HDR

High dynamic range imaging - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "In computer graphics and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI) is a set of techniques that allow a far greater dynamic range of exposures (i.e. a large range of values between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDRI is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows.

HDRI was originally developed for use with purely computer-generated images. Later, methods were developed to produce a HDR image from a set of photos taken with a range of exposures. With the rising popularity of digital cameras and easy to use desktop software, the term 'HDR' is now popularly used[1] to refer to the process of tone mapping together bracketed exposures of normal digital images, giving the end result a high, often exaggerated dynamic range; however, in this case neither the input nor the output qualify as 'true' HDRI.

Recently, CMOS image sensor producers have begun to release sensors with HDR up to 110 db for security cameras.[2]"

Photomatix Pro - Google Search but their results looks like printing on a cheap tin chocolate box - totally inartistic

the technology is obviously useful for repro on paper

4th floor lounge, Westfield San Francisco on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
an example of good use of HDR from

Michael Berch's photostream

Comparison Photoshop CS2 HDR conversion vs Photomatix Tone Mapping: "The first images (left or top) were produced with HDR conversion method 'Local Adaptation' of Photoshop CS2 and the second (right or bottom) with the Tone Mapping method 'Details Enhancer' of Photomatix Pro. We tried to be as fair as possible and show the results obtained after attempting to find the best parameter adjustment for Photoshop Local Adaptation."