Sharpening - is "-2" equal to "no sharpening"?

[Gabriel_Aguirre]

I think the question was relative to the image taken on the sensor. I'd think that -2 would be a "the least sharpening offered" setting rather than the assumption that it's a softening setting. It is a valid question, but one that not many dare ask. My interpretation (in the digital world, this is often key) is that sharpening set at 0 is the suggested, default design setting.

Only Canon's development department can answer this question authoritatively, since we don't have facts, only educated guesses.

[DaveRe]

[ QUOTE ]
I guess it will boil down to experimentation, as you say. I sent an email to PixelGenius' tech support, asking the same question, and PM'ed Jeff Schewe on this forum. No response from either Maybe it's not a valid question?? Seems like they'd want to help people get the best out of their products, though.... Or maybe I'm just brain dead... /quote]

Well, I'm happy to report that I just received an email from Bruce Fraser, responding to my query. Thanks, Bruce!

Bruce conjectured that perhaps "0" is just that, no sharpening, and that the negative settings actually involve adding some smoothing to the unsharpened output. I haven't had a chance to experiment to that effect, yet (not with my camera or computer - they're at home).

Either way, though, it will simply boil down to playing with it to see what works best, it seems....

Dave

[ChuckWestfall]

Hi, Folks:

Interesting thread. I haven't had the time to weigh in on it for the past several days for personal reasons, but I do now.

In short, Gabriel's assessment is correct in reference to the EOS 10D, i.e., the -2 sharpening setting is the least amount of sharpening available for an EOS 10D image, but a small amount of sharpening is still applied. The 0 setting is the camera's default, and it represents Canon Inc.'s opinion of optimum sharpening *prior* to post processing in the image editor of your choice. I recently returned from a business trip to Japan where this very issue was discussed with the R&D staff, so I am absolutely sure that this information is correct. Furthermore, it applies just as well to other EOS digitals that shoot RAW files in the .CRW format, such as EOS Digital Rebel, D60 and D30.

The EOS-1D and EOS-1Ds can go one step further, because these cameras have a 0 setting for sharpening "intensity" that results in a totally unsharpened file. This is yet another instance where the EOS-1D and 1Ds provide a specific feature that's unavailable with other EOS digital cameras.

I'm sure there will be a certain amount of frustration with the fact that 10D images cannot be captured or rendered with zero sharpening, but that's the way that Canon Inc. designed it, and that's the way it's going to stay.

[DaveRe]

Thanks for the clarification, Chuck. I appreciate your contribution!

Dave (who will eventually purchase a pro-level DSLR, but can't afford it just yet

[Noel_Carboni]

Hi Chuck,

>I'm sure there will be a certain amount of frustration

No frustration here. Gone are the days (thankfully) when a camera did so much "sharpening" (noting that there isn't just one kind of processing called "sharpening") that a soft, natural image good for post processing was virtually unattainable. I don't see Canon's choice as a problem at all; I'm quite fond of post-processing Canon JPEGs, and can tell you they come out just fine for any number of uses. The transform I listed above, with careful choices for percentage and radius, will remove any trace of unsharp mask (USM), if that's your goal.

>the fact that 10D images cannot be captured or rendered with zero sharpening

Cannot? Sharpening has no bearing on the content of the Raw data, right? Whether or not Canon's software provides a "no USM at all" capability is irrelevant if someone else's software does. Can any of you good folks who have already received Photoshop CS speak to how a -2 conversion in Canon compares with a minimal sharpening conversion in Photoshop? How about Capture 1? Others?

-Noel

[ChuckWestfall]

>>Cannot? Sharpening has no bearing on the content of the Raw data, right?<<

Wrong. In the case of the 10D and the other .CRW EOS digitals, a minimal level of sharpening equal to the -2 setting on the 10D's monitor menu is applied by the camera. That's my point.

[Noel_Carboni]

VERY interesting. You have just shattered my (and I'm sure others') understanding of what the Raw data in a .CRW file is.

Thanks for teaching me something new today, Chuck!

-Noel