Wayne S wrote:
> I've been using LCE fairly regularly with my ACR converted
> files. I have found that I need to reserve just a touch of room
> in the highlights as the LCE tends to spread the distribution
> just a bit. So I don't cut the highlights too close with levels
> before LCE, and I often have to reduce the exposure
> from what ACR wants on auto to preserve highlight room.
> (my LCE: 20-30 pixels at 20-30% typically).
> On some photos, just as you get a small halo affect with
> too much regular sharpening, you can get a large halo with
> LCE, for certain subject matter. LCE also seems to
> be very sensitive to the %, not so much to the pixels.
>
Johnny Johnson wrote:
> In the past I used LCE a lot but more and more I'm finding that it
> tends to blow detail at the upper end and block up the shadows. Have
> you had similar problems and how do you get around them?
I do watch the histogram when processing a RAW file to leave head and
sometimes tail room. I use Levels to move the histogram around is it's
not too long, but in the wrong place to leave room for the effects of
LCE. When I batch a bunch of film scans with fixed black and white %s, I
get a fair # that have extra room at the bottom and/or where I am happy
to lose some shadow detail. I also get histograms like that not
uncommonly with the P&Ss. So I have an action that opens Levels with a
-15 setting and I can adjust up or down from there.
With other images with full histograms, I sometimes Select Color and
either select the brightest bits or use the Highlights selection option
and copy them into a new layer that I leave up top as I do LCE, etc. on
other layers under it. That holds those areas free from the other
manipulation. I'll then turn that layer on and off to see what it's
doing. sometimes the loss of highlights turns out not to hurt at all,
and I just erase the layer. On others I adjust the opacity. On some,
esp. those like those Wiliam posted of Brugge, with bright, detailess
sky, I end up darkening that layer.to balance everything out.
I haven't been getting halos from LCE. Do you have Threshold set to 0?
Pixels also has to be pretty high. I don't remember how I settled on 50,
but I think it can't go much below that. I know some people use a Poxe;s
setting of 100 or more.
Moose
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