Zonerama is the online photo hosting service from Zoner Photo Studio X, which we have reviewed before and really like. Now, the folks at Zoner Photo Studio have updated Zonerama with some first-ever online gallery features! Specifically, the Zonerama online gallery now supports HDR online viewing, as well as most popular raw files.
This would be impressive even for a paid photo hosting service, as it is a first in the market. And yet, Zonerama is a free service! In this article, we will briefly go over what exactly Zonerama is, and what the latest updates are all about. If you’re a serious photographer or videographer, this news is a sign of major progress in the world of online galleries.
What Is Zonerama? | Unlimited Storage, Zero JPG Compression, Full Privacy Controls
As we mentioned in our Zoner Photo Studio X review, Zonerama is a truly unique offering for a few other reasons, too. Zonerama offers unlimited storage, as well as zero compression to the uploaded image files, which you can check out here in this showcase gallery. You have full control over the privacy and sharing of your galleries, including advanced features such as download link management with link expiration.
All in all, this means that you get a high-quality viewing experience, which supports an increasingly diverse workflow, thanks to these latest updates.
New In Zonerama: HDR Image Gallery
HDR is a very general term, of course. It used to simply be a technique that photographers used, but now it is an actual image format(s)!
Of course, viewing such relatively new, cutting-edge content has not been easy, both due to hardware/graphics/display limitations, and especially with online presentation.
This is something that Zonerama is aiming to change, with HDR image file support for its online image galleries. If your browser and display support 10-bit HDR, then you’ll be able to share such beautifully dynamic images with your viewers!
AVIF & HEIC Image Support
To be even more specific, Zonerama’s HDR support extends to AVIF files, as well as HEIC images which are increasingly popular on iPhones and now (finally) some other devices, are similarly capable of HDR imagery in terms of how dynamic range is captured and viewed.
Since Zonerama is now compatible with these image file types, no conversion to JPG is required for some (or all) viewers to correctly see your images; all they need is a compatible device. The platform is even ready for 10-bit HLG images from Sony cameras and PQ from Canon cameras.
New In Zonerama: Raw Photo Gallery | Online Raw Image Viewer (First Of Its Kind!)
Another challenge that photographers face when they try to balance image quality and convenience is, of course, the fact that raw photos are very difficult to view virtually everywhere besides the back of your camera and in a dedicated raw image viewer or raw conversion software. In the past, you couldn’t see raw thumbnails, or if you did, they were just extremely low-quality JPG thumbnails, actually.
While Windows Explorer and Apple Finder have begun to overcome this challenge, online viewing has made little progress, and that is where Zonerama is achieving a first: with their Zonerama web uploader, you can now upload, view, and share your raw files in an online gallery, just as easily as JPG files. This is a major step forward for all serious photographers, indeed.
Zonerama Premium
For those serious professionals who are interested in subscribing to access a few more features, Zonerama Premium is available for $5.99/mo, the same as a Zoner Photo Studio X. This enables serious hobbyists and professional photographers to embed galleries directly onto their website, and upload 4K videos longer than 5 minutes.
About Zoner Photo Studio X
Zoner Photo Studio X is an all-inclusive photo editing workflow tool. The main app itself offers a catalog system for viewing and organizing your images, as well as an excellent raw converter for editing your photos.
When you’re done editing, you can export photos to JPG or TIF, or as we mentioned, directly upload for online viewing with Zonerama, their online viewer.
These latest updates that support raw and HDR imagery should make it even easier for all types of photographers to share their imagery with viewers, regardless of the format or medium. Indeed, even if you don’t have time to edit your raw photos, or if you just bought a brand-new phone with HDR/HEIC capabilities, you won’t have to worry about your workflow getting slowed down with so many extra steps! This will help achieve the goal of any artist: reduce the need to focus on technical details, and have more time & energy for creative inspiration!
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