When Lightroom CC/6 debuted, one of the most talked about features was the Merge to HDR.  It's pretty cool to be sure, but there were a number of sites that made statements that it was just like the 32 Bit Merge to HDR in Photoshop.

Well...no.  Actually it's just like the 16 Bit Merge to HDR in Photoshop.  This is not all bad of course, but it's also not all good either.  As part of an ongoing series of tests, I pushed the same three images to HDR in Lightroom CC, Photoshop CC 32 Bit HDR, HDR Efex Pro 2 and Photomatix 32 Bit HDR.  There was something missing in the Lightroom outcomes, and when I zoomed in tight on detail, it was Halo City.  Now in fairness these were HDRs that were further processed, using the Lightroom Basic panel, as well as the Details panel to sharpen and clean noise.

I will keep this short and to the point.  The Lightroom CC/6 Merge to HDR is a nice feature.  In no way does it compare to either of the 32 bit HDR options in either Photoshop or Photomatix and while HDR Efex Pro 2 is a 16 bit process, the amount of control exercised produced better results in every case.  Better in my opinion to be sure.  I like the natural look in an HDR, and am admittedly not fond of the overcooked, oversaturated, surrealistic looks that some artists are very fond of.  To each his or her own.  If you are looking for HDR conversion that still looks natural and really isn't a manipulation of the Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks sliders, you are going to have to look further afield than Lightroom CC/6.  It's nice to have, but I won't be depending on it for my own work.  My preference lies elsewhere.  BTW, the Ferrari that makes up the background for the opening image is a 32 bit HDR processed in Photoshop and finished in Lightroom V5, so you can get really nice stuff that way.