Capture Sharpening: Lightroom 1.1 or Photokit?

[eleanorbrown]

I would be interested if anyone has done any comparison testing of capture sharpening on high res files in Lightroom 1.1, with all the new controls, and Photokit sharpener capture sharpen.  I have been testing my Phase One files making use of all the sharpening options in 1.1 and comparing that to the Scan Back sharpen in Photokit.  At 200 percent viewing I still think Photokit is superior, but just by a hair.


Anyone else have any experience with this.  I too would like to see a Photokit module in Lightroom in the future.  Eleanor

[michael]

Until Adobe adds softproofing in Lightroom I still need to go to Photoshop with every file that's going to be printed, so I roundtrip out of Lightroom and use Photokit.

The sharpening in V1.1 is as good as that in Photokit, but it requires manual settings and some work. Of course output sharpening still needs Photokit as well.

Michael

[paulbk]

re: Canon Users, DPP version 3.0.1.5

fyi Canon Users,
Try latest DPP v3.0.1.5. RAW conversion color fidelity, tone mapping, and especially capture sharpening are outstanding. The interface is also much improved. Worth an hour or two to get the swing of the workflow.

DPP batch process for large bulk shoots (non fine art single shots), family events, etc.:
sort/cull keepers
set Style to "Standard or Neutral"
set Sharpness to "3"
Batch process convert to 16 bit TIFFs
Import TIFFs to Lighroom for Crops and tweaks (I really like the Lightroom crop and straighten tool)
Export for web posting, email, or print.

I print to Epson 4000 from PS CS2 or Qimage. PS CS3 print function gives me a personality disorder and is not good for my blood pressure.

p

ps: If the "Brightness adjusment" in DPP doesn't work for you, you can sometimes salvage blown highlights by doing a "Linear" covert from DPP combined with a normal conversion. In PS, copy/paste the Linear image over the normal and adjust "Fill Opacity" (not General Blend Opacity) on the Linear layer. It works.

[mcmorrison]

Hello,

If the sharpening in LR is intended as capture sharpening, I wonder if there is a "correct" solution for each camera, and if so, is there a need for any sliders at all? This is how I understand PK capture sharpening works.  Could LR be directed to look at the camera data (model, image size, etc) and "do the right thing"?

Having access to the sliders—just as in PK there is access to the sharpening layers for masking, etc—seems right too for image specific adjustments.

Best Regards,

Michael Morrison

[charleski]

If the sharpening in LR is intended as capture sharpening, I wonder if there is a "correct" solution for each camera, and if so, is there a need for any sliders at all?

You still need to decide on what type on content sharpening to include (Narrow Edge, Medium Edge, etc). PK's capture sharpening step really integrates the 'source' and 'content' steps from Bruce Fraser's workflow model. I liken the 'amount' slider to the fade amount that you can adjust on the PK sharpen layer, and the 'radius' slider to a more continuous form of the 'Wide'->'SuperFine' Edge options. I usually just leave detail far over to the left, and automatically push masking over to the right. So you can distill ACR sharpening down to the same sort of options that you need to think about in PKS anyway.

I've moved over entirely to using ACR 4.1's sharpening for the capture phase, I did some tests and concluded that I preferred the look of my photos when I used it. But PKS is still very useful for its Creative and Output modules.

[mcmorrison]

Hello,

Thanks for the insight, its useful!

What is your thinking on "Detail to the left" and "Masking to the right"?

Best Regards,

Michael Morrison

[X-Re]

In as much as the Detail slider is really more of a halo supression slider (if I understand how things are working correctly), it could seem a little counter-intuitive, when compared to the Masking slider. Moving the Detail slider to the right really means "less halo supression", whereas moving Masking to the right means "more edge masking". I think, in the desire to keep things as simple as possible, the Detail slider functions in a fashion that's supposed to be intuitive based on its name - slide to the right, you get more detail. And, I guess I could see that - really, though, it means slide to the right equals more halos - which might or might not give you more detail, depending on the picture in question....

Obviously, like any new tool, you just have to learn what things are really doing to your images, and use them in a fashion that works best for you....  I'm still enjoying noodling around and seeing how the sharpening stuff really works, so.... Mucho experimentation seems to lead to some understanding, in this regard...

[Hendrik]

I'm always lazy and only switch my workflow when it gives me a much faster or easier workflow or a better image. I tried sharpening in LR, but it needed more thinking from my side (which I don't like   ), therefore I still sharpen in PS with Photokit. The results from Photokit are always great, so no need to change.

I have and read the last book from Bruce: 'Image Sharpening', so I know the theory for optimal sharpening.