Comment by JohnL – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-59)

JohnL, P.P.P.P.S. The latest version is HDR Projects Professional 2018, which says it's v 6.64 and you can probably get for half price via their newsletter. It's very odd there isn't an offer above, I guess you get one when it installs (I have a later version already)? Although I'd play with this for a while and see if (i) you like it and (ii) it does what you want already, first.

Reply | Comment by JohnL – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

.
Incredible, [ JohnL ], thanks.

I think of HDR NOT as capturing a greater range of subject exposure, but as presenting enhanced detail within the existing brightness-darkness range of a presentation, where there is the opportunity to revel shadow detail, midrange detail, and highlight detail, and combine them into one picture.

Since exposure is a 1/2 step of resources, this is a tough challenge to get 10 or even 5 half-steps on computer screens, let alone inkjet printer paper.

The presentation will always be limited, range wise, to the blackest ink and the whitest paper, or the darkest display screen, and it's brightest possible setting, often unable to be set for both at the same time, that does not change.

But to see differentiation within otherwise totally black cloth, detail that gets lost in lesser presentations is quite compelling.

I saw the Irving Penn collection when it was here in Washington DC, and this image has surprising and breathtaking black-on-black cloth detail throughout the black dress in the original print ( it is virtually solid black in the screen JPEG ):

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58cfe9e91b10e37dbd7bc584/58debe98f5e231bad38da50c/58efbc74d482e960c0e7d87a/1492107288317/woman_with_handkerchief-jean+patchett.jpg?format=1000w

Amazing to think what some folks accomplished with what we now consider arcane tools in the chemical darkroom using only latent image film that could only be developed once with fingers crossed.

So this HDR Projects has quite a goal to ascend to, or we do in using today's free tool.

Thanks for encouraging folks to play, and to take responsibility to master the power of our tools, and not to depend on arbitrary unintelligent defaults, but to be expressive emotive artists in control.
.

Reply | Comment by Peter Blaise – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-57)

#6

Installation and registration went fine.

English user manual
https://transfer.franzis.de/support/70514-1-HDR-projects_4-manual.pdf

German user manual
http://docplayer.org/27990257-Hdr-projects-4-das-handbuch.html

It's a pretty decent program after initial impression and gives good end results, i'll refer to JohnL's comment from last time as it contains a good amount of additional information worth reading, especially for starters.

https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/hdr-projects-4/#comment-587445

Aside from that, taking a look at the manual is still a good idea, the program does have a lot of options, filter presets and whatnot, not that it's overly complicated if you have basic knowledge but it still does have a learning curve, nonetheless, when working with different processing modes or let's say the weighting option.

I'm probably not going to use it that often but it's still a keeper.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-90)

#5

The registration number (the long one) comes back as wrong. The User Number given is also filled in. This program will not accept the registration number and install.

Big Disappointment a lot of work downloading, following their instructions for a program that won't install or register.

Reply | Comment by Joe – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

Joe, the first field is pre-entered, the only thing you need to do is copy your ID into the second field and the long registration code into the third. Just make sure you properly copy&paste everything and it should work out. I have like 20 different things from Franzis collected over the years and not once did i have the problem that i couldn't install or register with the data provided.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

Chasm, The Serial Number is for Cut Out 5 apparently it is not the right one for today's giveaway of the day.
This doesn't work.
See comment #30.

Reply | Comment by Joe – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-111)

#4

Generally, you need to super-impose three digital frames (bracketed) to achieve the dynamic range of film. This means a tripod and a static subject.

Why not just buy a 35mm SLR and some Fuji 200asa film and go for it!

$99 will but a very nice 35mm camera!

Reply | Comment by peter – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

peter, actually yes, to fully take advantage of HDR Projects, you need a bracketing series. If you load only one picture, the software will automatically also open a darker and a lighter version, from which you can create your composite. But this is underusing the program.

Reply | Comment by ouialaraison – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-54)

.
No, [ peter ], raw files have 12- to 14-bits of information, and can be developed 3 or more times to "expose" separately for shadows, mid, and highlights, then combined for extended or "normal" HDR, well beyond any affordable film scan that can only scan film that is developed once, which is a severe compromise of film.

And you'll notice that $99 for a film camera is just a start, as every picture taken requires extra payment, forever, payment in film costs, payment in development costs, and payment in scanning costs or the cost of scanning equipment, and such equipment to come close to the output qualities of even the cheapest digital camera would far exceed $99 for a film scanner, even used ( if anyone wants to part with one, and good luck getting drivers for current operating systems ).

$99 will buy a very nice digital camera.

Regardless, Sony digital cameras ( and other brands ) come with HDR incorporated.

So this software offering is mostly to play with our existing archive, and for "art" and "illustration" effects.
.

Reply | Comment by Peter Blaise – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-71)

peter, Most film you'd use in a consumer camera has up to 13 stops of DR, you can get FF cameras (sensor same size as 35mm film) with 14 stops. (Some Cinema films can have quite a bit more DR extracted with very expensive equipment.) The "real World" can have over 20 stops of information (if you have very bright and very dark bits). You can get up to 16MP of resolution out of 35mm film you might use (more from super-low-ISO technical film). Fine grain slide film only has about 7.5 stops.
If your digital camera can do 12 stops then bracketing +/- 2 stops for 3 shots gives 16 stops DR and for 5 shots you get 20 stops.

Reply | Comment by JohnL – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-79)

peter,

"This means a tripod and a static subject."

Depends on the shutter speed and the amount of motion recorded between the bracketed shots. Using HDR processing the software normally has some means of taking care of ghosting [where the shots don't line up], or use layers & masks avoiding HDR. At any rate, HDR from drones does work, & by nature they're not rock solid stable like a tripod.

"Why not just buy a 35mm SLR and some Fuji 200asa film and go for it!"

The advantage of film is the look, e.g. a great many people don't like movies shot digitally. To get greater dynamic range, which is what HDR is all about, requires actual dodging & burning in the darkroom.

"raw files have 12- to 14-bits of information, and can be developed 3 or more times to "expose" separately for shadows, mid, and highlights, then combined for extended or "normal" HDR,"

Yes & No & No... For one thing, all of the data captured by the camera's sensor should be in the RAW image file, so rather than go through all the work to combine 3 exposures of the same file, you just edit the file, adjusting each portion of the image as needed. But the data the camera's sensor captures is limited by the exposure settings -- they can't capture everything -- so you still often need multiple shots taken with different settings to get the full dynamic range, depending on what it is you took a photo of. I can take a shot of the room I'm sitting in for example, and if I avoid the window, more than one shot would be overkill. If I include the window however, the sunlight reflecting off the snow is far too bright, so if the room is exposed correctly, the window's going to be blown out, with little to no detail of what's visible looking through that window. The ONLY way to capture what my eyes see is to take more than one shot & combine them.

"Sony digital cameras ( and other brands ) come with HDR incorporated."

IMHO it's kind of like the presets on the microwave oven -- I assume some people use them, but I rarely do, because experience has taught me what settings work best for the foods I nuke. You're not likely to find a pro or semi-advanced enthusiast photographer using in-camera HDR -- it's there for the same reason you can set a high end camera to just spit out jpg images. AI is getting to the point where human interference isn't always necessary -- some of the cell phone HDR is quite good -- but if you buy a higher end camera for what it can do, rather than just for status, you're not likely to want to use in-camera HDR.

"So this software offering is mostly to play with our existing archive, and for "art" and "illustration" effects."

Maybe... You can use HDR Projects to do regular, not FX laden HDR, but it's MUCH faster/easier in Lightroom -> P/Shop. If you don't want "Regular" HDR, HDR Projects may be the better choice, since it concentrates more on FX, with presets that just aren't available in the Adobe software -- you could probably achieve similar results, but you'd have to experiment and make each setting individually.

peter,

"This means a tripod and a static subject."

Depends on the shutter speed and the amount of motion recorded between the bracketed shots. Using HDR processing the software normally has some means of taking care of ghosting [where the shots don't line up], or use layers & masks avoiding HDR. At any rate, HDR from drones does work, & by nature they're not rock solid stable like a tripod.

"Why not just buy a 35mm SLR and some Fuji 200asa film and go for it!"

The advantage of film is the look, e.g. a great many people don't like movies shot digitally. To get greater dynamic range, which is what HDR is all about, requires actual dodging & burning in the darkroom.

"raw files have 12- to 14-bits of information, and can be developed 3 or more times to "expose" separately for shadows, mid, and highlights, then combined for extended or "normal" HDR,"

Yes & No & No... For one thing, all of the data captured by the camera's sensor should be in the RAW image file, so rather than go through all the work to combine 3 exposures of the same file, you just edit the file, adjusting each portion of the image as needed. But the data the camera's sensor captures is limited by the exposure settings -- they can't capture everything -- so you still often need multiple shots taken with different settings to get the full dynamic range, depending on what it is you took a photo of. I can take a shot of the room I'm sitting in for example, and if I avoid the window, more than one shot would be overkill. If I include the window however, the sunlight reflecting off the snow is far too bright, so if the room is exposed correctly, the window's going to be blown out, with little to no detail of what's visible looking through that window. The ONLY way to capture what my eyes see is to take more than one shot & combine them.

"Sony digital cameras ( and other brands ) come with HDR incorporated."

IMHO it's kind of like the presets on the microwave oven -- I assume some people use them, but I rarely do, because experience has taught me what settings work best for the foods I nuke. You're not likely to find a pro or semi-advanced enthusiast photographer using in-camera HDR -- it's there for the same reason you can set a high end camera to just spit out jpg images. AI is getting to the point where human interference isn't always necessary -- some of the cell phone HDR is quite good -- but if you buy a higher end camera for what it can do, rather than just for status, you're not likely to want to use in-camera HDR.

"So this software offering is mostly to play with our existing archive, and for "art" and "illustration" effects."

Maybe... You can use HDR Projects to do regular, not FX laden HDR, but it's MUCH faster/easier in Lightroom -> P/Shop. If you don't want "Regular" HDR, HDR Projects may be the better choice, since it concentrates more on FX, with presets that just aren't available in the Adobe software -- you could probably achieve similar results, but you'd have to experiment and make each setting individually.

Save | Cancel

Reply | Comment by mike – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-44)

.
[ mike ],

For archive raw, there is no opportunity to re-take bracketing exposures, but there is endless opportunity to re-develop over and over, not just to adjust in ranges, depending on the raw developer of the day and the HDR software of the day.

( And "raw" is spelled "raw" with no capitals because it is not an abbreviation of anything, it is the actual word "raw", unlike TIFF and JPEG. )
__________

So, you haven't used Sony DRO and HDR, have you? ; - )
__________

"Professional" technically means more than 50 % of income is from photography, and photography pros definitely want to get paid, so SOC Straight Out of Camera JPEGS sent to event clients, breaking news publishing journals online and in print, stock houses, and so on, allow quick turnaround between jobs and billing cycles with minimal post-processing ( the whole reason for JPEG ) -- and you betcha they want their photos to pop and stand out and get a "wow" response from check-writers ASAP.

A high-end ( ? ) camera just means rugged and fast, with expensive insurance, but produces similar publishing SOC JPEGs as a $ 99 used digital camera.
__________

Anyway, this is just another broken-out software subset competing with Adobe Photoshop, and my only real contribution here is to help folks not get caught in fallacies that compromise their expectations of their gear, their software, and their digital image files -- keep 'em forever, revisit and redevelop them raw file over and over every generation or so ( and there are new JPEG re-developers trying to overcome visual compromises in adjusting JPEGs ).

Have fun.
.

Reply | Comment by Peter Blaise – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)

#3

After entering my user id and registration (from the email they sent), the program then pops up a new box, "30 Days Remaining...Please Enter Your Serial Number and Activate." This box won't leave the screen, regardless of whether I clicked "activate now" or "later." Plus, I don't see any "serial number" given me in their emails. Not sure what to do next.

Reply | Comment by jay cutler – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

jay cutler, the registration code (the long one) is the serial number. Register the program with that.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-56)

Chasm, thanks...i did try that already...so that means there's a different problem, for the pop-up box asking for the serial won't do anything after pasting it in and then clicking the "activate now."

Reply | Comment by jay cutler – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-63)

jay cutler, you need to allow that the program can communicate with the internet during activation, as it will activate online, not locally. The best way to go about it is either creating a firewall rule for it or temporarily disabling the firewall during activation.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-39)

Chasm, I had disabled TinyWall prior to clicking activate now...neither "activate now," or "later" do anything but change color slightly when clicked (ie, they are getting selected, but there's no response.)

Reply | Comment by jay cutler – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-40)

jay cutler, try disabling the firewall first, then run the program again as Administrator, then try to register, i got the same stucked window if the firewall blocks the connection but after some time there is a "Internet connection error." that automatically pops up.

https://i.imgur.com/BS2GCA6.png

Idk what else to suggest then, except for creating a firewall rule for HDR projects 4.exe, tbh.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-38)

Chasm, if I remember well, programs from Franzi's [have several installed] normally after the process requiring entering the key & ID number or whatever (did this quite a while back) and successful installation require that after the program initially loads that you enter the key the SECOND time. I think it's also somewhere in the instructions.
I think this has nothing to do with the AV unless you have entered the key TWICE.

Reply | Comment by xprt007 – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-138)

xprt007, this was about registering the program, it was well past the installation. And well, try registering todays offer with the program being blocked in the firewall. You get exactly what's been described (stuck registration window, buttons not working anymore and at some point the activation error pop-up). It was specifically about the firewall, not AV. TinyWall works on top of the Windows firewall, iirc. The only way i could see AV interfering would be regarding the Franzis wrapper itself that wants ID and reg code but as mentioned, we were long past it.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-42)

Chasm, I noted soon after posting I had misunderstood what you are saying. ;)

Well, in cases where I know & trust the software from experience or trustworthy reviews, the few times this has happened was solved by temporarily disabling the AV. Most like Avast, AVG or Bitdefender, esp if they have an inbuilt firewall that I'm using now allow you to temporarily disable it like for 5 minutes or 10, etc. As soon as you install, you enable it back.

The publisher Franzis is a respectable German firm. I have never had anything similar for their software or from a couple of other Giveaway sites. I know GOTD uses some "wrapper" (?), which now and then requires such action. Since I know GOTD gets it from the publisher, I would temporarily disable with no qualms.

I have never heard of/used Tinywall, but it's probably behind this. Just in case it's the culprit ... if it's easily to install & configure, how about uninstalling it [or temporarily disabling it], try activating HDR 4 .... and see. You can then re-install it.
If that does not help, no idea what more to do, esp. if you are sure you have no other security software behind this.

Reply | Comment by xprt007 – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-40)

#2

Is it just a trial for 30 days? Thank you.

Reply | Comment by viszlaa – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-42)

.
No, [ viszlaa ], all Franzis offerings are lifetime multiple installation reinstallable licenses.
.

Reply | Comment by Peter Blaise – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

#1

Is this the same version like last time ?

Reply | Comment by jan vandam – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-42)

jan vandam, if that last version was 4.41 (4.4.1.0) then yes.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-41)

Chasm, V 4.41.02511

Reply | Comment by jan vandam – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-44)

jan vandam, yup, same version. I got a pretty old giveaway from 2017 and that is also the same version, even the registration information i got back then works on the GOTD one.

Reply | Comment by Chasm – 5 years ago – Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-52)

jan vandam, It does look to be, although with Franzis it always pays to read the small print as they have assorted versions of everything, so Pro is the best one for example (which this isn't). Still a useful tool to have IMHO, I'll copy my how-to post up above in a little while in case of use...