Stitcher 5.6

There’s something uniquely fascinating about creating panoramic imagery from multiple photographs. Even though it seems like a passé idea, panoramas are, if correctly assembled, undeniably stunning.

Stitcher, probably the most famous dedicated tool for the job, has been updated to version 5.6, with the only real addition being support for HDR (High Dynamic Range) images. Version 5.6 Unlimited (reviewed here) is also a Universal Binary for Mac.

The benefit of HDR in panoramas is obvious. You can create more vibrant and realistic images. You’ll need to combine or tone map your different exposures in say, Photoshop, before importing into Stitcher – this isn’t an image-editing app after all. Stitcher 5.6 supports .EXR (16 or 32-bit) as well as .HDR file formats, and stitching together HDR images is done in exactly the same way as regular images.

The main interface is unchanged, with the majority of screen real estate handed over to your images. A number of expandable icons to the top-left of the interface enable simple actions such as opening files, loading images and rendering. If you’re new to the app and process, it can be a touch minimalist and confusing, but once mastered, the app has an unrivalled feature set for automatically and manually piecing together images.

This is not a huge interim release in terms of quantity, but it will please hardcore panorama creators when it comes to quality. The £75 upgrade price can be justified if this kind of imagery is your business.