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RAW sharpening



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 23rd 04, 02:30 PM
embee
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Default RAW sharpening

Hi, I use Capture One to process my RAW files (adjust white balance, tweak
EV, some curves adjustments and sharpness) then edit the TIFF in Photoshop
7. It's just occurred to me that I am sharpening my images twice - once in
C1 (although nothing too severe) then again in PS after all my editing is
completed. Should I just leave the sharpening until the end of the process
(ie. disable all sharpening in C1 and use Unsharp Mask in PS as my very last
editing task)?


  #2  
Old December 23rd 04, 03:04 PM
Bill Hilton
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From: "embee"

Hi, I use Capture One to process my RAW files (adjust white balance, tweak
EV, some curves adjustments and sharpness) then edit the TIFF in Photoshop
7. It's just occurred to me that I am sharpening my images twice - once in
C1 (although nothing too severe) then again in PS after all my editing is
completed. Should I just leave the sharpening until the end of the process
(ie. disable all sharpening in C1 and use Unsharp Mask in PS as my very last
editing task)?


Lot of well-informed people are now sharpening RAW files twice, once with a
small amount during or shortly after conversion, a second more agressive time
when the file is edited, resized and ready to print. The first small hit
restores the sharpness lost to the AA filter ... Canon recommends USM 300% amt,
..3 radius, 0 threshold for the first hit, for example ... the C1 default
settings are very mild (lower than the Canon recommendation) so you can either
use the C1 default or turn it off in the Preferences box and run an action in
PS to do the Canon-recommended default.

There's a bug in C1 with several cameras, if you disable sharpening in
conversion you get a narrow black line about 2 pixels wide on one side of the
image, so they recommend leaving it on. This bug was introduced in v 3.5 and
is in the current version as well (wasn't in the earlier ones) ... I see it
with the 1D Mark II and the 1Ds, for example.

The above USM guidelines are for Canon dSLRs, other camera makers may recommend
something different and some don't even have an AA filter, which may mean you
should skip the first step.

Bill
  #3  
Old December 23rd 04, 05:12 PM
Alan Browne
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Default

embee wrote:

Hi, I use Capture One to process my RAW files (adjust white balance, tweak
EV, some curves adjustments and sharpness) then edit the TIFF in Photoshop
7. It's just occurred to me that I am sharpening my images twice - once in
C1 (although nothing too severe) then again in PS after all my editing is
completed. Should I just leave the sharpening until the end of the process
(ie. disable all sharpening in C1 and use Unsharp Mask in PS as my very last
editing task)?


Not only that, but say you end up saving three versions at different sizes.
Each one should USM'd at its final size before saving. And the parameters in
USM will likely be different for each.

Cheers,
Alan


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  #4  
Old December 23rd 04, 05:31 PM
C J Campbell
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Default

It seems to be a truism in general that adjustments should be made in small
increments rather than all at once.


  #5  
Old December 23rd 04, 05:31 PM
embee
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Default


"Bill Hilton" wrote in message
...
From: "embee"


Hi, I use Capture One to process my RAW files (adjust white balance,

tweak
EV, some curves adjustments and sharpness) then edit the TIFF in

Photoshop
7. It's just occurred to me that I am sharpening my images twice - once

in
C1 (although nothing too severe) then again in PS after all my editing is
completed. Should I just leave the sharpening until the end of the

process
(ie. disable all sharpening in C1 and use Unsharp Mask in PS as my very

last
editing task)?


Lot of well-informed people are now sharpening RAW files twice, once with

a
small amount during or shortly after conversion, a second more agressive

time
when the file is edited, resized and ready to print. The first small hit
restores the sharpness lost to the AA filter ... Canon recommends USM 300%

amt,
.3 radius, 0 threshold for the first hit, for example ... the C1 default
settings are very mild (lower than the Canon recommendation) so you can

either
use the C1 default or turn it off in the Preferences box and run an action

in
PS to do the Canon-recommended default.

There's a bug in C1 with several cameras, if you disable sharpening in
conversion you get a narrow black line about 2 pixels wide on one side of

the
image, so they recommend leaving it on. This bug was introduced in v 3.5

and
is in the current version as well (wasn't in the earlier ones) ... I see

it
with the 1D Mark II and the 1Ds, for example.

The above USM guidelines are for Canon dSLRs, other camera makers may

recommend
something different and some don't even have an AA filter, which may mean

you
should skip the first step.

Bill


I see. I was concerned that I was running a higher risk of introducing
sharpening artifacts by using two different programmes (they must use
different sharpening algorithms??) However, from your very helpful post I
think I shall just carry on doing things in my normal way, although I shall
probably reduce the amount of sharpening I do in C1, relying more on the
final USM in OS just before I print. Thanks.


  #6  
Old December 23rd 04, 05:34 PM
bmoag
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One of the most surprising aspects of the D70 to me was how little
sharpening is applied at the default settings, let alone RAW/NEF. It is
disconcerting because it is actually difficult to evaluate focus on some
images when first viewed in Photoshop.

I believe it is best to avoid sharpening until you are ready to print. If
their are no adjustment sublayers containing image data the most convenient
thing is to create a duplicate layer and try different sharpening
techniques.


  #7  
Old December 23rd 04, 05:34 PM
bmoag
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Posts: n/a
Default

One of the most surprising aspects of the D70 to me was how little
sharpening is applied at the default settings, let alone RAW/NEF. It is
disconcerting because it is actually difficult to evaluate focus on some
images when first viewed in Photoshop.

I believe it is best to avoid sharpening until you are ready to print. If
their are no adjustment sublayers containing image data the most convenient
thing is to create a duplicate layer and try different sharpening
techniques.


  #8  
Old December 23rd 04, 09:00 PM
Bill Hilton
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Lot of well-informed people are now sharpening RAW files twice

From: "embee"

I was concerned that I was running a higher risk of introducing
sharpening artifacts by using two different programmes (they must use
different sharpening algorithms??)


The key is to just barely touch it up with the first pass so you don't add
artifacts, then really sharpen it to the nth degree on the final image.

from your very helpful post I
think I shall just carry on doing things in my normal way, although I shall
probably reduce the amount of sharpening I do in C1, relying more on the
final USM in OS just before I print.


Yeah, the default value in C1 is very low and pretty safe, it barely sharpens
at all ... if you're interested in the theory behind this here are two links,
first from one of the really smart Photoshop guys, author of several "Real
World Photoshop" books Bruce Fraser (called "A two pass approach to sharpening
in Photoshop") ...
http://www.creativepro.com/story/fea...l?origin=story

.... and the Canon article I mentioned that recommends running an initial USM of
300/0.3/0 is here in pdf format, by Sr. Tech guru Chuck Westfall ... it's over
1 MB so takes a while to download but it's worth it ... the pdf is mainly about
how to get the most from the Canon 1D series professional cameras but there's a
lot of good general data ... http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/EOS_Digital.pdf
.... the remarks on why you need a small touch of USM on the converted file is
on pg 4.

What I do is just try it and see if I have problems with artifacts after the
second, final at-print-size USM ... when I convert with C1 I use their default
(mainly so I won't get the black line but when I convert with Adobe CS RAW I
run a quickie action to do the 300%/0.3/0 USM per Westfall's suggestion and
I've yet to see any problems further down the line even after resampling the
files 250% for large prints, which is where it's most likely to show.

If you do see problems late in the flow just back off on the original USM but
at least with the Canon's I've used I didn't see a problem.

Bill


 




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