Hydra 4.5.1 - April 11th 2024

  • Modernization for latest OS & bug fixes.
  • Hydra now requires macOS 11 Big Sur or higher.

Hydra 4.5 - January 13th 2021

This update brings full support for Apple Silicon Macs.

Hydra has been rebuilt to take advantage of Apple Silicon CPU & GPU capabilities, and to deliver optimal performance in image processing (Metal), and more.

BUG FIXES & ENHANCEMENTS:
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when processing a project with image alignment enabled.

Hydra 4.4 - December 11th 2020

This update brings full compatibility for macOS 11 Big Sur.

BIG SUR IMPROVEMENTS
  • Remodeled the app icon.
  • Modern style for the window toolbar.
  • Many user interface tweaks.
BUG FIXES & ENHANCEMENTS:
  • Added support for sandboxing for all versions.
  • Hydra now requires macOS 10.12 Sierra or higher.

Hydra 4.3.1 - June 11th 2020

  • Modernization for latest OS & bug fixes.

Hydra 4.3 — December 10th 2019

  • Optimized for macOS Catalina.
  • (Sparkle Only) Application is now notarized for a better support on macOS Catalina

Hydra 4.2 — October 4th 2018

  • Enhancements
    • Optimized for macOS 10.14 Mojave.
    • Improved support for dark theme & accent color. Accent color now effective throughout the app, in particular ghost selection & various buttons.
    • Metal 2 optimisations.
  • Other enhancements
    • Fixed 8-bit rendering on integrated Intel GPUs that could output corrupt image (Mojave only).
    • Fixed 32-bit rendering on discrete GPUs that could output black image when tone mapping was not applied.

Hydra 4.1.2 — July 2nd 2018

  • Enhancements & Bug Fixes
    • Added support for HEIF file format when exporting pictures (macOS High Sierra or more recent required). HEIF is a modern alternative to JPEG (smaller files for similar quality).
    • Workaround for a "stripe artifacts" problem that could occur for RAW images when the legacy rendering pipeline (OpenGL) is enabled.
    • Updated crash reporting.

Hydra 4.1.1 — September 29th 2017

  • Optimized for macOS High Sierra.
  • Fixed some glitches in the user interface (macOS High Sierra only).
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the addition of alignment points.

Hydra 4.1 — June 29th 2017

  • NEW COLOR GRADING

    With version 4.1, we've taken feedback into account and developed a new color grading technique for Hydra. The new color grading technique provides more vivid colors by default.
    • New color grading technique
    • New 'Vibrancy' color control available in the tone mapper
    • Improved local contrast that will now reveal more details in the image
    • Fixed a crash occurring on Macs with older discrete GPUs
    • Finer-grained GPU memory allocation limits to accommodate with a wider range of Macs

Hydra 4.0.4 — September 29th 2016

  • Faster image loading for Mac computers supporting Metal in macOS Sierra.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when updating the color of the hue setting in the tone mapping.
  • Fixed project thumbnail selection on macOS Sierra.
  • Fixed other layout issues on macOS Sierra.

Hydra 4.0.3 — August 25th 2016

  • Improved compatibility and stability with upcoming OS X release.

Hydra 4.0.2 — August 23th 2016

  • Improved compatibility and stability with upcoming OS X release.

Hydra 4.0.1 — August 16th 2016

  • Minor bug fixes.

Hydra 4.0 — August 11th 2016

  • Optimized for Metal.
  • Elegant and easy-to-use translucent user interface.
  • Automatic or manual image alignment with high-precision live positioning and fine-tuning.
  • Manual removal of ghosting artefacts using region delineation tool and per-region output contribution.
  • High-precision 128-bit internal format.
  • Much improved tone mapping including presets, and live, full-resolution preview.
  • Advanced comparison tool of result against original pictures.
  • Single or multiple input photos of various formats (JPEG, RAW, HDR, EXR).
  • Blazingly fast rendering to various output file types (JPG, TIFF, HDR, EXR) and color spaces (sRGB, Pro Photo, AdobeRGB…).
  • Accurate color processing, including support for Deep & Wide Color displays (30-bit, DCI-P3 display of latest iMac 27’).
  • Integration with Apple Photos app (input / output).

Hydra 3.3.4 (Website Version only) — February 12th 2016

  • Fixed security vulnerability with auto-updating scheme (Sparkle).

Hydra 3.3.3 (Website Version only) — January 7th 2016

  • Fixed Activation problem affecting OS X El Capitan users.

Hydra 3.3.2 — October 29th 2015

  • Compatibility update for El Capitan.
  • Fixes a possible crash / hanging issue when loading images.

Hydra 3.3.1 — November 7th 2014

  • Fixed a problem (incorrect image size) when previewing images on Macs with Retina displays.

Hydra 3.3 — September 1st 2014

  • Compatibility with OS X Yosemite.

Hydra 3.2 — November 4th 2013

  • Mavericks compatibility
    • Fixed incorrect preset rendering
    • Fixed UI glitches
    • Faster real-time previewing of tone-mapped image thanks to improved Mavericks Core Image/OpenCL pipeline
    • Integration of Mavericks native image browser, which gives access to iPhoto, Aperture, and iCloud photo libraries
  • Other Corrections
    • Cropped images are now correctly rendered when app is in trial mode (no more white frame)
    • Fixed previewing artifacts

Hydra 3.1.1 — November 22nd 2012

  • Added support for exporting image as Radiance (.hdr) file
  • Fixed a possible hang problem when operating Hydra as Aperture or Lightroom plug-in
  • Fixed a tone-mapper problem: Tone-mapping can now be disabled in new documents.

Hydra 3.1 — October 24th 2012

  • Minimum system requirements: OS X 10.7.3 Lion or later
  • Support for Retina displays
  • Better integration of Mountain Lion sharing services: Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr are now supporting native OS X sharing services.
  • Improved previewing: previewing of HDR image now remains at full resolution (no low resolution toggle) when editing settings in Develop mode. Previewing is also much faster than previous version.
  • Faster processing of HDR image: transition from Prepare to Develop mode is now up to 4x faster, thanks to improved Grand Central Dispatch-based multicore method.
  • Better version checks when operating as an Aperture / Lightroom plug-in: Hydra will now report if the plug-in is too old, or if Hydra itself must be updated.
  • Refined design for empty document window and tool interface.
  • Document reopening improvement: a previously developed HDR document now reopens in Develop mode. Feedback is provided during the reopen process.

Hydra 3.0.3 — August 29th 2012

  • Sandboxing: Hydra is now fully sandboxed for better user security
  • Plug-in version check: when Hydra is operated as a plug-in (from Aperture or Lightroom), it checks that the plug-in version is compatible with the app
  • Fixed insertion of alignment points: inserting alignment points now keeps the window in focus
  • Fixed ghost zone drawing problem: ghost interface now always appears when editing ghosts
  • Fixed image processing probe deletion: removal of probes now works as expected
  • Fixed incorrect window texture: document window no longer appears flat

Hydra 3.0.2 — January 3rd 2012

  • UI localized in Italian
  • Fixed a crash when importing images on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

Hydra 3.0.1 — October 31st 2011

  • Auto-alignment is no more proposed for single image documents
  • Batch jobs can now be removed with backspace (delete) key (Pro version)
  • Fixed Import action behavior (File menu)
  • Fixed a crash for image import on Lion
  • Fixed a problem that would prevent correct display ghost checkboxes, sometimes related to fullscreen mode
  • Fixed a problem affecting probe removal (Pro version)

Hydra 3.0 — October 6th 2011

  • Completely new user interface
  • Additional features available in the Express version (image processing features, plug-ins...)
  • Localized in English, French and German
  • Better interactive visualization:
    • Full resolution image, fast display
    • Interactive adjustments
    • Overview/manipulation of displayed image area within the whole image
    • Mouse scrolling and zoom in/out
    • Optional flashing low/highlights alerts
    • Better fullscreen support
    • Improved display of photo information
  • Image processing:
    • 2 modes of operation: Photo Preparation, and Photo Development
    • Better camera response function estimates
    • Automatic or zone-based ghost removal (due to moving objects in different exposures)
  • Image alignment:
    • Much improved automatic alignment, even for farther apart exposures
    • Interactive point placement, with increased contrast display for easier manual matching
    • Subpixel point matching with subpixel user input
    • Reset button for individual alignment points
    • Better support for low contrast/less textured images
  • Tone mapping:
    • Entirely rewritten tone mapper
    • Full 32-bit floating point pipeline (per color component)
    • 32-bit EV histogram and 8-bit tone-mapped histogram
    • Realtime adjustments on full resolution image
    • Reset of any slider by double-clicking it
    • Better central exposure determination
    • Better quality & user control
    • New controls - adjustable per scope: Overall exposure adjustment, shadows & highlights enhancement, details enhancement, hue, saturation, brightness, contrast
    • 12 presets available
    • User presets can be stored per document (snapshots)
    • Scope-based adjustments to target only bright or dark areas, red, green, or blue tones
    • Probe-based adjustments (Pro version only)
    • Probes are used to select areas based on distance/color/brightness tolerance (Pro version only)
    • Interactive probe placement (Pro version only)
  • Post-processing:
    • Crop
    • Glow
    • Vignetting
    • White frame
  • Workflow - Batch processing (Pro version only):
    • Drop files and folders, Hydra groups them as exposure sets
    • Photo sets can be modified by user (add/remove photo, split set)
    • Photo sets can be given different processing options (tone mapping preset, automatic alignment, ghost removal...)
    • Can create final images and/or Hydra documents for later manual editing
    • Display of batch processing progress
  • Export:
    • Improved export to iPhoto, Aperture, and Lightroom
    • Export to Flickr
    • Export to Twitter
    • Export to Facebook
    • Export to Mail
    • Better EXIF information handling
    • Copyright information added to EXIF data
  • Optimized for Lion:
    • Fullscreen Mode
    • Autosaving and Versioning
    • Automatic Termination and Restart
  • Improved Aperture plug-in
  • Improved Lightroom plug-in

Hydra 2.3 — January 14th 2011

  • Product Line Split
    • Hydra Express available on the Mac App Store
    • Hydra Pro available on Creaceed's website

Hydra 2.2.1 — November 26th 2010

  • Lightroom 3 compatibility (plug-in installation)

Hydra 2.2 — February 23rd 2010

  • HDR Plug-In for Lightroom 2
  • Improved User Guide

Hydra 2.1.5 — February 13th 2010

  • Better default value for Perceptive tone-mapper
  • Improved automatic alignment
  • Fixed Mach-bands issue in Aperture plug-in preview rendering
  • Fixed Alignment panel refresh problem

Hydra 2.1.4 — February 11th 2010

  • Aperture Plug-In: Support for Aperture 3 (64-bit architectures)

Hydra 2.1.3 — August 31st 2009

  • Fixed Automatic Alignment Crash in Snow Leopard
  • Fixed Fullscreen Mode in Snow Leopard

Hydra 2.1.2 — August 28th 2009

  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard compatibility
  • Support for 64-bit architectures
  • Improved performance under Snow Leopard (final rendering up to 2.5 times faster)
  • Use of sliders with real-time feedback

Hydra 2.1.1 — June 10th 2009

  • Reference points can now be deleted with the Delete key
  • Navigation through reference points with Tab key
  • Loupe availability now coherent
  • Fixed disappearing document window when importing image with no EXIF tag
  • Japanese localization (stand-alone application, Aperture plug-in and user guide)
  • Italian localization (stand-alone application and user guide)

Hydra 2.1 — March 11th 2009

  • New feature: Source image thumbs can now be clicked for smooth overlay. This makes it easier to compare the tone mapping output with any source image, or to compare source images together.
  • New feature: Accurate dual histogram display (LDR/HDR). The HDR histogram represents the merged, 32-bit image before tone mapping in a logarithmic scale (EV). The LDR histogram represents the currently displayed preview, it is a regular 8-bit histogram with a 0-255 scale. Histograms are computed in a separate thread to keep overall interactivity.
  • Improved: Faster rendering pipeline when previewing (up to 5x), especially true for RAW input images.
  • Improved: Incremental rendering as tiles is implemented.
  • Improved: Changing GPU setting in the preferences does not require Hydra relaunch anymore.
  • Improved: Faster window resizing.
  • Improved: Cancel rendering is now immediate when not using GPU acceleration.
  • Improved: The sharpen filter is now scale invariant, meaning that the preview rendering accurately demonstrates the effect as it appears in the full resolution output.
  • Improved: Automatic update is now signed for improved security.
  • Improved: Import progress sheet for images is displayed.
  • Aperture Plug-In: Fixed cancel import problem.
  • Aperture Plug-In: Fixed hang when exporting back to Aperture.
  • Aperture Plug-In: Smart Aperture projects do not cause a hang anymore, option to save to the Pictures folder when project is read only.
  • Aperture Plug-In: 16-bit TIFF rendering is now supported, 32-bit removed (use stand alone Hydra if OpenEXR format is needed).
  • Aperture Plug-In: Shift key can be used to import modified versions of images into Hydra. This way, any modification in color temperature, contrast, etc. is made available to Hydra Plug-in. This remains an optional behavior as it has an impact on rendered image, and it can make the initial import process longer.
  • Aperture Plug-In: Auto updating of the Plug-in when a new version is posted.
  • Fixed bug: Importing images of different pixel sizes does not cause a crash anymore.
  • Fixed bug: Removing/adding images now resets reference points.
  • Fixed bug: About panel now scrolls properly.

Hydra 2.0.1 — January 26th 2009

  • RAW: Full dynamics support, with additional control (boost, shadow, tint, sharpening)
  • RAW: Single RAW image tone mapping improved
  • Decreased default requirements (preview size, GPU acc.)
  • Loupe will not pop up anymore, only on user request
  • Fixed activation process error
  • Dropping image on app icon in the dock now imports images
  • Fixed Loupe for portrait images
  • German Localization (user interface)

Hydra 2.0 — January 6th 2009

  • General: Improved image processing pipeline - faster, higher quality
  • General: Now provides default values for missing exif tags
  • General: Additional keyboard shortcuts for common operations
  • General: Additional display of image information (EXIF tags)
  • General: New document examples
  • General: New welcome screen
  • Stand-alone: Output display in Preview, export to Aperture or iPhoto
  • Aperture Plug-In: New interface, more inline with the stand-alone version
  • Alignment: New homography based method, in addition to the unconstraint one
  • Alignment: Notification of disabled homography due to too few points
  • Alignment: Can be disabled without requiring to remove all the points
  • Alignment: Special image border handling (mirror)
  • Alignment: Display of point deviation to easily identify erroneous reference points
  • Loupe: New real-time 1:1 full quality preview
  • Loupe: Adaptive exposure compensation when previewing HDR
  • Loupe: Display of transparent image frame when navigating through
  • Loupe: Synchronized with alignment window when control-dragging points
  • Loupe: Degraded rendering when manipulating to preserve responsiveness
  • Tone Mapping: New Perceptive tone mapper, for more natural images
  • Output: Choice of file name and directory
  • Pro: New Settings Stack to quickly try different effects and revert to the preferred one
  • Pro: Point coordinates display
  • Pro: Exposure Value Calculator
  • Pro: Additional image processing options
  • Pro: Input filters, contrast, sharpness, color temperature
  • Pro: Output filters, saturation, sharpness, brightness / contrast
  • Pro: Apply to all, reset
  • Pro: Export of individual aligned images, before merging process
  • Pro: Enabling or disabling of GPU processing to better tune on each machine

Hydra 1.6.2 — December 29th 2008

  • Aperture plug-in: fixed Aperture import hang-up
  • Stand-alone: added support for Pentax .PEF raw images
  • Fixed bad color profile for JPEGs (Hydra output)

Hydra 1.6.1 — August 2008

  • Aperture plug-in: added image size check
  • Aperture plug-in: check IPTC tags and EXIF
  • Aperture plug-in: fix missing lens model
  • Aperture plug-in: fix missing progress bar animation in import
  • Aperture plug-in: fix import sheet freeze
  • Stand-alone: fix re-opening preferences window crash
  • Stand-alone: new option to choose 8/32-bit depth for TIFFs
  • Always display computed EV offset in import panel
  • Fix missing ISO information
  • Make more robust handling of ISO / exposure time / FNumber (Zero, fractional numbers, missing info)
  • Keep camera model unchanged (add Hydra as another tag)
  • Choose better tone mapping default values
  • Moved to Karelia's media browser v1.1.1
  • Accelerated final rendering processing speed
  • German localization (stand-alone application, Aperture plug-in and user guide)

Hydra 1.6 — July 2008

  • Aperture plug-in: Installable package
  • Aperture plug-in: better viewing window (resizable)
  • Aperture plug-in: shift-click Save, saves one image but stays in the plugin
  • Aperture plug-in: stacks output image to inputs as an option
  • Aperture plug-in: add a render sheet with cancel button
  • Aperture plug-in: output file format options (before Aperture import)
  • Aperture plug-in: remove temporary image from disk
  • Aperture plug-in: add license support
  • Review localization (plugin and s/a app)
  • Updated User Guide
  • Updated French localization
  • Fix colorspace in output
  • Fixed bug in Canon Eos 10D images (check)
  • Fixed bug in DNG image processing, leading to no output
  • Fixed bug in match checkbox (manual alignement panel)

Hydra 1.5.3 — June 2008

  • Italian localization
  • Fix final rendering coordinates system
  • Aperture plug-in: rotated 90° images support
  • Aperture plug-in: coordinate system based on correctly oriented image
  • Aperture plug-in: fix Match View drawRect:
  • Aperture plug-in: bring back alignment panel
  • Aperture plug-in: automatch
  • Aperture plug-in: manual match
  • Aperture plug-in: move / create point tools
  • Aperture plug-in: density setting in settings sheet.
  • Aperture plug-in: add tag to identify HDR outputs
  • Aperture plug-in: PPC support (>= G5)
  • Aperture plug-in: 3D perspective view as an option
  • Aperture plug-in: support for setting preferences
  • Aperture plug-in: quality of preview

Hydra 1.5.2 — May 2008

  • Fixed Intel GMA chipset bug + PPC for Aperture Plug-In
  • Single image processing added (tone mapping RAW)

Hydra 1.5.1 — May 2008

  • Fixed Intel GMA chipset bug + PPC

Hydra 1.5 — May 2008

  • Better UI concepts
  • Better fullscreen handling (HUD for window controls)
  • HUD for zoom and image navigation
  • Import from Aperture
  • Export to Aperture
  • OpenEXR output
  • RAW import
  • Improved warping quality
  • EV histogram representation
  • True Tone-mapping implementation
  • Tone Mapping: Local Adaptation
  • Tone Mapping: Highlight Compression
  • Support for presets
  • Increased speed final rendering
  • More than 4 images
  • New reference point image
  • Examples added
  • Aperture Plug-in Beta
  • French localization update
  • Documentation update

Hydra 1.0.4 — March 2008

  • French Localization

Hydra 1.0.3 — February 2008

  • More accurate and faster automatic image alignment
  • Added an option for controlling the density of ref points
  • Alignment made by default when importing images (can be disabled in Hydra Preferences)
  • Updated User Guide

Hydra 1.0.2 — February 2008

  • Added TIFF Output

Hydra 1.0.1 — January 2008

  • Fixed crash when quitting Hydra
  • Fixed bad labels in Welcome window

Hydra 1.0 — January 2008

  • First Release