Photomatix Pro vs. HDR Efex Pro 2: Zabriskie Point, Death Valley

 I have often troubled by, although the histogram show that I have all the information in the RAW file, how can I actually get the image I want without extensive adjustment using Photoshop or Capture NX2, which sometimes is beyond my ability.  The above image was taken at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley in the early morning last January.  The image was under-exposed one stop and the histogram looked perfect.

This is a HDR image generated by Photomatix Pro from three images: -3, -2, -1 stop exposure.  Now, it is quite nice.  Since "-1" image already contains all the information, why do I have to use HDR to get the image as I want.

This image is generated using one single "-1" RAW file by HDR Efex Pro2, used as plug-in in Photoshop CS6.  Almost as good as the HDR image from Photomatix Pro.

HDR Efex Pro2 allows me to play with all the HDR adjustments (Tone Mapping, etc.) for just one RAW file.  The result is quite good, as long as the original RAW file already contains all the information, no clipped high-lights or shadows.