Canon's USM recommendation

when they suggest 300% / 0.3 /0 do they mean you to apply this to the 100% image or the resized image?

Sharpening should be the last thing you do. If your final image has to be resized, you apply it after.

thats what I normally do, except maybe if using some RAW sharpening but their starting point seems way too much sharpening for most uses, certainly for 800x600 i've never gone over 180/0.3/0

I've had that same question in my head for a long time. I always save sharpening for the last step, but that doesn't seem to jive with using the 300/.3/0 settings Canon suggests. It seems to me, those settings really only should apply to a full-rez image which is typically not available in the last step. I've always wondered if that setting is really a suggestion for capture sharpening, as they're way too aggressive for a smaller image that has been downsized.

300% is a lot. I get terrible noise if I do that.

300 is for %100 images.

Try this.

200, 0.3,0
15,100,0

resize then again:

175, 0.3,0

If the image needs contrast (don't apply any beforehand) then:
15,100,0

See if you like it. The bold number above is the variable number you should salt to taste.

Exactly, that 300% canon recommends is NOT for small images to posted on the net, it's for using the 100% to PRINT.

So the way I'm understanding it, 300/0.3/0 is really only useful if you're not interpolating the image prior to print? It just seems weird that that setting gets thrown around so much when it's probably only useful for a small portion of prints (at least in my case, as I tend to crop/resize most pics). I'm just glad I finally figured out that I didn't have to use it on all of my shots once I got more familiar with PP work.

Since I got PSE5 I've stopped using USM and use "adjust sharpness" and "lens blur" or "lens motion". It does a far better job at sharpening the image well without making it look artifical or destroying the image.

for resize, i normally use between 100-175/0.3/0 depending on the photos. usually i start from 150 and go from there. i have a batch resize action that resize, add usm, add borders, save as ... usually works fine for majority of pics i take.

for portraits, ill usually add a quick mask and only add USM to certain areas.

What about in CS3 now with Smart Objects? They filter now stays even when resized? Any thoughts? I follow their suggestions, but I usually use anywhere from 100-300% dending on the photo. So when used with a smart object I don't appear to need to reapply it when downsized.

For 800px images, I'm using about 100, 0.6-9, 0-1
For 12X18" prints; about 100 1.3-2.0, 0-1
Sometimes I select the important part & just sharpen that.

cosworth wrote in post #3608923
300 is for %100 images.

Try this.

200, 0.3,0
15,100,0

resize then again:

175, 0.3,0

If the image needs contrast (don't apply any beforehand) then:
15,100,0

See if you like it. The bold number above is the variable number you should salt to taste.

if the image needs contrast - do you mean if you apply contrast at this stage you then do that last USM?
Anyway without any contrast adjustment or that last pass - your workflow and 4 others:

http://www.pbase.com …n/gallery/sharp​ening_test