HDR-Merge vs rawhdr

HDR-Merge is a web platform for AI HDR photo enhancement and 360° stitching. It detects exposure sets, combines bracketed images, and applies tone mapping automatically. Each HDR merge accepts three to nine exposures, and the service supports both RAW and JPEG files. Optional AI processing adjusts color, contrast, and detail. HDR images can be stitched into 360° panoramas in the cloud. HDR-Merge also describes bulk processing for hundreds of bracketed sets, with batches of 1,000 or more images. The browser-based service requires no installation or GPU and works on any device with a browser. AI-enhanced outputs are listed at 4K or 2K. Plans start at $27 a month, with no free plan but a free trial. Starter includes 150 credits monthly; Pro includes 400 and bulk processing; Agency includes 1,800, unlimited bulk processing, and 24/7 phone and email support.

rawhdr is a free command-line package for combining multiple RAW photographs into a high-dynamic-range image. It also performs focus stacking from multiple images. RAW input can use formats known by the rawpy library, while output can use HDR formats known by imageio. The resulting HDR exposure follows the first RAW file supplied. Installation is documented with pip install rawhdr, and a Python API is available for exposure merging and focus stacking. Its exposure-scaling helper leaves out extremely bright pixels that may be saturated and very dark pixels that may be noisy. OpenEXR writing may require the additional freeimage library through imageio. Python 3.7 or newer is required. PyPI classifies the package as OS Independent, with Linux and API listed as platforms. It is licensed under the GNU General Public License v2 or later. PyPI names Felix Thaler as author and maintainer.