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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Sharpening ?
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Showing posts 1 - 13 of 13, (reverse)
AuthorThread
 03/11/2005 09:41:25 PM · #1
I have a quick question. When you USM, do you examine the picture at 100% or do you view in Print Size to decide how much sharpening you want? For example, I have a pic I want to print. If I view it at 100% the sharpening is very noticeable and somewhat halo'd, but viewed in Print Size with the same settings there is no visible change.

Thanks for your help.

Jen
 03/11/2005 09:45:12 PM · #2
All that really matters is how it looks on the screen, for DPC posting. However, if it is noticeable at 100% it is probably too much for optimum viewing anyway. Are you aware that as soon as you apply an effect you can go to "edit" menu and "fade" the effect? This is very useful; set it a little sharper than you think you need and fade it down to where it looks best.

Robt.
 03/11/2005 09:50:56 PM · #3
I always view sharpening at 100% and also do a auick check of possible problem areas at 200%. It's much easier to see the beginnings of sharpening artifacts at 200% than at 100%.
Viewing at "print size" can have unpredictable results, since the size at which the image is displayed is affected by the DPI setting. Try (without resampling!)setting DPI at 300, view at print size; then set the DPI to 72, and view at print size again. Big change. At 72DPI, you're essentially viewing at approximately 100%.
 03/11/2005 09:53:19 PM · #4
I had assumed she was referring to sharpening done at 72 dpi, which is always my final step before posting. In the full size image, definitely view at 100% or more, there should be NO visible artifacts at that size.

Robt.



Message edited by author 2005-03-11 21:54:10.
 03/11/2005 09:53:54 PM · #5
Robt, thanks for the reply. I'm not working on the image for online posting. I'm preparing it to print. The pic is cropped to 7.5x9.5 (for mat window) and is 2669 x 3381 pixels. With USM set, for example, at 500%, ratius .3, and threshold 3 the 100% view looks halo'd. When I view Print Size, there is no visible sharpening. I'm a bit confused because I want to make a print and so I'm thinking if the Print Size view isn't showing a sharp image, then the actual print won't either. Is that incorrect?

Thanks for the tip on "Fade". I didn't know that! I should probably explore some of the tools a bit more but I use the same things over and over and I'm in a bit of a rut. :-) Thanks again. I'll try it out.

Jen
 03/11/2005 09:57:26 PM · #6
Your monitor is much lower resilution then the printer will be so things that will not show up when viewed on the computer screen will be visible on the print. You my find that you don't need to do much if any sharpening if you are making prints at 8 x 10 or smaller.
 03/11/2005 10:02:11 PM · #7
Jen,
IMO 500% is pretty heavy application, even at the low 0.3 radius. I usually use 100% to 150% at 0.3 Radius and 3 Threshold, fade with "darken" blend mode, then repeat with same settings but "lighten" blend mode.
03/11/2005 10:02:41 PM · #8
Thanks Fritz and Scott. I guess I'll view in 100% (or 200%) instead of Print Size. I just didn't want to get back bad prints. I had never noticed such a difference before. Luckily the prints were okay, though.

Thanks again, guys, for all of your help!

Jen
 03/11/2005 10:40:45 PM · #9
Originally posted by kirbic:
Jen,
IMO 500% is pretty heavy application, even at the low 0.3 radius. I usually use 100% to 150% at 0.3 Radius and 3 Threshold, fade with "darken" blend mode, then repeat with same settings but "lighten" blend mode.


Fritz, thanks again for the tip. I tried those settings and there was no noticeable change on this image. Here is a 100% crop.

And, if interested, here is the photo I'm working on. It's six stitched images. This has been sharpened.




03/11/2005 10:43:42 PM · #10
Looks good Jen!
Shequaga looks beautiful in winter, I've only been there in Summer. Still hoping to do another Watkins Glen shoot one of these years...
 03/11/2005 10:52:50 PM · #11
Originally posted by kirbic:
Looks good Jen!
Shequaga looks beautiful in winter, I've only been there in Summer. Still hoping to do another Watkins Glen shoot one of these years...


Thanks! Get on out here. I'm always reading to go shooting. So long as the temp is above 40!! :-D
 03/11/2005 11:04:22 PM · #12
Originally posted by ButterflySis:
Robt, thanks for the reply. I'm not working on the image for online posting. I'm preparing it to print. The pic is cropped to 7.5x9.5 (for mat window) and is 2669 x 3381 pixels. With USM set, for example, at 500%, ratius .3, and threshold 3 the 100% view looks halo'd. When I view Print Size, there is no visible sharpening. I'm a bit confused because I want to make a print and so I'm thinking if the Print Size view isn't showing a sharp image, then the actual print won't either. Is that incorrect?

Thanks for the tip on "Fade". I didn't know that! I should probably explore some of the tools a bit more but I use the same things over and over and I'm in a bit of a rut. :-) Thanks again. I'll try it out.

Jen


This is my favorite method of sharpening for print:

1. Do all your post processing except sharpening (including any resampling you wish to do).

2. Convert your image to Lab Color mode

3. Select the "lightness" channel

4. Apply the unsharp mask to that channel wtih the following settings:

- Amount: 100%
- Radius: (.1% of the number of pixels on the long side - 3.3 in your case)
- Threshold: 2 levels

5. Convert back to RGB color

This method works very well for several reasons. First of all, since you are only applying sharpening to the lightness channel, the 'halo' effect created by some sharpening is significantly reduced or even eliminated. The lightness channel contains no color data, so the sharpening doesn't affect the color in the image to produce the halos. Since the halo effect is significantly reduced, you can often apply more sharpening than you normally would. The .1% figure almost always provides me with the maximum amount of sharpening I can get for any given image. There are certain cases where it is too much though and I have to back it off some.

Your lenses will have 'sweet spots' where they are naturally very sharp. My 24-70 lens produces extremely sharp images when I'm shooting on a tripod at f/5.6 or f/8 at somewhere between 35 and 50mm in the focal length. These images usually only require .05% on the pixel setting of the USM.

You should play around with this and see what your results look like. If you are not sure of the print results you are going to get, you will need to make some proof prints. It's always a good idea to make a couple proof prints of anything you intend to distribute anyway.
 03/11/2005 11:14:10 PM · #13
Looking at the 100% crop I don't think you need to sharpen. At the size you are printing you will be printing at a bit over 350 DPI, what seems blury at 100% will look very sharp when printed.
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