Posted by Scott Borger on October 16, 2008 at 5:18 PM
I have a few questions for those of you that use PhotoKit Sharpener. I recently downloaded the trial and from what I can tell there are three rounds of sharpeners (capture, creative, output). I understand how to use these in sequence, but I’m not sure which sharpener to use within each sequence and to what extent. Does anyone have a specific sharpening workflow (using PhotoKit Sharpener) that works well and they’d be willing to share? Also, has Photoshop CS4 increased sharpening capabilities? Or is PhotoKit Sharpener still far superior.
Posted by Grant Collier on October 16, 2008 at 5:47 PM
If you haven't already read the instruction manual that comes with it, I'd do that. It's pretty well written and straightforward and should answer most of your questions. I generally only use the creative sharpener if there's an obvious problem with my image sharpess...soft edges, hand held, etc.
Posted by John Mumaw on October 16, 2008 at 6:36 PM
The free TLR Professional Sharpening Toolkit does exactly the same sharpening routine as does the PK Sharpener. There's an excellent 300 page eBook titled 'Sharpening Your Photographs' at that link that explains the process in great detail.
I've used both the PK and the TLR kits, and could not distinguish any differences between the two....except for price.
Posted by Paul Beiser on October 16, 2008 at 7:17 PM
Posted by Paul Wegemann on October 16, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Scott,
I'm with John. The TLR sharpening toolkit is great. It can be run as a script or as actions. It's free, but they do request a donation if you use and like their tools. Their website is a wealth of information as well. I highly recommend their stuff.
Posted by Nat Coalson on October 16, 2008 at 10:20 PM
Lots of good info resources recommended here. Sharpening is definitely a subject all its own. I hadn't come across the TLR solution. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by Scott Borger on October 16, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Thanks a bunch. John, you seem to have a knack for saving people money! I tried the TLR scripts and they work great...just like Photokit, but ALOT cheaper.
Posted by John Mumaw on October 16, 2008 at 10:35 PM
That's great, Scott!
Check out Mitch's other stuff at the 'Photoshop Tools' tab at his site.
Also, you can read a lot more detailed info. about the TLR Sharpener at this link for the free 'actions', as opposed to the 'scripts' which I linked to earlier.
Posted by Jesse Speer on October 17, 2008 at 11:42 AM
The TLR Sharpener looks like another winner. I hereby nominate John as the official RMNP consumer advocate!
Good points about the LR 2 capabilities, though. You really don't need 3rd party sharpeners anymore, if you're using LR 2 (unless you really love the PKS creative effect options). In fact, this was a major factor in prompting me to finally dump my Bridge/ACR workflow that I was stubbornly clinging to. The Detail option under Develop offers capture sharpening, the local adjustment brush offers a bit of creative sharpening and the Print module now features PKS-type targeted sharpening based upon your destination. One less plug-in to buy/upgrade. Adobe got that one right.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on October 17, 2008 at 12:15 PM
I agree that LR 2 has become a very nice sharpening tool as well. The only reason to consider the PS based plug-ins now is if you wish to keep your sharpening confined to layers (making future modifications much simpler).
Posted by Ed Cooley on October 17, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Don't forget about high pass sharpening, I find it does as much improvement as capture sharpening. Doesn't replace it but makes a substantial difference.
What about using TLR in CS4?
Posted by John Mumaw on October 17, 2008 at 6:47 PM
I'm going to find out here in the next few days, Ed.
The only reason to consider the PS based plug-ins now is if you wish to keep your sharpening confined to layers (making future modifications much simpler).
That's one excellent reason. I keep my 'master' images hot out of ACR unlayered, in the widest color gamut possible and unsharpened for whatever the future may hold. The other good reason is that the TLR/Photokit method is completely automated and allows one to use masks to selectively sharpen images.
Discussion
11 repliesI've used both the PK and the TLR kits, and could not distinguish any differences between the two....except for price.
Lightroom 2.0 has (I believe) a LOT of the Photokit Sharpener technology in it, and I believe Camera Raw 5.0 has the same sharpening technology. The best paper on a sharpening workflow:
http://www.creativepro.com/article/out-of-gamut-thoughts-on-a-sharpening-workflow
I'm with John. The TLR sharpening toolkit is great. It can be run as a script or as actions. It's free, but they do request a donation if you use and like their tools. Their website is a wealth of information as well. I highly recommend their stuff.
Check out Mitch's other stuff at the 'Photoshop Tools' tab at his site.
Also, you can read a lot more detailed info. about the TLR Sharpener at this link for the free 'actions', as opposed to the 'scripts' which I linked to earlier.
Good points about the LR 2 capabilities, though. You really don't need 3rd party sharpeners anymore, if you're using LR 2 (unless you really love the PKS creative effect options). In fact, this was a major factor in prompting me to finally dump my Bridge/ACR workflow that I was stubbornly clinging to. The Detail option under Develop offers capture sharpening, the local adjustment brush offers a bit of creative sharpening and the Print module now features PKS-type targeted sharpening based upon your destination. One less plug-in to buy/upgrade. Adobe got that one right.
What about using TLR in CS4?
That's one excellent reason. I keep my 'master' images hot out of ACR unlayered, in the widest color gamut possible and unsharpened for whatever the future may hold. The other good reason is that the TLR/Photokit method is completely automated and allows one to use masks to selectively sharpen images.