Curvemeister Forum

Just before I try this one, I thought I'd show you what 1 pixel of focus will do to this image.

If it works - the attached is a psd file with the original & a FocusMagic layer, in a very small crop (130pixels), so you can download and toggle layers.
To me, it shows the importance of starting off with a crisp image.

just tried looking at it, or rather not!  But you can get the image by clicking on the filename

Chris, generally I was always told that sharpening is the last thing you do in editing, before saving or printing, because you exaggerate or define  the unwanted specs or detail also. Isn't Focus M just another way of sharpening? I'm just inquisitive
Ganna

No Ganna - I think I'm correct in saying that focusing is different from sharpening.

Focusing is getting rid of any blurring in the image, where as sharpening is emphasising edges by altering their contrast.  The UnsharpMask does this by blurring!  Dan likens sharpening to eye makeup - it draws out attention to areas.

Focusmagic will even take an image that is blurred by camera shake and mathematically put it back into focus!  Mike took this image are 1/19th to blur the water, but however the camera focused, it was not spot on, or the jpeg compression/size change introduced fuzziness - hence the 1 pixel improvement. 

If we had used the USM instead, it would have created wee halos on the edges to emphasis the edges.  These are usually quite easy to spot at large magnification.  FM does not do that, so I focus before I start and then USM at the end to accentuate light and dark areas.  In fact having done a USM, I think duplicate the layer and set one to Darken mode and tother to Lighten blend mode and then adjust the opacity of the layers to get a better effect.

You really need to experiment with some images, using both methods to see the difference.

I really enjoyed playing with this image

Here is my attempt at a realistic (is it Greg?) rendition - rgb with a couple of neutral pins and a mild S curve + a mild lab saturation for the 2nd pass

and, of course, my usual OTT - added more lab sat + man from mars + a touch of sharpening

Oh great fun.

Zog,

Really nice work...both of them....
I like the over saturated as much as the "normal" 

Unsharp does a blur but only to do the subtraction calculation.  My understanding is it takes a blur layer and subtracts it from the image to get at the areas it needs to adjust.  The amount of adjustment would define the edge darkening.  I usually use a separate layer for the sharpen and then adjust the opacity until I like it...

If you use the High Radius Low Amount on scenery it can be very effective.  If you do it to a person or portrait you have to use the opposite.  Low radius and higher amounts. 

But..all that said "Focus Magic" is going to get a good hard look from me...that was interesting...

Thanks for sharing it..
Greg

Very nice results, Zog.  Man from mars will be later in the course, and this image is one worth revisiting.

Sharpening is an important part of any workflow - I don't pre-sharpen any of the examples because I prefer that photographs be straight from the camera when possible.  My most common settings for USM are .7 pixels, and about 125 percent.  This gives a nice sharp image without fringing that you might see with a larfer radius setting.