Luminance HDR vs PhotomatixCL

Luminance HDR is a graphical application for creating and editing high dynamic range images on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It can merge JPEG, TIFF, or RAW photos of the same scene taken at different exposures. Supported HDR formats include OpenEXR, Radiance RGBE, 16-bit and 32-bit TIFF, RAW, and PFS; it also handles JPEG, PNG, PPM, PBM, TIFF, and FITS.

The workflow includes loading and saving HDR files, rotation, resizing, tone mapping, projective transformations, and copying EXIF data between image sets. RAW processing uses the LibRAW library. Other listed features include multiple tone-mapping operators, batch HDR merging, batch tone mapping, a command-line interface, and color management. The software is free and distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2.0. Prebuilt installation options are documented for all three desktop platforms. Building from source can require dependencies including Qt5, Exiv2, Little CMS, and LibRaw.

PhotomatixCL is a command-line interface for adding HDR image processing to automated imaging workflows on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It merges exposure-bracketed photos into HDR images and processes them with tone mapping or exposure fusion. Image alignment, ghost removal, HDR presets, and JPG, TIFF, or EXR output are included. Inputs can come from a computer or local network, or be downloaded from a web server. Each run handles one bracketed set; the bundled PhotomatixCL-Driver can process folders of sets in batches. The CLI is designed for automated workflows on cloud or local servers and does not require API integration code. Linux downloads include Ubuntu, a statically linked universal build, and an ARM build for Debian; the universal build omits lens correction. Free-plan tracking requires internet access, and the CLI fails during outages unless used in trial mode. Trial runs do not use credits but add a Photomatix watermark to output images. The listed plans include free use and paid options; paid pricing is listed from $39 one-time.