This usually occurs when you type something wrong in the license key (e.g. problem with the case, missing number or letter, an additional blank or carriage return after the code). Try again to copy and paste your license key because it is case sensitive.
Please try again. As the registration code is case sensitive, it is usually better to copy/paste it. Please be careful not to enter leading or trailing spaces.
Only one little thing: "Unregistered copy" is written in white on the output image made with the demo version.
We don't want you to buy a pig in a poke. That's why the demo version enables you to try the application before actually buying it.
Moreover, there's neither use limit nor time limit for trying the demo version.
If you saved the project as a .hydra file, it will be very easy. All you have to do is open the project (all settings were saved) and render the HDR image again.
However, if you only saved the HDR image in .jpg (and not the .hydra file), you won't be able to remove the watermark quickly. You have to do the whole process again (photo import, alignement, merging, settings...).
That's why we advise you to save all your projects to keep their settings.
If you can't find the plug-in there, check the folder permissions. You should have at least read access to the folder. Change the permission if need be, and install the Aperture plug-in again.
You have to register Hydra as a stand-alone application and as a plug-in for Aperture. You have already registered the stand-alone application properly but you still need to register Hydra as a plug-in for Aperture.
Here is how to do it:
1. Open Aperture.
2. Open the plug-in window by clicking right and choosing Edit with Hydra HDR Processing.
3. There's a message about the application not being registered. Click OK.
4. Click the button left to Cancel (in the bottom right corner of the window).
5. Click Register...
6. Copy and paste your license key (the same as for the stand-alone application).
Hydra's stand-alone version automatically warns you when an update is available for download. It was however not possible in the Aperture plug-in before version 2.1.
You should check which version of the plug-in is currently installed on your computer (bottom left corner of the plug-in window):
Is it version 1.6 or 2.0? You have to download and install Hydra's latest version you find on our website. By doing so, your plug-in will be up to date.
Is it version 2.1 or higher? Auto updating is then available. You don't have to do anything by yourself. You can wait for the plug-in's update messages.
Hydra tries to locate Aperture in the Applications folder. If it is not the place where you have installed it, Hydra won't be able to find it. Just create an alias of Aperture in the Applications folder.
Yes, it will. Here is what you should do to import modified images in the plug-in:
1. Select all the photographs you need.
2. Open the plug-in window by clicking right.
3. Click the Shift key.
4. Choose Edit with Hydra HDR Processing.
The Lightroom Plug-In of Hydra is fully compatible with Lightroom 2.x. for 32-bit (under Leopard and Snow Leopard) and 64-bit (under Snow Leopard) architectures.
The Plug-In also supports the beta version of Lightroom 3.x. We are now further improving the Plug-In to get ready for the official release of Lightroom 3.
8-bit Blending takes 8-bit jpegs as input and outputs an 8-bit image.
HDR Merging takes 8- or 16-bit images (RAW) and builds a 32-bit image. From that HDR image, you can output a 32-bit Open EXR or a 8-bit tone mapped image (JPG or TIFF).
Open EXR is a floating point format, carrying much more information than even 16-bit RAW images. Every single bit of dynamics is preserved with this process.
Moving the sliders in 8-bit Blending changes the relative importance of the imported images. It basically tells whether you want more of A, B, or C in the output.
The warning sign appears in the inspector if there are not enough reference points. At least 4 points are required for each input image, and the grayed out ones are not considered in the count to 4. You can fix this by adding reference points: move the "Point Density" slider, and then click the "Auto Align Images" button.
Besides, a frame is grayed out in the alignment panel when the automatic method didn't manage to locate the point on that image. If you can clearly locate that point though, re-enable that checkbox and move it to the appropriate location by dragging the mouse inside the frame.
In the document window, you can choose either jpg, tiff or OpenEXR and then you click the Render button (in the bottom right corner of the window).
Then, you can export the file to your desktop with the corresponding button in the output window.
Creating 2 jpeg files from a single RAW is unnecessary, and will provide worse results than using the single RAW directly. Hydra is indeed fully aware of the actual dynamic range of RAW files.
And remember that working with a single RAW file makes sense in Hydra anyway. You can import it into Hydra, apply tone mapping, change brightness, contrast,... and render an HDR image.
These buttons are for adding and deleting presets. Imagine you want to experiment before rendering the HDR image.
Change the value of contrast, saturation, exposure, etc. and click the + button to temporarily save the image. A dot appears in the first square.
Then, move the sliders to change the values, and click the + button. Another dot appears in the second square.
Click the 1st square to show the 1st image preview you saved. Click the second one to show the second image. So, you can easily compare images, and render the one you like best.
There is indeed an upgrade offer: version 1.x users can get Hydra 2.x for USD 19.95 (regular price USD 79.95). It means that they will only pay the price difference between version 1 and version 2. For more details, have a look at our news on the subject.
This offer is not time limited. You can upgrade when you want: today, next month or even for Christmas! As you like it!
And if you are happy with the results you get when using Hydra 1.x, you may keep on using version 1.x. We will answer your questions and help you using it even if we don't sell it anymore.
Write to support at creaceed dot com, and mention all your contact information (name, address, email...) so that we can quickly search for your license key in our database.
This is a limitation of the 64-bit version, because Hydra relies on iMediaBrowser which does not support the 64-bit mode yet. We will update Hydra as soon as the library browser becomes usable on Snow Leopard.
In the meantime, you can either drag and drop a photo from iPhoto by yourself, or open Hydra in 32-bit mode (select Hydra in the Finder, click right and then choose Get Info) to browse the iPhoto library.
The objects or people moved between the shots.
It is a limitation of the HDR process. The image content should be the same between shots. You can improve this by using a camera with bracketing, as this allows to reduce time between shots.
One shot is blurry, the others are not.
This typically occurs for the brightest image (longer exposure time). Increasing ISO and/or aperture settings will make shorter exposure time, and will therefore reduce motion blur.
Your Mac is probably not powerful enough for the current preview quality in Hydra. Go to the Preferences window and decrease that setting in order to better match the computing capacity of your Mac.
It can happen with some older MacBook Pros (ATI graphic card). You should disable Hardware Acceleration in Hydra's Preferences, and render new HDR images.
This is a typical sharpness issue.
In Hydra's inspector, there are 2 places where you can change the sharpness setting:
in the Import pane for the input images
in the Merge pane for the output image (i.e. the HDR image).
You can change sharpness either on the input images or on the output image but not on both at the same time. Doing so will create artifacts.
It can also happen that a particular sharpness processing was applied on the images using another application, or even by the camera itself when you took the pictures. Then, you should not modify sharpness in Hydra.
Hydra supports the cameras supported by Aperture. However, there's a solution for unsupported cameras. Use Adobe DNG Converter (a free application) which will convert your images to the digital negative format that can then be imported into Hydra. Raw information will be kept.
Hydra uses Apple's built-in RAW library which is regularly updated with new cameras.
Until your camera is supported, we advise you to convert those images into 16-bit TIFF, and then to import the TIFF images in Hydra.
The middle image is used as a reference for image alignment. If the brightest or the darkest image is too different from the reference (details not recognizable), alignment may fail and produce a black image. If this occurs, the best you can do is to align the images manually by moving existing reference points.
Open these images in Preview, choose the option Match to Profile (choosing Adobe RGB for instance, or any other), then save them as a new JPEG. That way, it should be fine on most browsers.
