Can I save a render I do, with the camera set to panorama mode (so it gets a 360 degree angle shot), as an HDRI file/ Can I use a file that's not an HDR file (like a bmp) as a source for HDRI lighting in the atmosphere tab?

I don;t think it will save as an hri file but you can save it as a jpeg or bitmap and use that as your HDRI lighing source/.

Oh, thanks :)

which would in reality be a ldri image in my humble opinion :) still usefull tho of course (i actually use ldri more often then hdri)

Right, my understanding is that an HDRI image is in a special format to support the extra bits required to get that extended dynamic range.

Seems there should be a way to convert into that format and "expand" your dynamic range - but maybe not since the info for exactly what to expand and what data to put in there might not be something a machine could come up with on it's own.

Anyone know of such a utility?

_ jc...'Art Head Start' e-book
.......'Art Head Start.com site Digital Art skills. Free lighting chapter, tutes, Vue models, tex pix.

I think you can render the same panorama with various exposures and use Photomatix basic (free) to convert into HDR format.

cool

Thanks EA! More fun stuff to experiment with!

Okay, another question - why are all the HDRI maps, both downloaded and stock with vue, really blurred and crappy when I use them? THere is one exception to this, and that is the City one that comes with vue.

I do not know to which specific hdri maps you refer, but generally, as they are projected to an environment, you get to see a very small part of the image as a background (or, in other words, a very zoomed in region). I guess that is also a reason why really good hdr images are expensive, they are very high resolution images in order to appear unblurred. However, I am no expert on HDRI maps, maybe I am wrong. BTW you can also use hdrshop to make and edit hdr images

Hi guys I wanted to ask the advice of any photographers out there that have used one of those Mirror Balls to take spherical images that can be converted into HDRI images? (i'm guessing I would photograph initially in uncompressed RAW format?) I have so many beautiful (and historical) areas near me in the UK, I would love to have a try expanding my photographic skills. What is the correct name for the "Mirror Ball" devices? I can't seem to find them on Jessops (UK photographic chain), so is this specialist equipment, or am I just searching for the wrong thing? Yours hopefully! >8o)

Photographer here - how do you mean "mirror ball" - or do you mean the final shot is circular? I can't think of a device that is a sphere to take pictures with, but if you use a "fisheye" lens you will get an image that is projected onto a smaller portion of the receiving area (either a digital sensor or film) and the resulting image is spherical - looking like a "ball". Hope that helps- -Lew ;-)

Hi Lew- Thanks for coming back! A few weeks ago (and I wish i'd bookmarked it now), I saw an article where someone had mounted a polished silver ball on a tripod, mounted the camera on an arm on the same tipod, and did an inverse 360 image, for what I believe was creating a HDRI image. My understanding at the time was that by taking a spherically distorted image, and then mapping onto a spherical environment, would cancel the fish-eye effect out ... I have a Fuji S7000 - a couple of years old but a decent camera. I have the equipment (well apart from the chrome/mirror ball if needed at all), the environment and the time, just not the experience on how to go about making a HDRI image. Appreciate any pointers you can give me thanks! (If I find that interesting URL again, I will post here) Kind regards

I'll look around and see if I can find it for you - what a cool idea! -Lew ;-)