The HDRI Handbook: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists +DVD | 
 enlarge | Author: Christian Bloch
Publisher: Rocky Nook
Category: Book
List Price: $49.95
Buy New: $28.42
You Save: $21.53 (43%)
New (30) Used (3) from $28.42
Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 13127
Format: Illustrated
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 344
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 8 x 0.8
ISBN: 1933952059
Dewey Decimal Number: 775
EAN: 9781933952055
ASIN: 1933952059
Publication Date: November 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All orders ship same business day via standard shipping (USPS Media Mail) if received by 1 PM CST.
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Product Description
The HDRI Handbook reveals the secrets behind High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI). This cutting-edge imaging technology is a method to digitally capture and edit all light in a scene. It represents a quantum leap in imaging technology, as revolutionary as the leap from Black & White to Color imaging. If you are serious about photography, you will find that HDRI is the final step that places digital ahead of analog. The old problem of over- and underexposure in analog photography, which was never fully solved, is elegantly bypassed here. A huge variety of subjects can now be photographed for the first time ever. HDRI emerged from the movie industry, and was once Hollywood's best kept secret. It is now a mature technology available to everyone. The only problem was that it was poorly documented until now. The HDRI Handbook is the manual that was missing. Many questions remain open even for the computer graphics gurus that have been using HDRI for years. This is where The HDRI Handbook comes in. Included here is everything you need to build a comprehensive knowledge base that will enable you to become really creative with HDRI. This book is packed with practical hints and tips, software evaluations, workshops, and hands-on tutorials. Whether you are a photographer, 3D artist, compositor, or cinematographer, this book is sure to enlighten you. Topics include: - Understanding the foundation of HDRI
- Tools for a High Dynamic Range Workflow
- How to capture HDR images: now and tomorrow
- Tone mapping for creating superior prints
- Image processing and compositing
- All 4 ways to shoot panoramic HDRIs
- Image based lighting and CG rendering
- World premiere of the Smart Dynamic Range toolkit
- Creative uses and unconventional applications
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
Not perfect but darn good. May 12, 2008
I bought two HDR books at the same time. This was by far the better book. Yes, it did cost more, but has been well worth it. The DVD has some useful information. Besides that they list other useful WEB sites in their text. Well written and knowledgeable. Not a rehash of known information.
 Poor choice May 2, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a very poorly written book. There are other much better alternatives to choose from.
 Brilliant review of the HDRI process! April 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was worried that this book would be too technical for me, but it was wonderful. I reviewed each cahpter and then went back and followed the process from the beginning, until I understood it thoroughly, could work my equipment without effort and received the results I was expecting. And it is working for me! There is more information than you will ever need to get satisfying results. But the book is well-researched and the chapters brilliantly assembled. Anyone can learn from it.
Not a Manual April 17, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book gives a good general perspective on the world of High Dynamic Range imaging: the motivation for making HDR images, some theory, file formats, HDR viewing software, photographic capture, software workflow, HDR editing and CGI. Many of the example images are beautiful and inspiring. I found it a useful introduction.
However, despite the title of the book, this is NOT a manual. It is more like a word-for-word transcript of a training workshop. It falls short of the expectations created by calling it a manual.
The technical information is often presented in a vague, loose or imprecise way. The coverage is uneven and sometimes appears downright lazy. Stereographic projection is not explained but is simply described as a 'fun' thing. The author's report on one of the available software packages is basically that he couldn't get the package to work. There were numerous, minor technical errors.
The text is often vague, loose or imprecise. The style is more like a flashy sales pitch than a technical document. At times I found it almost condescending (Quote: "Click the little checkbox, it's cool"). I grew tired and sceptical of the constant use of the word `modern' - especially when the book refers to the fifty-year-old science of Machine Vision as a "new field".
Most of all what irked me about this book was the poor editing. It is really time that the Rocky Nook publishers hired a sub-editor. This particular book is strewn with linguistic mistakes, some of which are distracting or confusing (like writing `predecessor' when he means `successor', or using `eventual' to mean `possible', or `experiences' instead of `experiments', `straight angle' for `right angle', and `backside' for `reverse side').
If we treat this book as the notes-plus-CD from a one-day workshop on HDRI, it is entirely satisfying.
Great Book April 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Im no expert on this subject. This book is great. I work in digital photography and 3d lightwave as well a many other computer software packages. This book is very clear and well organized. You will learn alot about many different aspects of HDRI and lighting.
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