20d image processing

[jerrythesnake]

Hi, i have been using digital cameras for a while now , i currently use the 20 d , i have never got round to the processing side of things. i want to sharpen some images also. all of my stored images are jpegs, can these be sharpened? also what discs do i use to upload to the computer. sorry for the 101 questions, cheers guys,, Jerry

[robertwgross]

Jerry, you can sharpen just about any image with just about any photo editor program. Canon probably gave you those programs on a disk with your camera.

If you shot a rather small JPEG file, and if it was compressed tightly, then you can sharpen it, but you will see some artifacts. That means, crap that shows around the edges. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

If you shot a rather large JPEG file, and if it was not compressed too tightly, then you can sharpen and get very good results. I recommend to work on a copy of the original, not the original itself, because each time you save a JPEG, you are potentially throwing away a tiny bit more of the detail (but that varies).

The natural tendency of a beginner is to over-sharpen his original image. Then, somebody notices that it looks a little fake. So, I recommend to under-sharpen until you see what you are doing. It just takes practice until you get a feel for it.

---Bob Gross---