How do you sharpen your APS digital camera files for printing upto A3(297 × 420cm)? Till now I only printed A4s from my 350D/D80 but now will need A3 prints for an upcoming exhibition.
It will be a mix of film(MF/LF) and digital camera work.
Thanks for your time,
Posted by Jasper Doest on October 27, 2006 at 9:04 AM
Hi Prashant,
I use the PhotoKit Sharpener plugin (http://www.pixelgenius.com) for PS to sharpen my work. It has a 2 steps sharpening system which works very well for big prints.
Thanks Jasper,
I know the three-stage-sharpening method, though not sure how to go for A3 print with output from 8/10mp camera. I've considered PK kit however 99$ for just sharpening method, may be it is worth it may be not.
William,
I like 350D but I like D80 more. I have decided to go Nikon however this is not to say 350D is bad camera. You can check out http://www.prashanteju.de/Dolomiten.html where I took 350D and many more images from Harz. Check out your personal email box too.
Rod,
thanks. Thats what am using now.
Posted by Jasper Doest on October 27, 2006 at 3:59 PM
Well,IMO it is certainly worth it....I use this method for all my printing and I get many positive comments on the sharpness of my prints.
Posted by Ed Cordes on October 28, 2006 at 9:32 AM
Here's anothervote for PK Sharpener. I have been using it a few months and find it great. Only thing is the learning curve witht he numerous options for creative sharpening. One thing I have learned to use and like a lot is the sharpening brushes. You can very precisely sharpen selected areas just the way you want without touching the rest of the image. This is great for images where sharpening the BG or FG would not be desireable.
Posted by Vandit Kalia on October 28, 2006 at 10:29 AM
I own both PK Sharpener and the TLR set mentioned above - with the new version of the TLR kit, you get pretty much all the functionality of Photokit Sharpener. Try that - it is free and an amazing sharpening toolkit.
I do A3 prints myself - my approach is to use Photokit/TLR for input and creative sharpening, and adjust the image so it looks "just right" on screen. Then I print using QImage - which applies the correct amount of output sharpening and has an excellent interpolation algorithm to boot.
Alternatively, you could first up-res using QImage, and then process in Photoshop, using the Photokit/TLR tools, and then print through QImage with sharpening set to 0.
Either way, you need Qimage if you want to do large prints. Best $50 you'll ever spend and IMO, a more useful buy that Photokit Sharpener (now that the TLR offers the same functionality).
Thanks Vandit,
resing-up is not my main problem as I have only one image from 8mp camera and that will be printed something like 8x10. Qimage seems a nice little package. I will have a look.
Thank you all others for your time,
Posted by Mel Ladewig on October 30, 2006 at 1:06 PM
8X10 has not been a problem for me from my Rebel XT(350D). I don't think anything exotic outside of unsharp mask in PS would be needed to make the 8mp file ready for print at 8X10 unless you have a number of diagonal linear items that are facing aliasing problems. I regularly print 13"X19" from my XT although I'm not doing it for competition or sale.
All I've done is a simple upres to 240ppi at print size then make three passes of unsharp mask. If I've got a large patch of sky, I'll sometimes mask it from the unsharp mask.
My passes are usually setup as below. I'll adjust them if problems arise.
150/0.3/0
75/.6/0 or 1
30/1/1 or 2
It is a matter of watching for aliasing on small diagonal linear items like branches or hair and now that we've got snow here in Colorado, watching for microcontrast problems in high contrast areas. I've rarely seen any halos with this method.
If I were going beyond 13X19, then I might seriously consider a more advanced method of upres and sharpen, but this is working OK for me at the moment.
You could try this if you have CS2 - I found it online and it works really well and saved as an action is quick and easy to use:
Disable sharpening in your RAW converter (so you'll start with a fuzzy file) and instead use CS2 "Smart Sharpen" set to Amount 100, .9 radius; Shadow Tab: Fade amount 100%, Tone with = 30, Radius 1; Highlights: Highlights Tab: Fade Amount 100, Tone width 65, radius 1.
Then apply the Noise Filter with all sliders set to zero and the last slider "Sharpen Detail" set to ~40 (more or less to taste.)
I found this sharpening technique recently and I am stunned by it. I have gotten extremely sharp files without the halos that can occur with USM and other methods.
Using the CS2 Sharpen Detail setting like this is similar to the Detail Extraction setting in Raw Shooter Essentials.
Discussion
11 repliesIt will be a mix of film(MF/LF) and digital camera work.
Thanks for your time,
I use the PhotoKit Sharpener plugin (http://www.pixelgenius.com) for PS to sharpen my work. It has a 2 steps sharpening system which works very well for big prints.
I know the three-stage-sharpening method, though not sure how to go for A3 print with output from 8/10mp camera. I've considered PK kit however 99$ for just sharpening method, may be it is worth it may be not.
This is off the topic. But how do you like your 350D. I'm seriously looking at one. But I can't decide yet. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
William
I like 350D but I like D80 more. I have decided to go Nikon however this is not to say 350D is bad camera. You can check out http://www.prashanteju.de/Dolomiten.html where I took 350D and many more images from Harz. Check out your personal email box too.
Rod,
thanks. Thats what am using now.
I do A3 prints myself - my approach is to use Photokit/TLR for input and creative sharpening, and adjust the image so it looks "just right" on screen. Then I print using QImage - which applies the correct amount of output sharpening and has an excellent interpolation algorithm to boot.
Alternatively, you could first up-res using QImage, and then process in Photoshop, using the Photokit/TLR tools, and then print through QImage with sharpening set to 0.
Either way, you need Qimage if you want to do large prints. Best $50 you'll ever spend and IMO, a more useful buy that Photokit Sharpener (now that the TLR offers the same functionality).
Vandit
resing-up is not my main problem as I have only one image from 8mp camera and that will be printed something like 8x10. Qimage seems a nice little package. I will have a look.
Thank you all others for your time,
All I've done is a simple upres to 240ppi at print size then make three passes of unsharp mask. If I've got a large patch of sky, I'll sometimes mask it from the unsharp mask.
My passes are usually setup as below. I'll adjust them if problems arise.
150/0.3/0
75/.6/0 or 1
30/1/1 or 2
It is a matter of watching for aliasing on small diagonal linear items like branches or hair and now that we've got snow here in Colorado, watching for microcontrast problems in high contrast areas. I've rarely seen any halos with this method.
If I were going beyond 13X19, then I might seriously consider a more advanced method of upres and sharpen, but this is working OK for me at the moment.
Disable sharpening in your RAW converter (so you'll start with a fuzzy file) and instead use CS2 "Smart Sharpen" set to Amount 100, .9 radius; Shadow Tab: Fade amount 100%, Tone with = 30, Radius 1; Highlights: Highlights Tab: Fade Amount 100, Tone width 65, radius 1.
Then apply the Noise Filter with all sliders set to zero and the last slider "Sharpen Detail" set to ~40 (more or less to taste.)
I found this sharpening technique recently and I am stunned by it. I have gotten extremely sharp files without the halos that can occur with USM and other methods.
Using the CS2 Sharpen Detail setting like this is similar to the Detail Extraction setting in Raw Shooter Essentials.