I am using the photomatix plug-in to CS3. The workflow is the following. (1) merge to HDR in CS3 (2) convert to 16-bit image with no tone-mapping in CS3 and (3) use the Photomatix plug-in to tone-map the image. The problem area seems to be highlights. Some of them are still overexposed even though all of the data has been captured in one of the exposures. Also, when tone-mapping these highlights, tiny but noticeable red and green artifacts populate the brighter areas (not necessarily just the areas blown out). Any help here? For shooting I am metering for the entire scene using the matrix metering mode on my Nikon D70 and then bracketing +/- 2 stops. Thanks in advance!

michael - CS3 already has quite good HDR functionality built into it these days - have you tried using that alone - what does Photomatix bring to it over and above this? are you using individual RAW shots to merge into HDR or using one base shot?

I am using RAW files when doing the merge to HDR. I have fiddled with CS3's built-in HDR capabilities but find the Local Adaptation method of toning to be difficult and the results lack that "pop." I am going for photorealistic HDR with photomatix and have found that it is capable of (at least in my opinion) of producing better HDR shots than CS3 minus the issue with the artifacts. If you have any tips on the toning it CS3 that would be great.

the only thing i can think of is that the conversion from 8 to 16 bit is leaving holes in the histogram or posterising it or perhaps the processing is emphasising chromatic aberrations that were not visible under normal conditions.

I have my own problems with Photomatix, mainly at the borders of objects. It's almost like an exaggerated CA (Chromatic Aberration) effect. I've also read that using RAW files as your source is overkill, jpeg's have enough depth to create good HDR's if they're shot correctly.

A couple of good sites for HDR tutorials:

http://beforethecoffee.wordpress.com/

http://www.stuckincustoms.com/hdr-tutorial/