New Camera Raw sharpening or PK Sharpener

[Joe S]

I have been using PK Sharpener 2 with CS3 and have been very happy with the results.   I like the fact that it is an "automatic" process with good results.   I have now downloaded, used  and will upgrade to CS6 and understand that it is best to capture sharpen in Camera Raw.   I have been working on this and reading the Real World Camera Raw CS5 book but am having real trouble seeing where to stop with the adjustments.  I don't have a good sense of the advice "to stop before it gets crunchy".   Is there anyway to correlate between PK capture sharpening and the settings in Camera Raw?   I do not use Lightroom, just Camera Raw.   I have been adjusting the image in Camera Raw, moving to photoshop and applying the PK capture sharpening and continuing on to PK output sharpening.  Am I possibly better off continuing this way?   I am printing 12x18 and 16x24 landscape black and white images.

[Schewe]

Is there anyway to correlate between PK capture sharpening and the settings in Camera Raw?   I do not use Lightroom, just Camera Raw.

No...there isn't. The PKS routines were designed first by Bruce Fraser and then by Mac Holbert to do optimal sharpening based on source and edge frequency. This was based on trial and error and lots of tweaking. You can get equal or better results in ACR 6 (or the CS6 version ACR 7) but...it's not as automatic. It's user driven. I don't go into extensive sharpening in RWCR, but I did in Real World Image Sharpening (different book). But, the main goal is to make the image look "good" at 100% zoom in ACR.

The single biggest problem I see people having is not understanding the relationship between proper sharpening and selecting the correct radius setting. You want under a radius of 1 pixel for high frequency images and over 1 for low frequency images. I also see people struggle with the Detail slider...the default is 25 which is basically mostly halo suppression. 25 or lower is generally used for low frequency images while higher (40-60) for high frequency images. This will tend to hit image noise as well which is one reason I think luminance noise reduction is always needed even with low ISO images.

I also suggest to use edge masking...you want the sharpening to be mostly on the edges and not the surfaces. So, I always tend to use 10-25 for masking even high frequency images. Obviously if you are working with lower frequency images you may need more masking.

Creative sharpening and output sharpening in Photoshop would still want to be PKS or other pixel based tweaks. But personally I always use ACR/LR for capture sharpening. The key is to learn how to get over the hump.

You might want to check out the Camera to Print and Screen tutorials from LuLa...we go into a lot of discussion regarding image quality and how to optimize it...

[kim]

The single biggest problem I see people having is not understanding the relationship between proper sharpening and selecting the correct radius setting. You want under a radius of 1 pixel for high frequency images and over 1 for low frequency images.

Interesting point but I'm having trouble understanding the above point so I can put the recommendation into practice. Could you help those of us who don't understand what "high frequency image" and "low frequency image" means or point us towards examples.

Thanks in advance.

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

I think the biggest problem at capture sharpening when done manually is, to understand NOT to go into creative sharpening. People generally tend to oversharpen. Its just to remove the blur introduced by the capture process. Nothing more. And its not at all to resolve focusing problems.

[JimGoshorn]

Low frequency images would be along the lines of a portrait and a high frequency image would be a landscape with plenty of detail.

Jim

[JonathanRimmel]

What about an image with a great deal of noise? I have a tendency to use a higher radius, and lower detail to prevent the noise from going nuts.

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

What about an image with a great deal of noise? I have a tendency to use a higher radius, and lower detail to prevent the noise from going nuts.

I always first denoise if there's any relevant noise.

[jenea]

No...there isn't. The PKS routines were designed first by Bruce Fraser and then by Mac Holbert to do optimal sharpening based on source and edge frequency. This was based on trial and error and lots of tweaking. You can get equal or better results in ACR 6 (or the CS6 version ACR 7) but...it's not as automatic. It's user driven. I don't go into extensive sharpening in RWCR, but I did in Real World Image Sharpening (different book). But, the main goal is to make the image look "good" at 100% zoom in ACR.

The single biggest problem I see people having is not understanding the relationship between proper sharpening and selecting the correct radius setting. You want under a radius of 1 pixel for high frequency images and over 1 for low frequency images. I also see people struggle with the Detail slider...the default is 25 which is basically mostly halo suppression. 25 or lower is generally used for low frequency images while higher (40-60) for high frequency images. This will tend to hit image noise as well which is one reason I think luminance noise reduction is always needed even with low ISO images.

I also suggest to use edge masking...you want the sharpening to be mostly on the edges and not the surfaces. So, I always tend to use 10-25 for masking even high frequency images. Obviously if you are working with lower frequency images you may need more masking.

Creative sharpening and output sharpening in Photoshop would still want to be PKS or other pixel based tweaks. But personally I always use ACR/LR for capture sharpening. The key is to learn how to get over the hump.

You might want to check out the Camera to Print and Screen tutorials from LuLa...we go into a lot of discussion regarding image quality and how to optimize it...

A great summary. I've been trying to say exactly what you just said to my son but have had no luck. But now that a clear write up from someone else is available, he gets it!

My son and I thank you

[Joe S]

Since I first asked this question I have tried to arrive at some general guidelines because  I have a difficult time judging subtle differences in the settings.   Here is what I have come up with.   Please feel free to advise or correct. 

Guidelines for sharpening in ACR for detailed high frequency landscape low ISO  images  are:
Amount  40-80
Radius  .6-.8
Detail  35-80
Masking  10-25
Luminance noise reduction 10-25

Amount depends on the camera  sensor and it's anti aliasing filter.. use the lower end for a Leica M9 without a filter and higher end higher for a Canon with a heavier anti aliasing filter.
Radius lower end for really fine detail.
Detail can go to the high end to compensate for using some noise reduction even in a low ISO image.

[steveWetzel]

I am really trying to learn to sharpen well and have just read RWIS by Bruce and Jeff.  I am starting to understand but am by no means an expert.  I agree in general with your settings for a high frequency image like a landscape (HF images have lots of edge transitions, LF have few.  A portrait would be primarily a LF image but the hair would be HF),  I would take down the radius to 0.5 as a lower limit.

One thing I am struggling with is using the option key when sharpening in lightroom.  I understand what I am seeing in regard to the mask for sure (black conceals, white reveils),  I THINK I understand what I see when I hold option down and move the radius slider - I think I see broader or narrower halos.  I really do not understand what I am looking for when I hold option down while moving detail  - I know a higher detail shows more sharpening going on but how much do I want?  Also amount gives more sharpening as it is pushed higher.  High Amount and low detail seem similar to high detail and low amount.  How do I choose optimal settings?

Optimal settings seems to me to be a bit misleading as it infers to me that one setting is better then all other settings.  It would be great if there were a place where I could download optimally capture sharpened images and look at them on secret to help me see what I am shooting for.  I guess that is the key thing.  As I am not confident what my target is, I find it very hard to hit it!

Steve

[LeonD]

And I'll also jump on the sharpening as a "black art" ship.

I used PhotoKit Sharpener with CS3 and liked the results.  I recently upgraded to PKS version 2 then decided to try Lightroom 4 only to find out I can't use PKS with Lightroom.   

While I'll eventually get decent results with LR4, I really feel like it's hit or miss; just moving the sliders till it looks good.

[Schewe]

I really do not understand what I am looking for when I hold option down while moving detail  - I know a higher detail shows more sharpening going on but how much do I want?  Also amount gives more sharpening as it is pushed higher.  High Amount and low detail seem similar to high detail and low amount.  How do I choose optimal settings?

When you hold the option/alt key and move the sliders you are seeing the halo suppression with lower numbers and deconvolution sharpening when you move it higher. Depending on the radius setting this can either increase the textural sharpening in low radius or be used to de-emphasize the the texture when using a lower detail with a higher radius. If you use a higher radius (such as for faces at about 1.4) the detail slide can cut down on the edge hardness while still allowing a higher amount. And of course, adding edge masking can help cut down on the sharpening being applied to non-edge surfaces.

I really can't tell anybody what numbers to use for your own cameras and images...it doesn't work that way. But if you are shooting clean lower ISO sharp images (no camera/subject motion) set the radius first to either lower than or more than 1 (the default) based on the edge frequency; landscapes tend to need lower and people/faces need higher. Based on your radius set the detail slider to enhance or deemphasize texture and run the amount up until it looks "good". Not over sharpened nor under sharpened. Then use edge masking to protect large non-edge surfaces. Finally, add luminance noise reduction to cut down on the increase of noise.

[steveWetzel]

Many thanks for that response Jeff, having a set order to do things in will help greatly in me getting started on the correct track.  I know that there is not one perfect order but I will start to learn by setting radius first, then detail, then amount, then mask.  I realize that this is not the perfect progression for every image, but I think that if I start this way it may help me to learn.  I think I need to re-read your book more then once to really understand things (though I understand sharpening way better then before I read your book).  Do you know of jpg examples online or on a web page showing 1:1 optimally capture sharpened images?

[JonathanRimmel]

When you hold the option/alt key and move the sliders you are seeing the halo suppression with lower numbers and deconvolution sharpening when you move it higher. Depending on the radius setting this can either increase the textural sharpening in low radius or be used to de-emphasize the the texture when using a lower detail with a higher radius. If you use a higher radius (such as for faces at about 1.4) the detail slide can cut down on the edge hardness while still allowing a higher amount. And of course, adding edge masking can help cut down on the sharpening being applied to non-edge surfaces.

I really can't tell anybody what numbers to use for your own cameras and images...it doesn't work that way. But if you are shooting clean lower ISO sharp images (no camera/subject motion) set the radius first to either lower than or more than 1 (the default) based on the edge frequency; landscapes tend to need lower and people/faces need higher. Based on your radius set the detail slider to enhance or deemphasize texture and run the amount up until it looks "good". Not over sharpened nor under sharpened. Then use edge masking to protect large non-edge surfaces. Finally, add luminance noise reduction to cut down on the increase of noise.

This explanation really helps. At the college I am currently employed I often take high iso images of people. The noise always throws me for a loop when sharpening. I have been thinking I should set the radius higher for people especially. Looks like I was right.