Sony NEX-7 HDR Comparison on an Orange Rose

For today's photo, I'm comparing notes on the in-camera HDR processed version of an orange rose, and the 11 RAW file merger that I processed in Photomatix. I've also taken the Photomatix version and cleaned it up in Corel AfterShot Pro.

First, the Sony in-camera version:

Next, the JPEG made from 11 RAW files, straight from Photomatix:

And finally, the TIF file generated from Photomatix, edited in AfterShot Pro:

Thoughts: The Sony in camera version is not bad. I am really digging the bokeh in that image. The flower itself seems kind of dark, especially in the middle of the flower, where it almost seems splotchy. The version from Photomatix does not seem quite as strong on the bokeh, which seems muted to me. While you can definitely see the whole flower (no blotchiness), the image itself seems kind of lackluster. (Now, granted, I didn't do anything in the final edits with this second image -- to tweak the colors or the contrast.) I saved this image as a TIF file and took it over to AfterShot Pro, where I clicked on the Autolevel and clicked up the Saturation (3) and the Vibrance (6). This helped to bring out the color in the flower, and is (in my opinion) the nicest version of the three.