Camera Labs

Hi All

I am wondering how much it is possible to sharpen a "soft" image during post-processing with a program such as Photoshop. Could this be a useful tool? Do any of you do this? Thanks,

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Russ

Hi Russ, I've moved this to the software section.

Yep, you can sharpen to your heart's content with programs like Photoshop, although you have to be careful not to go too far if you want realistic-looking results. Most people use the Unsharp Mask filter which provides the best results. If your image isn't focused properly though, it won't help much...

So it all depends on what you mean by soft...

Gordon

I do it occasionally, but only to the point that the body (of the D80) would have allowed. I have my D80 always set to normal sharpening and apply any additional sharpening as postprocessing (with CaptureNX).
Usecases are: slight shake, slight out-of-focus, or to give a finely grained structure more oomph/contrast.
If you have more than slight shake or out-of-focus, you're out of luck. Also be careful if you have some grain due to high-ISO/low-light: Sharpening will make the pic even more grainy.
See a 100% crop (409x578 pix)of one of those finely structured pics from NZ at 0 sharpening (left) and at full sharpening (right).


On the D80 normal sharpening factory default is "3" at a scale from 0..5. If you use the unsharpen mask of CaptureNX or Photoshop you can get more pronounced results.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses