#Aurora hdr 2020 price update#

As with 2018 you can just adjust the overall application of the preset with a slider (0-100%) to tweak it to your needs. If your image isn’t stellar up front, in many cases it can be nearly perfect with one click. What this means is you can often get right where you want to go very quickly. I backed off on the opacity of it to 46% and that was it, in under 2 minutes.Ĭoupled with the markedly improved processing engine are some newer and really useful presets. I created the image I think best represents the original scene with one click of the “Glowing” look in the Essentials collection that comes with Aurora HDR 2019. This is a tough image for a natural rendering from HDR and in spite of spending a fair amount of time on it with HDR 2018 I never got it to look as natural and pleasing as what I was able to do in a short amount of time with HDR 2019. Notice the loss of subtle transitions in the sky, not to mention the unrealistic, rather garish color. This is the starting point having processed exactly the same set of images as the previous example but using Aurora HDR 2018. Compare this to the same situation using Aurora 2018 below.

This is the starting point with no adjustments. I used Aurora HDR 2019 to process a 3 image post-capture bracket. This is a sunrise with a wide dynamic range and a stark contrast between the vividly colorful sky and silhouette of the background mountains.

Another big benefit of the new engine is that results have far less noise than previously. In the previous version, the initial result was less natural and it could take some work to get to get a natural feel. In my book, this is big because I don’t have to spend much time attaining a natural result and if I do want to go grunge or have an obvious HDR look it’s still very easy. The starting points for either are very natural looking. Furthermore, I’m thrilled that Skylum paid attention to those of us that favor using single images. This held true for both single images and brackets. I tried several types of images shot under various conditions and the results before making any adjustments were outstanding. Catchy names aside, it really works well.

#Aurora hdr 2020 price update#

The most important and significant update in HDR 2019 is what Skylum calls the Quantum HDR Engine. Although there are some new features and interface changes, the quality of the result and efficiency in getting there are the main reasons to own Aurora HDR 2019. Skylum’s new Quantum HDR engine provides a more natural starting point for both and has all but eliminated noise as well. I was pleasantly surprised that 2019 has improved significantly, not only for single image processing but also for traditional HDR processing of bracketed exposures. If you read my review of 2018 you’ll see I like using Aurora HDR for single image processing. Is it worth buying it outright if you don’t already own it? In most cases this a yes also. Is it worth upgrading to 2019 if you own 2018? I think so. When I saw recently that Aurora HDR 2019 was available I thought it only natural to give it a workout and see if Skylum was able to improve an already good product, enough to warrant an upgrade. I like it and gave it a favorable review at the time. I’ve been using the previous version, Aurora HDR 2018 since it came out more than a year ago. Its latest incarnation and major update is Aurora HDR 2019.

Aurora HDR has become the gold standard of HDR processing.