CS4 Sharpening For Web Issue

[Ed Cordes]

I have been using PK Sharpener for all my sharpening for quite some time. Since switching to CS4 I often have had comments on my images that state they are "over sharpened." I am using the same "sharpen for web and multi media" at "800 pixels narrow edge sharpen" that I was using before. The vast majority of the images I post are at 700 pixels (widest). I have tried "600 narrow edge" as well as a "medium edge" sharpening with the same result.

The following is a perfect example. http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=34274

In this image I selectively sharpened the GBH only for print, then after the usual conversion steps for the web applied PK web sharpening. Axel's comment RE the FG grass prompted this post. Other than the web sharpening there was no sharpening to the rest of the image - even for the print edition.

So, has anyone else had sharpening differences with PK after switching to CS4?

Could it be that LR is applying more "capture sharpening" than ACR thereby affecting this work flow down the line? The LR capture sharpening is 25%.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ed

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I don't use this sharpening software and can't help with that. GBHs are good to test the sharpening settings since their plumage looks oversharpened quickly. If those thin feathers look jagged then you might back up. I would not sharpen the grass at all or very little in a separate step.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Ed I use PK (great) but not for posting.

Will use the brushes to selectively help out areas (lightly), mostly the sharpening, dof and smoothing brushes. For posting I use smart sharpen on a layer and over sharpen some then back down to taste and brush away the unwanted areas.

btw do rely on PK as output for printing.

[Paul McAdams]

I don't know if this is of any help, but the amount of sharpening also depends on the camera.
For example, Canon says:

"Canon EOS digital cameras have an anti-aliasing filter installed on the image sensor.
This filter improves color rendition and practically eliminates moiré. The liability is a
slight reduction of sharpness. To reduce the softening effect of the anti-aliasing filter we
recommend applying an unsharp mask to the image in Adobe® Photoshop®. Although
there is no such thing as a “best” setting for all applications, we suggest the following
as a starting point:"

Amount: 300%
Radius: 0.3 pixels
Threshold: 0 pixels


I agree with Alfred. I am big fan of doing things on layers then backing down the opacity.

[Peter Hawrylyshyn]

Ed -
the following thread and links within it address your question:
http://forums.pixelgenius.com/showthread.php?t=1488

are you using the 32bit or newer 64 bit PK versions for CS4?

do you change the resolution/image size from native resolution in your workflow when preparing to post onto the web, as this would affect which PK output sharpener to use ?

i use PK as final step for output sharpening and haven't had any issues between CS4 and CS3. Also agree with Al comments about working with brushes and masks on layers which is very easy in PK Sharpener.

i thought LR and ACR used the same sharpening methodology - so don't think there should be a difference. I use ACR in CS4 and will set it as high as 50% for caputure sharpening without an ill effects.

hope this helps
peter

[Ed Cordes]

Thanks for the responses. I am using the 32 bit version. I posted some very bright ospreys and used CS4 smart sharpen and no oversharpened comments were given. The thread on the PK site is interesting. I will experiment a bit. Most of the time I do use layers. PK's default is layers.

Thanks again,
Ed