Making my own HDR....

[Per-Anders]

That's only going to convert the format the image is in, not the actual data in the image. The photo will still only contain the same amount of data it did before and therefore will not be truly high dynamic range (hdr). The "Render Convert HDR Probe" just converts the projection method of an existing HDR image from Cubic to Spherical or the other way around.

To convert standard photos to HDR you need to take multiple exposures and combine them together correctly remapping each one at the point in the range where it matches the required output : http://www.cgtechniques.com/lightbox/tutorials/makehdr/

[rob rhodes]

Whilst we are on HDRI...............What are peoples experiences with making their own HDRIs? Is HDRshop the best/simplest way to go? Where is the best place to get a chrome ball in the uk? I have found them very hard to come by! Do people tend to have a good success rate or is it a bit hit and miss?

Cheers for any input on this

[rsquires]

I am originally from the UK but have now moved to Australia. I have got chrome balls at garden centres ( also known as gazing spheres or balls) and have just happened across them in magazines strangely. My wife found my first one in a homewares shop. They don't tend to be perfectly smooth to be honest so the maps don't look as good as they could. The best things are industrial ball bearings which can be quite large. These are usually mirror smooth but extremely heavy. I have no idea about where to get them from but I believe this is what Paul Debevec the father of image based lighting used back in the old days. My mirror balls though have produced acceptable results even though my camera only takes 3 bracketed exposures. I use PhotoSphere on the mac to align and combine the images into an hdri file, and have cropped my images in AE7 which can now handle and export 32 bit radiance (hdr) files. Cinema then expands them using the convert probe action as a final step. All a bit of a fag really so most of the time I use pre made ones and regrade according to the scene

regards

rich

[Trig Fuller]

Hi

I've had a go at this using HDR Shop, run via virtual PC on a Mac.

I was only doing tests so used a christmas ornament(about 2 inches diameter). Not having a good digital camera(ie one that can bracket exposures) I used a DV camera to take the stills, changing the shutter speed to alter the exposure.

The results weren't bad, you can see the results below.

Trig

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.