HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos is a pretty popular topic around here, so I thought I would put together a list of freeware HDR programs I could find. Most of them are old versions of paid software though, but don't let that deter you if you're planning to do it on the cheap.


[Tower Bridge Sacremento - public domain]

If you're new to the concept, HDR technique is basically merging a combination of bright and dark exposures into one, so additional details can be captured and shown in one image. One method is to take multiple photos of the same subject using different exposures; another is to extract them from a single RAW file.

More examples of HDR photos:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/hdr/

Now the goodies:
- easyHDR - free version available
- FDR Tools Basic - basic is free, advanced is paid
- PhotoMatix Basic 1.2 - basic is free, pro is up to version 2.3.3
- Mkhdr - freeware
- HDR Shop - v1 is free, latest is v2

If you're planning to do some serious HDR-ing, then nothing can compete with the paid versions. Photomatix is a pretty popular choice, and most if not all, come with fully featured trial versions. It's also a feature built-in to Photoshop CS2.

Just spotted this on digg:

HDR Tutorials Roundup
http://tutorialblog.org/hdr-tutorials-roundup/

Just check out the example images on that page - they're awesome!

Thanks for the tips Julian.