oscar_van_der_velde Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 <p>I was already a happy user of Canon's Digital Photo Professional for my RAW images, but I have to say the new Unsharp Mask function is really useful and can reveal details left invisible by the original sharpening method. I just played with a number of images and my findings are:</p> <ul> <li>"Sharpen" (the original) enhances shadow details better, has less tendency for halos, which retains colors better, but does not sharpen fine details and textures in mid and high tones, such as skin, flower petals or light rock formations. These will have a smooth baby-skin or plastic appearance which is not always desirable.</li> <li>"Unsharp mask" defaults to a "Fineness" of 7, which is pretty rough, but when set to a value around 2 it renders quite pleasantly, when "Strength" is 1-3. The "Threshold" can be set low, which enhances fine details a lot, except in the shadows (and also in dark hairs). One has to be much more careful with halos and noise here, obviously. For dark images and shadows the original "Sharpen" method seems more effective.</li> </ul> <p>And suddenly my lenses perform a lot better :)<br> Download it from the Canon site (English version): <a href="http://software.canon-europe.com/software/0039356.asp">http://software.canon-europe.com/software/0039356.asp</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumo_kun Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 <p>Unsharp mask has been a staple sharpening method for a long while now. I'm not sure how it rates in the current top editors like PS but I think there are better methods now.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuppyDigs Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 <p>USM is best used as the final step before printing because the image looks best when the amount is optimized for print size. Also, it works best if applied selectively and not globally to the entire image (e.g., skip dark shadows and skies) or it will bring out noise. For these reasons I use little sharpening during RAW conversion but wait until after I resize for print or web galleries.</p> Sometimes the light’s all shining on me. Other times I can barely see. - Robert Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbkissel Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 <p>Thanks for the link, Oscar.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_stemberg Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 <p>For those that are interested here is a link for the most recent DPP ver 3.9 Instruction Manuals...<br> <br /> link~: <a href="http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300004038/01/dpp39-w-en.pdf">for Windows machines</a><br> <br /> link~: <a href="http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/0300004056/01/ib66-m-en.pdf">for Macintosh machines.</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now