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rdproctor
Joined: 07 Oct 2009
Posts: 3
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:25 am
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Question: What is the best Image Sharpening Software? I've found about 4 main programs, wondering what others have experienced using them, Are they worth the money? Any comments will be appreciated.
Bob |
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hhltdave5
Joined: 20 Jun 2006
Posts: 10891
Location: Our stock and food photography books at www.rindersmithphotography.com
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:49 am
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I don't use image sharpening software. If your images are in focus there is no need for it. All these types of software do is to add contrast between light and dark areas. If an image is out of focus it is out of focus and all these do is give the appearance of being in better focus. |
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camdoc3
Joined: 30 Jun 2006
Posts: 739
Location: Trinidad&Tobago WI
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:39 am
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| hhltdave5 wrote: | | I don't use image sharpening software. If your images are in focus there is no need for it. All these types of software do is to add contrast between light and dark areas. If an image is out of focus it is out of focus and all these do is give the appearance of being in better focus. |
Same with me. |
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felix_casio
Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 1101
Location: www.felixtm.com
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:36 pm
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none used here as well. anything done to the image after taking it depletes the quality and causes artifacts and stuff. get it sharp out of camera, if it's not sharp enough get better glass or a better camera. My camera settings are always set to 0 for sharpness. if your getting focus rejections, try making your images smaller. |
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vclements
Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Posts: 1998
Location: http://www.vdavidclements.com
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 5:55 pm
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yup, get it right in camera.
If you images are not sharp - fix the cause rather than trying to fix the result later. |
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rdproctor
Joined: 07 Oct 2009
Posts: 3
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:05 pm
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Thanks for the advise, haven't been using any but have read about them, figure I would ask the pros, do use Hi Pass filter sometimes. I'm new at this microstock photo shooting, got a lot of 35mm over the years, Using an Olympus E30 very nice camera, just got my first 7 photos approved on the first try, made me feel good. |
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Mike Price
Joined: 06 Jun 2008
Posts: 823
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:35 pm
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I think if you do need to apply a small amount of sharpening the High pass filter in photoshop does the job very well and seems to work better in my opinion than the unsharp mask. The guys above are right in that taking the image so that no sharpening is required is the best policy.
Mike |
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stefan11488
Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 371
Location: United States
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 8:27 pm
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| Mike Price wrote: | I think if you do need to apply a small amount of sharpening the High pass filter in photoshop does the job very well and seems to work better in my opinion than the unsharp mask. The guys above are right in that taking the image so that no sharpening is required is the best policy.
Mike |
I agree and would further say that your specific output will dictate how much sharpening is needed. For example more sharpening can be used for an ink-jet print than for an image viewed on a monitor. just my two cents. -Stefan |
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jeffbanke
Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 7225
Location: www.xlr8photo.com
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:30 am
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Personally, I turn OFF all sharpening in the camera, and add any that I feel is neccessary in the RAW processor where I can view it at 100% and apply only the very minumum I feel is appropriate for the image. This way it is non destructive and I can be assured that it is only that which I feel is neccessary rather than Nikon's engineers, AND it is far better than anything in PS or any other software I have seen. |
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kenk
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Posts: 1593
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:44 am
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| jeffbanke wrote: | | Personally, I turn OFF all sharpening in the camera, and add any that I feel is neccessary in the RAW processor where I can view it at 100% and apply only the very minumum I feel is appropriate for the image. This way it is non destructive and I can be assured that it is only that which I feel is neccessary rather than Nikon's engineers, AND it is far better than anything in PS or any other software I have seen. |
Same here.
You want sharp pictures? Use a tripod and manually focus. |
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jeffbanke
Joined: 18 Dec 2005
Posts: 7225
Location: www.xlr8photo.com
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Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:24 pm
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| kenk wrote: | | jeffbanke wrote: | | Personally, I turn OFF all sharpening in the camera, and add any that I feel is neccessary in the RAW processor where I can view it at 100% and apply only the very minumum I feel is appropriate for the image. This way it is non destructive and I can be assured that it is only that which I feel is neccessary rather than Nikon's engineers, AND it is far better than anything in PS or any other software I have seen. |
Same here.
You want sharp pictures? Use a tripod and manually focus. |
And don't forget the remote control and mirror lockup! Two more ways to increase the quality (sharpness) of images! |
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turboal1960
Joined: 11 Dec 2008
Posts: 274
Location: Argentina
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:05 am
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A bit late but…
It depends on the specific lens that I’m using.
With a consumer zoom in the sweet f stop, my images need 40 -50 sharpening in ACR.
My best lenses’ images (For instance, the Tamron 90 mm f 2.8) looks better without sharpening, or with a soft one, near 25 in ACR. |
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kenk
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Posts: 1593
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:02 am
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| jeffbanke wrote: | | kenk wrote: | | jeffbanke wrote: | | Personally, I turn OFF all sharpening in the camera, and add any that I feel is neccessary in the RAW processor where I can view it at 100% and apply only the very minumum I feel is appropriate for the image. This way it is non destructive and I can be assured that it is only that which I feel is neccessary rather than Nikon's engineers, AND it is far better than anything in PS or any other software I have seen. |
Same here.
You want sharp pictures? Use a tripod and manually focus. |
Yes, I forgot to add that.
In PS, I use Smart Sharpen, after sizing the picture.
And don't forget the remote control and mirror lockup! Two more ways to increase the quality (sharpness) of images! |
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photohome
Joined: 08 Jun 2006
Posts: 2
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:04 pm
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ditto the comments about not needing sharpening software
also important for 'sharpenss' is the aperture you choose - either extreme of aperture is often less sharp than the middle setting (F8 and play safe etc) also if you have a zoom lens that often causes images to be less sharp than a prime lens. There are lots of things, as people have written above you can rule them out with a tripod, mirror lock up, suitable aperture and not using your lenses near their extremes
If you are getting rejections for 'lack of sharpness' the the problem is likely subject choice of subject (over populate category) or composition of the focus than a problem with you image not actually being 'sharp' |
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jimmygilmore
Joined: 05 Dec 2008
Posts: 1
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 9:15 pm
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One thing that wasn't mentioned here is using the right f-stop. All but the most expensive lenses are much sharper in the mid ranges and usually at the higher numbers. Using strobes will also help this situation.
That said. Shoot RAW. Sharpen in ACR or Lightroom. Anything over 20 is going to be noticeable at 100%. Or how your images will be evaluated. |
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