HDR Exposure Merger
Align bracketed photos by their edge patterns, then merge differently exposed pixels. If capture times are known, inverse-sRGB linear values are exposure-normalized before global tone mapping. Without exposure metadata, the tool performs LDR exposure fusion only.
Key features
- Register same-size frames with edge correlation and show their measured shifts
- Validate dark-to-bright order and reject poorly matching or featureless photos
- Use shorter exposures for clipped highlights and longer exposures for dark pixels
- Choose known seconds, relative EV stops or metadata-free LDR exposure fusion
- Download a tone-mapped PNG, diagnostics JSON and a relative RGBE map only for known seconds
How to use
- Photograph a static scene from a fixed camera position with different exposures, then select two to five photos.
- Order the photos from darkest to brightest. Choose the exposure mode and enter each actual shutter time or relative EV offset when known.
- Run registration and merging. Inspect highlight, motion and alignment diagnostics before trusting the preview.
- Save PNG and diagnostics. If actual times were entered, optionally save the relative RGBE map and review it in an HDR-capable application.
Use cases
- Recover a bright window from a shorter exposure in an indoor bracket
- Reveal shadow detail without washing out highlights in a static landscape
- Inspect which bracket frame failed alignment
- Compare metadata-free fusion against time-normalized merging
Frequently asked questions
Is the RGBE file physically calibrated HDR?
No. Even with shutter times, this tool assumes an inverse sRGB response. It does not solve the camera response curve or calibrate scene radiance; the RGBE values are relative estimates.
What if I do not know shutter times?
Choose exposure fusion. It creates a blended low-dynamic-range image and does not offer RGBE or claim to recover scene radiance.
Will it fix moving people or handheld perspective changes?
No. Alignment estimates translation only. Motion, rotation, parallax, lens changes and clipping in every frame can cause ghosting or unrecoverable detail. Motion diagnostics are a heuristic, not a guarantee.
Do my photos leave the browser?
No. Decoding, alignment, merging and downloads run locally in your browser.
Privacy
Photos are decoded and processed in this browser. Originals and results are not uploaded to a server.
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