In Camera Sharpening

[bob williams]

Assuming you want sharp images, what are the ups and downs of maximizing sharpness settings in camera? And if you do maximize the sharpness settings in camera, is it necessary to sharpen in post?


your guidance is appreciated





Bob

[Oren]

I guess you shoot JPEG... right?

[bob williams]

I guess you shoot JPEG... right?
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Nope, I shoot Raw and normaly keep the sharpeness set at 3 or 4 on my 50 D.

[Oren]

Then why do you have a problem? leave the default setting as it is and then play with it when its on your PC.

[bob williams]

Then why do you have a problem? leave the default setting as it is and then play with it when its on your PC.
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I really don't have a problem and I usually do sharpen in post--although, i am not very good at it yet---but if i can reduce post processing time by letting the camera do most or all of of the sharpening, then why not simply bump up the sharpness setting?

[Daniel Browning]

Assuming you want sharp images, what are the ups and downs of maximizing sharpness settings in camera? And if you do maximize the sharpness settings in camera, is it necessary to sharpen in post?

Since you shoot raw, there are no downsides, but there are at least two benefits to maximizing sharpness in camera:

• The preview JPEG is sharpened more, making it easier to review on the LCD to see if you nailed critical focus or not.
• The raw metadata is set closer to where you want it to be when you get to post processing, but only if you use a raw converter that detects and uses the metadata, such as DPP. This saves time and lets you make decisions about the photo when you take it rather than some point later.
  

While we're talking about sharpening, let's discuss a separate point: what are the upsides and downsides of sharpening in general (whether in camera JPEG or raw converter)? That's a pretty big question, but one of the times when it's good to avoid sharpening is when noise is high, because it makes the noise worse. Some people work around this issue by using increased noise reduction, so they can still sharpen. (Personally, I prefer no noise reduction and no sharpening.)

[clemmb]

(Personally, I prefer no noise reduction and no sharpening.)
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So, does this mean you set your picture style to Neutral? Standard? Custom?





Mark

[Daniel Browning]

So, does this mean you set your picture style to Neutral? Standard? Custom?

I wish I could, but my raw converters (Adobe, mostly) ignore the Canon metadata. If I used DPP, I would use a variety of picture profile settings:

• For typical low ISO shots: Neutral, 0 sharpening, -2 contrast, -2 saturation (no NR)
  
• Typical high ISO shots: Neutral, -4 sharpening, -2 contrast, -2 saturation (no NR)
• Sometimes: Neutral, 0 sharpening, 0 contrast, 0 saturation

[HiFiGuy1]

Daniel,


Why the differences? Also, what body do you use? Don't you have a 5D Mark II? With a 40D like mine, what are your suggestions, and how does one go about quickly changing from one set of selections to the next, on the fly?


FYI, I have been using the "Sometimes" setting all the time so far.

[Daniel Browning]

Why the differences?

It's just a matter of personal taste. I prefer shots with less sharpening over NR with sharpening.

Don't you have a 5D Mark II?

Yes.

how does one go about quickly changing from one set of selections to the next, on the fly?

There is a picture style button on the back of the camera. Press that once, then use the scroll wheel to quickly pick a different style and press OK.

With a 40D like mine, what are your suggestions?

It's really a matter of personal taste. I prefer shots with low contrast and low sharpening (I mostly sharpen at output). The Canon Picture Style editor is a really neat way to build your own custom style.