Smart Sharpen vs. Unsharp Mask

[Norm Dulak]

I use PS CS5 for image PP. Being far from an expert in the use of this excellent but complex software, I use Smart Sharpen when sharpening images instead of Unsharp Mask (USM). I do that in part because Smart Sharpen is a newer addition to the Adobe software than the much older USM.

But I wonder whether Smart Sharpen is really better than USM. Does anyone in BPN know, and what are the practical differences in the operation of, and results produced by, Smart Sharpen as compared to USM?

Norm

[James Prudente]

Norm,

Here is a link that I found useful.

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photosho...62336590a.html

Also CS5 for Nature Photographers is out and you can get it on Amazon.

jim

[Norm Dulak]

Norm,

Here is a link that I found useful.

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photosho...62336590a.html

Also CS5 for Nature Photographers is out and you can get it on Amazon.

jim

Jim:

Thanks for the info. I have the book you've mentioned and find it very helpful.

The others who have looked at this posting but have not commented on smart sharpen might do well to look into it. It offers some advantages over the old USM.

Norm

[Robert Amoruso]

Norm,

I use USM for small JPGS and Photokit Sharpener for my prints.

I will have a look at this article. THanks for the link James.

[Roger Clark]

Norm,
This is a good article, with my standard caveat the the name, smart "sharpen" doesn't actually sharpen (and neither does USM, and the articles states that). I'll use smart sharpen when I am at the lens limit. In smart sharpen, I use the lens blur mode and I use it when I want to do the job fast. For real sharpening I use Richardson-Lucy deconvolution, which takes many minutes to run on an image.

Roger