Elena Rossi
PTGui is a software that allows users to create panoramic images by stitching together multiple photos. However, one common issue that users face is the inability to properly handle highlights, especially when working with Sony RAW files. When loading these RAW files, PTGui tends to clip the highlights entirely, resulting in a loss of detail in the brighter areas of the image. This issue has been acknowledged, and efforts are being made to improve highlight preservation in PTGui. Workarounds, such as using TIFF files or external editing software, have been suggested to mitigate the problem. While PTGui may struggle with blown highlights, it remains a popular tool for creating panoramic images from multiple exposures.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Painting in blown highlights | Not possible |
| Reducing highlights | Possible with the tone mapper in the Exposure/HDR tab in the Pro version |
| Highlight recovery | Possible for RAW/DNG source images with a negative exposure offset or with tone mapping |
| Highlight clipping | Occurs in PTGui, especially with RAW files |
| Avoiding blown highlights | Underexpose the scene |
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What You'll Learn
- PTGui may not handle highlights from RAW files well, clipping them entirely
- TIFF files are handled better by PTGui, but highlights are still halfway blown
- Using Exposure Compensation in PTGui can blow highlights
- PTGui clips highlights entirely upon loading Sony (*.ARW) RAW files
- SNS-HDR produces better results than PTGui when it comes to blown highlights in HDR
PTGui may not handle highlights from RAW files well, clipping them entirely
When using PTGui, some users have experienced issues with clipped highlights in the output panorama image. This is especially true for RAW files, where the highlights are clipped entirely, and even reducing the highlights in the source image does not solve the issue.
PTGui's Exposure/HDR tab in the Pro version has been reorganised to allow the tone mapper to be used for regular low dynamic range panoramas, boosting shadows and reducing highlights without affecting local image contrast. However, this feature does not seem to address the issue of clipped highlights from RAW files.
To avoid this issue, it is recommended to underexpose the scene when shooting in RAW to ensure that the highlights are not blown out, as clipped highlights cannot be recovered. Additionally, using a TIFF file instead of a RAW file can help, as PTGui handles TIFF files better, and highlights are only halfway blown after adjusting levels in Photoshop.
While PTGui offers improved highlight recovery for RAW/DNG source images, it may not be sufficient to prevent clipping in all cases. It is suggested to explore other software options or techniques, such as Adobe's HDR Toning function or EXPOSURE FUSION, to address the challenge of clipped highlights in panorama images.
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TIFF files are handled better by PTGui, but highlights are still halfway blown
When it comes to handling highlights, PTGui has some limitations. While it offers features like tone mapping and exposure compensation to reduce highlights, users have reported issues with highlight clipping. This is particularly noticeable when working with RAW files, where PTGui tends to clip highlights completely.
In the case of TIFF files, PTGui handles them better than RAW files. However, even with TIFF images, users have observed that highlights are still halfway blown, despite adjustments made in Photoshop. This indicates that while TIFF files are processed more effectively by PTGui, the issue of highlight clipping is not entirely resolved.
To address this, PTGui 10 introduced a new tone mapper as part of its rebuilt stitching engine. This tone mapper can be used for regular low dynamic range panoramas, boosting shadows and reducing highlights without impacting local image contrast. Additionally, PTGui supports highlight recovery for RAW/DNG source images. By applying a negative exposure offset to the panorama or using tone mapping, PTGui can recover some highlight detail from the source images.
It is worth noting that PTGui's Exposure/HDR tab in the Pro version has been reorganized to include the tone mapper feature. This allows users to reduce highlights in regular low dynamic range panoramas, potentially mitigating the issue of halfway-blown highlights in TIFF files.
To create panoramas without bracketing, it is recommended to use an SLR with a large sensor, shoot in RAW, and convert to 16-bit TIFF to maximize dynamic range. By underexposing the scene, users can avoid blown-out highlights, as they cannot be recovered once clipped.
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Using Exposure Compensation in PTGui can blow highlights
When creating panoramas, photographers often face the challenge of capturing both highlights and shadows in a single image. This is due to the limited dynamic range of cameras, which can result in overexposed bright areas or underexposed dark objects. To overcome this, photographers can utilise High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography, which involves combining multiple images with different exposures to create a single image with a higher dynamic range.
PTGui is a software tool that aids in stitching together panoramic images. While it offers features like LibRaw support for reading RAW files, users have reported issues with highlight clipping, particularly when using RAW files. In some cases, PTGui may clip highlights entirely or not handle them well, resulting in blown highlights even after adjustments.
To address this issue, users can try disabling exposure compensation in PTGui. Exposure compensation is intended to optimise exposure by receiving equally exposed images. However, in certain cases, it may lead to blown highlights, especially with darker images. Disabling this feature can help prevent highlight clipping. Additionally, using TIFF files instead of RAW files might help manage highlights better, although it may not entirely eliminate the issue.
Another approach to manage highlights in PTGui is to utilise tone mapping. Tone mapping adjusts local brightness, reducing the dynamic range to make the image suitable for display or print. By applying tone mapping, users can prevent clipping and retain highlight details. This technique is often used in HDR imaging to create displayable images with a high dynamic range.
While PTGui offers tools like exposure compensation and tone mapping to handle highlights, photographers should also consider employing in-camera techniques. By using the camera's automatic bracketing function and shooting in Manual ('M') mode, photographers can capture multiple images with varying exposure times. This ensures that both highlights and shadows are properly exposed, providing a wider range of options for blending images in PTGui while minimising the risk of blown highlights.
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PTGui clips highlights entirely upon loading Sony (*.ARW) RAW files
While PTGui does offer features to adjust the toning curve and image saturation, it appears that the software does not handle highlights from RAW files well. Users have reported that when loading Sony RAW (*.ARW) files, PTGui clips the highlights entirely. This issue does not seem to be specific to a particular version of the software, as it has been observed in both PTGui 9.1 and PTGui 11.
One user reported that they loaded Sony .arw files into PTGui Pro 9.1, but the images were displayed incorrectly, appearing only as dark green. Another user shared a similar experience, stating that PTGui always clips the highlights on the output panorama image. They further mentioned that even decreasing the highlights significantly in the source image did not prevent them from being completely blown.
It is worth noting that PTGui uses dcraw for raw conversion, and updating to a newer version of dcraw may resolve the issue with Sony .arw files. Additionally, converting RAW files to TIFF format before loading them into PTGui could be a workaround, as TIFF files are handled better by the software. However, keep in mind that different raw converters will crop the images differently, so converting RAW files to TIFF may require regenerating the panorama from scratch.
While PTGui has improved highlight recovery for RAW/DNG source images, allowing it to recover some more highlight detail, it is unclear if this improvement addresses the issue with Sony RAW (*.ARW) files.
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SNS-HDR produces better results than PTGui when it comes to blown highlights in HDR
While PTGui is a powerful tool for stitching HDR panoramas, it has limitations when it comes to handling blown highlights, especially with certain file formats. Users have reported issues with PTGui clipping highlights on output panorama images, resulting in unacceptable artefacts. This is particularly noticeable when working with RAW files, where PTGui struggles to handle highlights, often clipping them entirely.
In comparison, SNS-HDR offers a more seamless workflow for merging HDR images and handling blown highlights. When using SNS-HDR, users can save their images as 16-bit TIFF files, which PTGui may struggle to stitch together correctly. However, by merging the HDR images in Photoshop first and then opening them in PTGui, users have found success in overcoming this issue. This suggests that SNS-HDR, in combination with Photoshop, can produce better results than PTGui when it comes to handling blown highlights.
Additionally, SNS-HDR provides flexibility in the image editing process. Users can merge shots in SNS-HDR, make adjustments in Lightroom, and then utilise AI-Gigapixel for denoising and resizing. This workflow, when combined with PTGui for stitching, can yield satisfactory results. However, it is important to note that this workflow may introduce errors, and it is recommended to merge the HDR images before stitching to minimise these issues.
Furthermore, SNS-HDR allows users to work with various file formats, including DNG HDR, which PTGui cannot interpret directly. By converting DNG HDR files to 16-bit TIFF or HDR formats, such as EXR or 32-bit TIFF, users can then stitch them in PTGui effectively. This additional step ensures compatibility between the two software tools and highlights the advantages of SNS-HDR in managing file formats that PTGui may struggle with.
In summary, while both SNS-HDR and PTGui are valuable tools for HDR imaging, SNS-HDR excels in handling blown highlights and offers a more versatile approach to image editing and file format compatibility. By leveraging the strengths of SNS-HDR and Photoshop, users can achieve superior results in managing blown highlights compared to relying solely on PTGui.
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Frequently asked questions
No, PTGui does not handle highlights from raw files well and clips them entirely.
PTGui will adjust the brightness of differently exposed images to create a smooth blend. This results in the brightening and darkening of overlapping images, causing highlights to be clipped.
You can use alignment inside PTGui and blend the images in Photoshop.
Yes, Autopano Giga has an option for raw importing highlights with settings for clip, unclip, and blend. SNS-HDR is another alternative that produces good results with blown highlights.
You can try reducing the brightness in the panorama editor's tone mapping tab. However, this may result in shadows becoming too dark.
