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Question

HDR, focus stacking, and panorama recommendations?

May 3, 2011 2:08AM PDT

What photo editing software is good for the following purposes? HDR, panoramas (stitching), and focus stacking (extended depth of field)? I have used Photoshop CS2 and am comfortable with many of the features, but don't have use for others. I see that CS5 will do all I need it to, but is that the best option, taking cost into account ($200 to upgrade)? I have tried Zerene Stacker for focus stacking, and it works well ($90 to buy). I've tried HDR Darkroom and it seems adequate ($80 to buy). Hugin for panoramas was free, but not very satisfactory. It seems cumbersome to use different dedicated programs for these three purposes plus an old Photoshop CS2 for all the other photo editing. How well does CS5 perform these functions?

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