Pictures look softer in DPP?

[davideglasgow]

When I view my .RAW files in DPP, many times they look quite a bit softer than if I view in Picasa or convert to .jpg and upload to flickr. Is there some sort of sharpening tool that Picasa and flickr use, or am I just crazy?

[Daniel Browning]

DPP and Picasa both certainly use some "sharpening" tools. The amount, type, and occurrence of sharpening can vary greatly from one program to the next. It could be any combination of:

• Demosaic
• Resample
• Sharpen

Picasa and DPP only give you control over the last option, but the one or both of the first two options may be the reason that you percieve a difference.

[Daniel Browning]

one or both of the first two options may be the reason that you percieve a difference.

Hm, this sounds like I'm saying your perception is wrong: that's not what I meant. What I'm trying to say is not everyone perceives "soft" the same way. What I perceive as sharp, you might perceive as soft. And what you perceive is sharp, I might percieve as aliased. Both are valid.