A dumb question about sharpening

simon ess

simon ess

Just call me Roxanne.
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What do you look for to tell if an image is over-sharpened, and what's the limit?

I've had feedback elsewhere that this image is over-sharpened. Is it? I can't tell.


Bridge in Snow by simon ess, on Flickr

Thanks
 
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All the tree branches look silver.

Have a look HERE for a tutorial, It's for PS, but the basics are the same.
 
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My unedumacated tuppence worth is that a halo effect around edges and possibly a break up of definition where you would expect a smooth line.

In this picture, I reckon that the fine detail with high black and white contrast makes the image appear sharper than it is - causing some to say that it is oversharpened. I had a (quick) look at the 2048 x 1356 image on flickr and couldn't see any evidence of over-sharpening - but I'd wait for a second opinion :D

EDIT - too slow - make that a third opinion :)
 
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My take on over sharpening.

At 100% if see halos on a edge you have over sharpening
 
weybourne said:
My unedumacated tuppence worth is that a halo effect around edges and possibly a break up of definition where you would expect a smooth line.

In this picture, I reckon that the fine detail with high black and white contrast makes the image appear sharper than it is - causing some to say that it is oversharpened. I had a (quick) look at the 2048 x 1356 image on flickr and couldn't see any evidence of over-sharpening - but I'd wait for a second opinion :D

EDIT - too slow - make that a third opinion :)
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Thanks. That's reassuring.

k4stn said:
My take on over sharpening.

At 100% if see halos on a edge you have over sharpening
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I must admit, I don't look at 100% but that makes a lot of sense. I think I'll start looking closer.

Cheers.
 
simon ess said:
Thanks. That's reassuring.

I must admit, I don't look at 100% but that makes a lot of sense. I think I'll start looking closer.

Cheers.
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Don't worry about it too much, zoom in quickly then come back out again. People don't view photographs at pixel level they view it as a whole.

You will start getting a feel for when something is sharp enough but by zooming in all the time - it becomes a slippery path to constant pixel peeping which some people get obsessed with. They then normally complain constantly that all their lenses are soft, or that there's something up with their camera :shake:
 
:lol:

Thanks for that. I really don't like pixel peeping and don't intend to start now.

Cheers for keeping me on the straight and narrow.
 
Thanks John.

Thanks all for your input.

I'm not going to worry about it too much.
 
I can't see any over sharpenning haloes in that pic, even with my reading glasses on!
 
I think it looks perfectly fine. The High Black & White Contrast mentioned before is causing people to think it is over sharpened. But if you zoom in you can see it is just the tree and the snow.

Keep it up, dont worry too much.
 
Looks great too me, hard to tell if its too sharp due to the kind of photo taken I think. Or maybe my eyes are letting me down but I like it.
 
k4stn said:
My take on over sharpening.

At 100% if see halos on a edge you have over sharpening
Click to expand...

What he said ^^^
 
I just downloaded it and printed it out .....and cut myself on it.............



Only messin'..... it looks OK to me too and is just as earlier suggested - a contrast thingy!
 
This link was posted in the Editing section by garryknight. It expires on the 31st so its not going to be around long.

http://en.elephorm.com/tuto-lightroom-4-complete-training.html

If you go down the page you will see a Input Sharpening module. Ok, its for Lightroom but should translate across software packages.

If you have time, watch the Noise Reduction module before the Sharpening module as it explains how pixel contrast relationships work in each to deliver apparent sharpness.

Hope it helps.:thumbs:
 
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