HDR Comparison from Two Different Programs -- Photomatix and DxO Optics

This is the non-HDR edited version:

This is the DxO Optics HDR image:

This is the Photomatix HDR image: 

Comparing the results from HDR programs is a little bit like comparing apples and oranges, because the results will vary based on 1) the capabilities of the program to manipulate the image and 2) the abilities of the user to make full use of the capabilities of the program. I am not an expert in either Photomatix nor DxO optics, by anyone's stretch of the imagination. I am more comfortable moving the slider buttons on Photomatix, and I haven't exactly yet found the slider buttons on DxO. The DxO Optics Pro 8 came with three HDR presets, two of which can only be used with a RAW image file. Photomatix comes with all sorts of presets, which gives you roughly dozen a more preset HDR options when processing your image. Besides this, Photomatix has a slider panel that you can use to make adjustments in order to fine-tune your image. So, I offer in this post three images -- the sort of original base image, the DxO HDR, and my Photomatix HDR. Thanks for stopping by!