Sharpening for web

[boog69]

When resizing for web, what settings do you use on USM for the smaller size picture? Thanks for help.

[PacAce]

There is no one setting. It all depends on the image. I've used settings from 200 / .3 / 0 (Amount / Radius / Threshold) to 400/ .4 / 0. And from 100 / 1 / 0 to 250 / .5 / 0. The best thing to do is try the different settings for the type of pictures you take and see what settings work best for your pictures.

[kevin_c]

I tend to use the 'smart sharpen' option in CS2, and normally use anywhere from 25 - 200 percent and a radius of 0.3, but it all depends on the lens, the subject, etc. etc.

[maderito]

A knowledgeable PS pro once wrote something like: "after years of experience, we've found that after resizing for the web, USM 100/.5/0 works perfectly." I've generally stuck with that formula, varying only the amount (from 50 to 125) depending on the sharpness and amount of detail in the original image.

[René Damkot]

Have a look at Manyk SRS (http://news.deviantart.com/article/20250/).

[maderito]

Have a look at Manyk SRS (http://news.deviantart.com/article/20250/).
René,

Great article and elegant technique using an action that involves multiple USM passes, luminosity blending, and use of "blend if" to avoid unwanted sharpening artifacts in highlights and shadows. I tried resizing and sharpening several images and compared the Manky action with a standard 1 step USM 100/0.5/0 sharpening. I really couldn't see a difference!

If there are images that are better handled by the more complex Manyk action, I'd be interested in seeing. In theory, it should be a better approach, but at resized web images of 600 to 800 pixels, I think it would be hard to show differences (viewing at 100% - not pixel peeping at 200%, 300%).

BTW - the Manyk action runs quickly, even with the many steps. Speed is not the issue.

[René Damkot]

Just a quick and dirty: ISO 1600 image, scaled down to 800px high, 100% crop of center.
Subtle differences, but Manyk brings out a bit more detail IMO:
edit: And that is with a modified Manyk, because I found the original to do too much sharpening for an 800x533 px image.