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PRESS RELEASE: Creaceed Releases Hydra 2.1
Improved interface and performance for HDR application
After introducing Hydra 2.0 at Macworld 2009, Creaceed has released version 2.1 to improve user experience and HDR creation performance.
Highlights of the new version include:
New Features
• Source image thumbs can now be clicked for smooth overlay. This makes it easier to compare the tone mapping output with any source image or to compare source images together.
• Accurate dual histogram display (LDR/HDR). The HDR histogram represents the merged, 32-bit image before tone mapping in a logarithmic scale. The LDR histogram represents the currently displayed preview, it is a regular 8-bit histogram with a 0-255 scale. Histograms are computed in a separate thread to keep overall interactivity.
Improvements
• Faster rendering pipeline when previewing (up to 5x), especially true for Raw input images.
• Incremental rendering as tiles is implemented.
• Faster window resizing.
• The sharpen filter is now scale invariant, meaning that the preview rendering accurately demonstrates the effect as it appears in the full resolution output.
• Automatic update is now signed for improved security.
• Import progress sheet for images is displayed. Aperture Plug-In: Smart Aperture projects do not cause a hang anymore, option to save to the Pictures folder when project is read only.
Aperture Plug-In
• 16-bit TIFF rendering is now supported, 32-bit removed (use stand alone Hydra if OpenEXR format is needed).
• Shift key can be used to import modified versions of images into Hydra. This way, any modification in color temperature, contrast, etc. is made available to Hydra Plug-in. This remains an optional behavior as it has an impact on rendered image and it can make the initial import process longer.
• Auto updating of the Plug-in when a new version is posted.
A number of bugs have also been fixed in both the standalone application and the Aperture plug-in.
The new version also permits download of either the standalone version of Hydra or the Aperture plug-in for more efficient installation.
For more information visit http://www.creaceed.com/hydra.
(First posted on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 12:09 EDT)
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