Bill,
The phrase used in digital manipulation is 'sharpening' and it really
does not have anything to do with what we normally think of a
'sharpness' (resolution and acutance) it is a form of digital
manipulation that is intended to make the final print look less fuzzy or
"sharper" and to compensate for some of the loss in the conversion from
analogue to digital. Unfortunately when it is overdone (like any
manipulation) it becomes quite ugly. But by cranking it a bit you are
more likely to come up with a 'useable' picture from a poorly exposed
P&S shot. The concept is sometimes refereed to as 'acceptable result' -
basically the average P&S shooter does not care about how well the
picture is printed, but whether they can recognize Auntie Ethel in the
group photo.
Jim
whunter wrote:
I believe the reporting of Pearce, but......... Something about
this 'concept' is really incongruent with the simple reality of
established information transfer science. First, I am somewhat at a
loss as to the meaning of adjusting 'sharpness' in a digital printer
and, if so as Dan asks, WHY???? The (I wanna, but NO, won't dare use
a generic K-I-S-S again so plez no hate mail) ultimate of photography
can be defined by 'simple' MTF. If that includes selective artistic
addition or filtering of noise in the form of reduced focus for an
individual print, fine. What I don't understand is why the SOP
includes 'reduction of sharpness'. Is this a fuzzy vernacular issue
analogous to confusing explicit and fuzzy use of the word 'contrast'?
As for service to 'Pros', all that I know want precision consistent
with the max film MTF capability. Metering, softening, filtering,
etc., is then rendered unto Caesar behind the viewfinder or mousing in
Photoshop.
Synonymous with this topic is the role of film, either print or
slide. Many participants on the List clearly understand that there is
no fundamental difference in the role of information collection
between film and a CCD. To date, the resolution of film is vastly
superior to the best of CCD technology, but only if state-of-the-art
digitizing is utilized to provide equivalent digital data. Whether
printed in analog format directly to prints or via digital means, the
science of information transfer is a common denominator. Both analog
and digital methods allow artistic 'manipulation' of 'sharpness',
color balance, etc to a more or less equivalent extent. I submit that
generic processing of film and prints should be simple, the
maintenance of the MTF at the time of the click or the click of a
mouse to save a rendered file to CDROM.
What have I missed?
Bill
On Friday, August 22, 2003, at 04:52 PM, Danrich wrote:
He has reduced the sharpening to a modest level,
Why reduce the sharpness?
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bill Pearce
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2003 10:18 AM
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [OM] negative films, minilabs, etc.........
Recently, my pro lab owning friend added a Konica digital printer. He
showed
me the available control, how it was set up by the Konica rep, and what
he
changed to get good results. This was my first upclose experience with
one
of these things, and I now know a lot more about why some prints are so
bad
on these things.
There is a screen full of adjustments that can be made. Some of the more
interesting ones are for sharpness, saturation, and contrast. Yes,
contrast.
That's why that carefully exposed roll of 160NC came out looking like
Agfa
Ultra 50. The machines are set up by the reps for general minilab film
(not
the brand, but the subjects and exposures), and that's not good for us.
His customers are either pros or advanced amateurs. He has reduced the
sharpening to a modest level, set the saturation to a level that most
closely reproduces what's on the film, and set for normal contrast. The
results for you and me are quite good. The results of a rank amateur
poorly
exposed roll, or something from a disposable, are not so hot.
This gets back to my old song: If you shoot expensive cameras, good
film,
fancy lenses, and take great care with your work, don't expect to get
good
results from a drugstore minilab. They set up their equipment a certain
way
for a reason.
Bill Pearce
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