Sharpening Techniques?

[LaptopPop]

OK, so the D30 is very conservative when it comes to sharpening the raw images. This seems to be directly related to the great low-noise performance it delivers.

However, many images need post-processing, in particular sharpening.

So...... what techniques do you use? I've been reading about a number of different techniques and don't yet understand when I look at an image what would cause me to choose one over the other?

To make it easier, lets assume that we start with "RAW" images - because JPEG compression of any kind adds additional artifacts which sharpening can make more visible.

-lee-

[Andrei]

I like this one

http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/12189.html

[Inactive Member 18]

If you have a full version of Photoshop, try the free Ultra Sharpen 3 (www.ickybits.com), and see also http://www.belgiumdigital.com/tips_trucs/optimizing/optimizing_main.htm for a technique that adds smart blur to ultra sharpen to further minimize noise. The ultra sharpen website is promoting a soon-to-be-released CD of ultra sharpen 5...you can put your name on an email list to be notified.

Ultra sharpen 3 is a Photoshop action which makes sharpening almost painless. You can change the default settings at each step to find what works best for you, although you may not have to.

Good luck,
Mark

[John - NJ]

Lee:

I use two plug-ins for sharpening. I use KPT Equalizer for most people shots because the sharpening is subtle. I use nik Sharpener Pro for the rest. It can be a little harsh on human faces (too real).

Neither is free but both are better than any of the free things I've tried. Someone that is very familiar with Photoshop may be able to get the same results for free but I know it will take more time than these two plug-ins. Also, I don't really have the time to learn PS that well. YMMV.

[LaptopPop]

Thanks for your replies! I'm seriously considering getting the products you mentioned - need to see more sample images first.

Pekka? Care to weigh in here? The sharpness of your images has always amazed me.

-lee-

[philgabe]

Try "Unsharp Mask" under Sharpen in Photoshop. Try values for the parameters: 100%-200%; 1.0-3.0;0-10. The first is the "intensity" of the effect, the second is the number of pixels around the edges that get sharpened and the third is the threshold (larger numbers means less sharpening). Unsharp mask is much more subtle than the other sharpening tools in Photoshop because it focuses on edges rather than on all pixels in the picture. Something to remember is that the sharpening on the screen appears much "harsher" than the sharpening on the final print.

Sharpening D30 pictures and working levels are normal steps that should be taken.

Cheers

[subq]

Anybody try this method (I read it on luminous landscape)

Take a (High) Pass

On the Layer palette select your Background Layer and right click. Select Duplicate Layer.

With this new layer highlighted select Filter / Other / High Pass. Set the Radius to 10 and click OK.

Zoom into your image to Actual Pixels level so you can better see what you're going to do next.

Go back to the Layer Palette and select Hard Light from the left drop down.

Now go to the Opacity Slider and select a level of sharpening that seems best to you. Usually something between 20% and 70% will be best.

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Lee,

I have only been using a digital camera since last December and started using Photoshop a little after that. Sharpening seems to be something of a black art - I don't think I've come across two people that offer the same method for sharpening, for example, Martin Evening, in his excellent book "Adobe Photoshop 6 for Photographers" says always use the Unsharp Mask (USM) and suggests starting with settings of 120-200% and radius of 1-2. (You don't say whether you are a Photoshop user, but I shall assume so.) Certainly, you should use the USM rather than the shotgun options for "sharpen" or "sharpen more".

Some people suggest that you should always convert to Lab colour and use USM on the luminance channel to avoid messing the colours.

Michael Reichmann on his superb site at www.luminous-landscape.com has an excellent discussion of sharpening and resolution at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/sharpness.htm. One of the previous posters mentioned Ultra-Sharpen, another (commercial) tool is Nik-Sharpener; Michael reviews this at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/nic_sharpner.htm. Michael also suggests using the high pass filter:

1. On the Layer palette select your Background Layer and right click. Select Duplicate Layer.

2. With this new layer highlighted select Filter / Other / High Pass. Set the Radius to 10 and click OK.

3. Zoom into your image to Actual Pixels level so you can better see what you're going to do next.

4. Go back to the Layer Palette and select Hard Light from the left drop down.

5. Now go to the Opacity Slider and select a level of sharpening that seems best to you. Usually something between 20% and 70% will be best.

(I cut and pasted this directly from the web page at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/high-pass-sharpening.htm).


I read somewhere that using USM of 500, 0.2, 0 from 1 to 3 times on D30 images works well as they have remarkably little noise at the lower ISO levels.

Fred Miranda - www.fredmiranda.com - offers several cheap (under 10 bucks) or free Photoshop actions, including EdgeSarpen 16-bit. Fred is a valuable contributor to several forums and says he (most often) applies USM at 300, 0.2, 0 and then uses EdgeSharpen.

Another site http://www.aim-dtp.net/aim/techniques/index.htm advises the uses of custom blur and sharpen filters (freely downloadable) from the site.

There is a very useful discussion about sharpening and upsizing at http://www.robgalbraith.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=8&t=000407 .

So what works? Well, they all do. My experience is that a lot will depend on the characteristics of the image. For instance, with an image that has a very blurred background (e.g., with lens settings giving a narrow depth of field) then I often like to select the main subject and just apply sharpening to that; this avoids sharpening the noise in the background. One advantage that us amateurs have is that we can afford the time to play as we don't have deadlines to meet or a living to make from photography :) so we can afford the time to play around a little and see what works. I haven't done enough *systematic* experimentation to offer more certain guidelines. If you want somewhere to start, if you are a Photoshop user, then I would try Fred Miranda actions and method first and see what you think. If you don't use Photoshop, experiment with the USM equivalent (assuming there is one) in the package of your choice. Paintshop Pro, for instance, has an almost identical USM capability.

Hope this helps,

Roger

[gandini]

Just to weigh in on this topic--one that is constantly at the forefront for digital imagers, let me offer this link to a report I made on my own sharpening comparisons:

http://129.24.208.200/personal/Photography/Main%20pages/Sharpening.htm

(note the space between Main and pages in the link)

I compare USM at different settings, Nik Sharpener Pro and KPT equalizer. Of course this is but a small sample of all the possible setting combinations, but indicative of what I use.
I nearly always use USM settings much lower than most people/sites recommend, especially compared to those offered in earlier posts in this thread. (eg - 70/.6/1)
Anything higher seems to sharpen too much.

You can also sharpen using the Luminousity channel of Lab mode, and I do this sometimes, but I haven't included any examples at the link above.

cheers,

[Pekka]

I have now used either EdgeSharpen 16-bit or a modified version of EdgeSarpen 8-bit "jes version" which uses luminance channel to remove halos. The version Fred offers produces a bit too "jaggy" aliasing to my taste, so I made a variation of it which is not so strong but keeps the aliasing more constant. For some gallery photos I ran this twice to get enough power before resizing.

Edgesharpen 16-bit is very nice action and I made also a Lab version of it (sharpens Lab luminance, hardly any difference, but...).

Basically I try anything that I can find, and choose those which give natural sharp look without sharpening ISO noise. That's why Edgesharpen (or Ultra Sharpen 3) are the ones I like now.

[subq]

Pekka 2 things...did you modify Fred's 8bit to incorporate jes's effect to reduce halos or did you just download jes's action?

Also, I don't see US3.0 anymore it is just 5.0 ...did 3.0 allowyou to adjust settings?

[Roger_Cavanagh]

I was mooching around on the Internet (surfing sounds much too active for what I was doing :) ) and came across this page:

http://www.ledet.com/margulis/articles.html

There are some good articles and old discussion threads put together by Dan Margulis (who, I guess, is well known to Photoshop old hands). In particular, there's a very interesting article by Dan on sharpening and a discussion thread about enlargements.


Cheers,

Roger

[Griffin]

How about putting the question in the other way round :- is sharpening a must? Personally, I put sharpening a standard in my workflow but sometime, I don't "feel like" doing so. Sometimes, I feel like is okay without being sharpened. Or I feel sharpening would destory the mood of the picture, which happen mostly to landscape photos? I feel uncertain, that is why I ask this question.

Thank you for all of your kind attention.

[Dick]

>>How about putting the question in the other way round :- is sharpening a must?

I think it is generally agreed that digital cameras produce photos with less "edge contrast" than conventional film cameras.

"Sharpening" enhances the edge contrast in a photo. In most cases I think sharpening significantly improves the way a D30 photo looks. I utilize nikSharpener Pro and am very pleased with the results.

As with ALL image enhancement tools choosing to sharpen is an artistic choice made by the photographer/editor to achieve the optimal effect desire.