The point I was really trying to make is that Photomatix cannot recover detail that doesn't exist in blown out areas of the image, just as a digital version of an ND grad cannot recover blown out skies - and that its main strength is in merging (the not blown out bits of) several images.

If the detail exists in the RAW and is not blown out then the tone mapping function in the freebie Rawtherapee RAW converter can produce an interesting result. I must have another play with it .........

Andrew

How many Pentax Ads have you seen on TV? I'm not always especially attentive, but I cannot actually remember any.

Andrew

Wow, I could have almost written that myself. In my case, it was a Ricoh KR10 in the late '70s. I stopped snapping in the 90's, because I was burgled and all my photogear went walkies. After that, I bought a Canon (film) P&S which was really rather good. Eventually, I discovered Ebay and bought a couple of Ricoh KR10 Supers (one of which I completely resealed and still have) and a few manual focus K-mount lenses - and then discovered digital via a 1.3 Mpx Olympus point and shoot, which was a lot better than I thought it might be.

Eventually, I read a review of the Pentax K200D, bought one from SRS and still have it. From time to time, I ponder about upgrading to a K30, especially as they are now so cheap but then reality usually sets in - the K200D only has about 12,000 shots in the can, so is only really just about run in - and it is still better at being a camera than I am at being a photographer.

Andrew

Isn't the big advantage of HDR that it allows you to make the best of very high contrast scenes, where a single exposure might result in both completely black shadows and burnt out highlights?

Is it just the tone mapping in Photomatix that you would (effectively) be using if you generated threee images from a single RAW?

Andrew

I'm sure it's not regarded as HDR, but using a contrast overlay seems to me to be able to produce a similar effect - even down to generating unwanted haloes around some objects if overdone.

I mostly use PSE8 & ACR6.2 for processing RAW images, but occasionally have tried Rawtherapee. Recent versions have a tone mapping function built in. Just had a quick play with it and it seems to be able to produce a HDR "style" effect, but without the haloes. Worth another look, maybe.

Andrew

This sure isn't happening everywhere. There are several PFI projects under way in the UK (such the one here in Oldham/Rochdale) that are replacing old street lighting columns with new high pressure sodium fittings on main routes and Philips Cosmopolis White (or other) discharge fittings in residential areas.

If you want to understand why Oldham made the decision they did, you might wish to read the Final Business Case

Regards
Andrew

I know little about PETZL (or anyone elses) head torches, so I've had to do a little research. An advert that I've seen for the PETZL Myo RXP head torch, which I understand costs about £80, claims to have a "3 watt LED bulb" and have a maximum continuous output of 140 lumens. By my reckoning, it has about one third of the efficiency of a low pressure sodium lamp, which is around 140 lumens/watt.

Andrew

Yes, that is definitely true. The efficacy of LED lamps has been growing exponentially for many years. It is entirely possible that production LED street lighting fittings will be the most efficient light source within the next 5 years. On the other hand, if manufacturers continue to put megabucks into reasearching more efficient discharge lamp types - they just might not be.

You might be interested in what the largest lighting equipment manufacturer in the world has to say about this:

"Although they are becoming popular in outdoor
decorative installations, LEDs have not yet been able
to make a serious impact in street lighting. However,
it seems inevitable that, as improvements continue,
LEDs will one day be able to meet the requirements
of such outdoor applications. For the time being,
the most recent high-intensity discharge sources
like MASTER CosmoWhite offer the very high light
output and optical performances needed for outdoor
general lighting applications - as well as an attractively
low total cost of ownership."

If you want to read some more have a look here


Where did you get that "fact"? The light distribution from a fitting depends on the design of the lighting fitting - not upon the type of lamp used.

Andrew

You can readily determine what the truth is, by Googling the various lamp manufacturers and looking the figures up in their brochures. Simples.

Andrew

Not mine, I just happened across it