to sharpen or not to sharpen

sharky

sharky

Active member
Just wanted to get users opinions on what degree of sharpening they like to use and why. (I downloaded the presets from dv.info but can't open them in my mac). I was thinking of staying at 0 and if I want to soften any, doing it in post. (As far as pedestal, rest of settings, I'm good to go). Just feel it's a good idea to shoot with the greatest amount of latitude and tweaking the image later. Opinions?
 
I prefer a low sharpness. From -3 to 0. It takes away from any edge-sharpening video is famous for and I've found that it looks better than softening in post.

If I'm shooting a wedding or corporate I shoot with the sharpness at 1.
 
Keep in mind that "sharpness" isn't actually sharpness, it's edge enhancement. And you can't effectively remove edge enhancement in post. If you want the cleanest, flattest image possible, and intend to do all tweaking to the image in post, then you'd want to turn the sharpness all the way down.

Note, "0" doesn't mean "no" sharpening, it means it's halfway between minimal and maximum. Minimal = off, and from thereon it's adding more and more sharpening; "0" just means it's at the halfway point on the scale.
 
Thanks guys...p.s. I know I'm just preaching to the choir, but I cannot believe the images you can get with this camera, really stunning! Can't wait to shoot in the jungle...(I'm off to Peru next week in case anyone was wondering what the hell I'm talking about).
 
I wish you best Sharky, the colors are beautifull in Peru/Bolivia. Hope you get some nice sound too!
 
Barry_Green said:
Note, "0" doesn't mean "no" sharpening, it means it's halfway between minimal and maximum. Minimal = off, and from thereon it's adding more and more sharpening; "0" just means it's at the halfway point on the scale.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, Barry, where did you get this information? While I notice edge enhancement when I go into the "+" side of sharpening, if I go the opposite end, it is noticeably soft. Are you saying that the extreme soft end is the baseline sharpeness of the camera?
 
That's the way it is on pretty much every camera I've used, yes. May be different with the XHA1, but I don't know of any cam that actively softens the image.
 
Interesting....

Of course it blows my mind that there is not one active Canon rep on either this site or DVInfo to confirm things like this.
 
disjecta said:
Interesting....

Of course it blows my mind that there is not one active Canon rep on either this site or DVInfo to confirm things like this.
Click to expand...

Would be great if Canon could pull their finger out and get someone to pay a visit from time to time. And a good point - see new thread.
 
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its actually kind of amazing how the "edge enhancement" effect is percieved as a substitute for resolution to the human eye. but if you completely turn off "sharpness" or in Panny's world "Detial", and shoot a res chart, the resolution is IDENTICAL, but the percieved image looks soft. its strange.
 
is it opssible to shoot with the detail on the lowest settings, yet somwhoe create a grain effect without sharpening the image?
 
... why didnt i think of that...



please dont answer that, it wasnt a quesiton :) hehe
thanks tim.
 
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