New Free Sharpening Action

[drisley]

After trying many of the great sharpening plugins available, I decided to try making one of my own (actions for Photoshop).
It provides selective edge sharpening without adding noise or affecting 'flat areas' (such as the sky).

Additionally it gently increases the contrast in dark, 'shadowy' areas of the images for a nice effect.
The sharpening is very mild, as I tend not to like oversharpening images.

It's best suited for 2-4 mpixel images. Anything smaller may not work well.

I did this just for fun (that is why it's free) and for my own needs. Give it a try and let me know what you like (or dislike, please be kind :) )

It's nothing ground breaking, but I think it does a nice job on most images.

Here is the link:
http://threedee1.tripod.com/sharpnsmart/sharpnsmart.html

[slejhamer]

I like it! I've only run it on one test image, but at first glance it seems more subtle than Miranda's free 8-bit sharpener, which is part of my workflow. Might be time for a change!

Question: Why did you post this in camera-specific forums instead of the software forum? :)

[drisley]

Doh, I didnt realize there was a software forum!
Thanks for the info :)

[slejhamer]

drisley wrote:
Doh :)


LOL!

:)

Hey, whoa, look where we are! The elves must be at work!

[drisley]

Update coming on Feb 13th.

Improvements:
-200-400% speed increase
-Much cleaner effect on any letters or sharp edges in an image.

[marrco]

went to your website.. no link for download, only one to buy that action. Wan't it a free download ?

[jd_D60]

Well heres my action www.actions\free and its only $10.
it tones well, corrects bad photos and makes um into something special.........only kidding

Com on if your gone advise a free action for people to try out don't change your mind a few days later and charge $x for it

[gandini]

I think the problem is that the old post's title remains on this thread, when drisley has decided to charge for his action. And that's quite OK. Fred Miranda charges for his actions, and many people (like me) are happy to pay for them.
btw drisley's action is $7 through paypal. Might be worth it, might not... I tried the original freebie and it messed up my PS session. But YMMV.

cheers, and good luck to the brave souls who offer actions and software for the rest of us morons with little hope of ever being adequately compensated,

[drisley]

gandini wrote:
I think the problem is that the old post's title remains on this thread, when drisley has decided to charge for his action. And that's quite OK. Fred Miranda charges for his actions, and many people (like me) are happy to pay for them.
btw drisley's action is $7 through paypal. Might be worth it, might not... I tried the original freebie and it messed up my PS session. But YMMV.

cheers, and good luck to the brave souls who offer actions and software for the rest of us morons with little hope of ever being adequately compensated,



Thanks for the post Gandini.
Sorry to hear that the free plugin gave you trouble. The original free plugin was quite bulky, and it's gone thru a complete overhaul since then. The problem that you experienced (with multiple open files) has now been fixed :)
If you email me at sharpnsmart@canada.com, I will send you the latest 16 bit version for free. I am sure you will find it works much better.