ColorForge vs Dynamic Photo HDR

ColorForge is a browser-based RAW and HDR photo editor that processes images on the device. It supports camera RAW files including CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, RAF, ORF and RW2, with controls for exposure, tone curves, HSL adjustments, LUTs and presets. For HDR images, it can combine bracketed exposures, including RAW brackets, using GPU processing. Exports are available at full native sensor resolution as JPEG, PNG or TIFF, without watermarks; HDR output also includes 16-bit TIFF. ColorForge says photos stay local and are not uploaded to its servers. Editing, RAW decoding, HDR merging and exporting do not require an account. After the web app loads into the browser cache, it can continue working offline. It supports Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, and the maker lists Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS and Android availability. ColorForge is free: free, with no installation required. Presets are stored in an account database when signed in, or local browser storage when signed out.

Dynamic Photo HDR is Windows software for merging exposures into HDR images or creating an HDR-style result from one image. It supports RAW files and provides tone mapping that ranges from smooth, natural treatments to dramatic or painterly effects. Source images can be aligned automatically, manually, or with auto-assist. An anti-ghosting mask lets users paint over moving objects in source shots, while batch processing queues images and can align them automatically. The editing toolkit includes effect layers and effects such as Orton, Sepia, Black/White, Vignette, and Mysterious Light. Real-time preview and advanced denoising are listed, along with Match Color for matching a tone-mapped image to another photo or painting. Output formats include JPG, PNG, BMP, TIF, Targa, 16-bit TIFF, and layered PSD. The product page identifies version 6.1, build 14/11/2017. It is described as a 64-bit Windows application, with a 32-bit version also linked. The listed price is $59 as a one-time purchase.