Moose concisely and eloquently pointed out in his article how
sharperning is almost always beneficial in a digitized image.
http://zone-10.com/cmsm/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=149&Itemid=1
I have been interested in deconvolution algorithms as well. I am not
sure they really qualify as shapening per se though they ameliorate
blur and increase sharpness independent of cause of blur. One problem
is that they generally assume the point spread function (PSF) is
Gaussian with a variable radius and attempt to undo it with an
iterative function. There are 3rd party free standing software
available as well such as Focus Magic, but adding it into the workflow
is a pain. Thanks for bringing up Raw Developer.
I have always been intrigued by DXO as they use deconvolution
techniques with prior knowledge of the lens/sensor system focal length,
focus point etc and have to make many fewer assumptions. I have thought
of it as free MTF. Their previous raw converter was crummy and an
Achilles heel. With their stable of optics Ph.D's they should have hit
it out of the park, but they were slow in making the interface and
workflow nice to use. Way not worth the price of admission w/o a 100%
supported body and lens. It is sort of PT lens/Neat Image and
deconvolution with a raw converter all in one. It is focal length AND
focus point aware and can also ameliorate CA which may a function of
both. Nonetheless, a
carefully Moose processed image with layers of
Neat image and selective sharpening have looked nicer to me than some
DXO G9 images which sometimes looked overbaked, despite a trace more
detail.
One click on "vivid" from a raw file for some landscapes is quite an
easy procedure and pretty nice, though burns clock cycles. (The
newest version can hang some 64 bit Vista boxes too) I may try it a bit
more and improve the defaults to save time with some lots of images.
Not too many lately as it is approaching 0deg F here.
Oh, the geometric distortion correction in DXO seems to result in some
loss of detail too--not sure why. Might be worth a free trial download
if you have a supported comibination.
Mike
Did you try Raw Developer? I know you like SilkyPix but this
software blows away any RAW software? It also allow you to use ICC
profiles. I created a custom icc profile with more than 600 color
patches and then fine tunned it, modifying 3d cluts for perfect skin
reproduction desaturing this range of hues and the rest of colours with
an increased colour saturation to emulate Ektachrome E-100G. I am really
satisfied. ;) Sharpening with this software is also awesome. It allows
using Richardson-Lucy deconvolution algotrithms!!! They were previously
used for focusing blurred Hubble images before replacing the faulty
glass element. You can also use Early stage noise reduction feature. It
´s li
ke modifying E-1 AA filter effectiveness. As you know, it´s very
common to see labyrinth maze patterns in cameras with weak AA filters
when sharpening in Raw Processing Workflow. After wasting some weeks
fine tuning the software options, now I can say without any doubt that
Olympus Studio weren´t taking E-1 to the limit.
--
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