• Hugin (uses PanoTools)
• Gimp (plugin Pandora)

• Exposition should not change. Lock exposition or keep the shutter button half pressed when you shot.
• Ideally, use a tripod perfectly horizontal
• As far as possible, the camera should only do a rotation, without translation
• It can be interesting to use the camera in portrait mode, to increase the vertical field of view of the panorama
• It is also possible to do multiple rows for even larger vertical field of view

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Img_HDR_result.jpg

• Hugin (uses enblend)
• qtpfsgui (uses pfstools)
• Gimp (explanation)

Single image dynamic range enhancement (aka Fake HDR, Pseudo HDR, HDR from single picture):

• LightZone
• Create different bracketed exposures from the RAW picture, and use classic HDR software then
• Gimp (select image areas with Colors/Filter Pack and change Brightness-Contrast)

• Use a tripod, more simple if pictures does not have to be aligned
• Shoot in RAW

• VirtualDub (Windows)
• AviDemux (Linux+Windows)

• sunset/sunrise
• building construction
• driving a car
• clouds
• a whole day/year at your window
• a growing plant
• …

• Still night scenes without noise
• Lightning shooting
• Light painting
• Stars

• Force a low ISO
• If the photo is dark like stars, you should take a dark frame to subtract the pixel noise. With Gimp: open the image, open the dark frame “as layers”, in the Layer dialog change the mode to “difference”, flatten the image and save.

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Figures.jpg

• CombineZM

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roc78/532247426/in/set-72157594338507811/

Possible with Canon cameras and the CHDK firmware, don't know for other cameras.

• Lightning shooting
• Videosurveillance
• Remote shot trigger
• Wild animals shooting

Averaging a lot of images to remove noise. You can also keep pixels with some characteristics (eg brightest pixels to keep stars and see their movement).

• LightZone
• dcraw
• ufraw

• White balance
• Better for HDR, Image stacking, focus stacking…