Oloneo HDRengine review

This fast performance is put to good use, with the ability to roll the mouse over the Timeline (Oloneo’s name for the editing history) and instantly see the various states. An Add Version button saves a marker in the Timeline for easy retrieval. Rolling the mouse over the various Presets has the same effect.

The inability to read certain raw files’ lens distortion correction data is one limitation

The quality of the results is first rate. The package can perform subtle highlight and shadow recovery, dramatic treatments with an explicit HDR look, surreal vintage photo effects with all the luminosity detail sucked out of them and lots more besides. The controls are flexible and intuitive – not least because of the instant feedback – but we’d have liked a dedicated highlight recovery control in order for us to perform creative and restorative treatments separately.

The Presets include various split toning effects, giving shadows a blue tint and highlights a yellow tint, for example. However, there aren’t any controls to customise these effects. HDRengine also lacks noise reduction, which would be useful for raw image processing. For these features, advanced curve-based editing and more, you’ll need to stump up €148 (about £124) including VAT for Oloneo’s PhotoEngine software.

HDRengine makes a strong argument for software that does one job well. Its controls are far more advanced than Photoshop Elements’ HDR function, and are nearer to Photomatix Pro ($99) than Photomatix Essentials ($39). Meanwhile, its lightning-fast performance means it’s arguably better than either version of Photomatix. As usual, there’s a 30-day trial version to help convince wavering customers – we strongly recommend giving it a go.