Unsharp mask percentage?

[BruceMcL]

Is there any "norm" or usual amount of unsharp masking applied in Photosharp? How do I know when I've used too much? I don't yet have a printer and so I have to guage the results on the monitor which I realize is relatively low resolution and could possibly lead me astray.

Bruce

[CyberDyneSystems]

Try this for starters

Percentage between 80% and 200% (this will take some tweeking to the specific image)

Radius between 0.4 and 0.6 (start at 0.4)

Threshold: Pretty much allways at 0 (Zero)

[robertwgross]

BruceMcL wrote:
Is there any "norm" or usual amount of unsharp masking applied in Photosharp? How do I know when I've used too much? I don't yet have a printer and so I have to guage the results on the monitor which I realize is relatively low resolution and could possibly lead me astray.
Bruce

I assume you mean Photoshop, not Photosharp. Although that would be a good name for a program also.

I don't think that there is any rule about this. Mostly the amount of sharpening is a function of the final print size plus a function of personal taste. If you don't have a printer, then this kind of limits your testing.

If I shoot outdoor nature shots that are supposed to be smooth and moody, then I don't sharpen any. Most nature shots tend to need some sharpening, so that happens routinely for me. I have screwed up before and over-sharpened a few, and some viewers complain. You can always increase the sharpening later when you print, so it would be better to under-treat them now.

---Bob Gross---

[w10d]

BruceMcL wrote:
I don't yet have a printer and so I have to guage the results on the monitor which I realize is relatively low resolution and could possibly lead me astray.

Bruce

It's perfectly normal to judge sharpening on a monitor - nobody would want to make a print every time they applied sharpening, just to check it - especially if you are using a workflow that calls for 3 seperate sharpening stages. Also, an inkjet won't help you judge sharpness on an image that's going to press/Lambda/Pictro/film output, etc.

Best to get confortable with the monitor - and ALWAYS view the image at 100% when sharpening, look at the most critical part of the image. (Viewing at less than 100% means each monitor pixel is being used to display multiple image pixels, making it impossible to reliably judge the sharpening between adjacent pixels).

[scottbergerphoto]

Many people on this and other forums have given suggested settings for USM without regard to variables such as lighting available when the picture was taken, the lens that was used and the subject. I have found that how much sharpening is needed in Photoshop can be influenced by a number of factors, not the least of which is personal preference for a hard, medium, or soft look. My Canon 100-400 IS L usually requires more sharpening then my 16-35 f/2.8. Pictures taken on cloudy days with less available light need more sharpening. Architechtural / landscape photos can tolerate more sharpening then close ups of women's faces. After post processing a few hundred pictures I've begun to see partterns of settings for USM/equipmment/lighting/subject.
Scott

[tony723]

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
Try this for starters

Percentage between 80% and 200% (this will take some tweeking to the specific image)

Radius between 0.4 and 0.6 (start at 0.4)

Threshold: Pretty much allways at 0 (Zero)
I am not expert in this area. I would like to ask is it possible to have best combination of this parameter for a particular camera e.g. Canon 10D, Canon 300D? i.e. for a particular pixel size e.g. 6M and crop factor e.g. 1.6X, is it related to a particular set of USM parameter?

Thanks!

[BruceMcL]

Thank you very much. That is very helpful information.

Bruce

[BruceMcL]

Yep. Photoshop and not Photosharp! Thanks for the tips.

Bruce

[BruceMcL]

Thanks for the tips and advice. I'm going to try them now.

Bruce

[john_houghton]

You might like to see these articles on sharpening also

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/digitalphotography/learnmore/fixit/sharpening.asp
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/11242.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/12189.html?origin=story

John

[PhotoAZ]

You want numbers, here are some numbers;

Amount 500%, Radius .5 pixels, and Threshold 5. Now before you send the Photoshop Mental Health Police to my door here is what you do. (Far better to make a Action out of this so you just have a one button press for your image.)

Dupucate the layer, Run the USM with the settings above, Go to the Mode of the layer and change it to Luminosity, Reduce the opacity to 50%.

Now depending on the image you can adjust the opacity up or down. For smaller dpi images you will need less opacity and for higher dpi images you will need more. This type of sharping works more on the edges than on the whole image retaining more of the midtones.

You can also do what is called Lab Sharping where you change the mode to Lab Mode from RGB. Go to Channels and click on the Lightness Channel and run a normal USM there. Setting could be Amount 85%, Radius 1 pixel, and Threshold 4. If this looks ok then convert back to RGB for your prints.

Keep in mind with all sharping you do not want to over sharpen to the point of pixelation. All you are looking for is a bit of snap in the image. Best to enlarge just the eyes and watch them. With the extra layer you can click it off and on to see the effect.

Good luck and have fun.

[CyberDyneSystems]

There is another trick I like to call "Localized Contrast"

Drop percentage waaay down,

Set Radius to 50 (YES 50!)

leave threshold at Zero

Tweek with the percentage to get a contrast effect that occurs in realtion to neighboring pixel colors... can be very helpfull at times. (but don't over due this one)