Curvemeister Forum

Anybody with any knowledge of PhotoKit Sharpener 2.1 by www.pixelgenius.com ? DP review giving it very good rating.
Is it worth getting something like this?

Hi Ganna,

I haven't used version 2, but I did have version 1 for a while. The user interface used to be terrible; they have updated it in version 2, but I still think that it needs work...

Adobe Camera Raw (versions 5 and 6) use sharpening technology licenced from the team that produce Photokit Sharpener - so you might find that Camera Raw is all you need.

There is another favourable review that you might want to read here: www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/photokit_sharpener_2.shtml. Bear in mind though that the Luminous Landscape website is run by Michael Reichmann - a very good friend of Jeff Schewe (one of the people behind Photokit Sharpener); so read the review knowing that they would be unlikely to say anything negative...

Personally, if I had the money to buy a sharpening application (or plug-in), I would buy www.niksoftware.com/sharpenerpro. I think that the entire approach to sharpening is better in Nik Sharpener - and the U-Point technology in that application will (I think) do more for your images.

Don't take my word for it though. Both applications offer trial versions - you ought to try them both to see which one produces better results (and which one you prefer using).

Also - the best sharpening technique that I have ever seen is on this website:
http://www.bigano.com/index.php/en/consulting/40-davide-barranca/90-davide-barranca-notes-on-sharpening.html
It is a bit challenging - but you can do it without using any plug-ins, and the results (as you'll see) are amazing!

Perhaps you could post about what you decide to go for, when you have given the trial versions a try?

All best,
Lee.

Thanks a lot Lee. Will keep you posted

Lee
I did not install and tried Photokit Sharpener yet. My workflow is Lightroom and then finished in PS CS5 (where CM play a major role).  Below is the three types of sharpening discussed in PKS. Isn't it she same when I first do sharpening in LR and then later my final sharpening in CS5? I quote from the NAPP forum:
"1.Capture Sharpening is applied early in the image-editing process, and just aims to restore any sharpness that was lost in the capture process.
2.Creative Sharpening is usually applied locally to accentuate specific features in an image-for example, we often give eyes a little extra sharpness in head shots.
3.Output Sharpening is applied to files that have already had capture and creative sharpening applied, after they've been sized to final output resolution, and is tailored to a specific type of output process.
The sharpening in LR is based on PhotoKit Sharpener and this original proposal of Bruce Fraser’s discussed here: http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/20357.html "
What do you think?

Hi Ganna,

You're right - and in fact Bruce Fraser was hired as a consultant by Adobe to help create the Sharpening algorithms that Lightroom (and Camera Raw; they are actually the same in terms of image processing) uses. Therefore, if you are using Lightroom, you are getting the sharpening that Bruce/Jeff Schewe recommend in their books.

The sharpening algorithms used by Lightroom and ACR are more advanced than Photokit Sharpener version 1, but less advanced (I think) than Photokit Sharpener version 2; you will need to do some tests with the demo to see how significant that difference is, and whether it is worth your money...

I tend to use ACR/Lightroom for capture sharpening, Photoshop's Sharpen Tool (I kid you not - it's been updated in CS5, and now offers the most sophisticated Sharpening effect in Photoshop/Lightroom) for creative sharpening, and Photoshop's Smart Sharpen filter for output sharpening.

Still, I'm convinced that the best sharpening that can be done is by using the technique mentioned on this website (you would still need output sharpening though):
www.bigano.com/index.php/en/consulting/40-davide-barranca/90-davide-barranca-notes-on-sharpening.html

Let me know if you do any tests with Photokit - I'd be interested to know what you think...

All best,
Lee.

Outdated, but interesting http://www.hugorodriguez.com/index_nitidez-perfecta.php

If you copy the URL listed above by Pictus to your clipboard and search for it in Google you get an option to translate...

Very helpful if you do not read Spanish very well...
Greg

PPW panel has an excellent sharpening capability