Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/06/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Frank, I have been scanning film for at least ten years, and the scans usually needed some sharpening. It's not about focus, which is what I suspect you're thinking. Unsharp Mask increases the contrast of the edges of an image to make it look sharper, and has been used since at least the 1930's. I use Focus Magic; It "deconvolutes" to bring the image to the best focus possible. Now-a-days, even with care, I sometimes get real close to focus, but not right there. Many of the things I shoot have lots of detail, and I work very close at large aperture. If I miss a flower's pistil by one c.h. it shows. Focus magic fixes that, and the attendant softness of scans from film as well as M8 images. It does nothing to improve detail. That has to be inherent in the image for unsharp masking or focus magic, or anything else to work. On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 7:59 AM, Frank Filippone <red735i at earthlink.net> wrote: > Probably an example would aid me...... > > What I do not understand is why digital "requires" sharpening, when for the > past 150 or so years, film did not. > > Or was it that film did not have this facility ( other than some pretty > obscure and relatively rarely used masking techniques) and digitally, the > facility is only a mouse click away? > > Frank Filippone > red735i at earthlink.net > > I think you actually need to play with a digital image to understand > what's going on, Frank. The result is very real and obvious even on > images you wouldn't suspect would react well. > > Would an example help you? > > Adam > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > -- Regards, Sonny http://www.sonc.com http://sonc.stumbleupon.com/ Natchitoches, Louisiana (+31.754164,-093.099080) USA