white specks appear with capture sharpening

[markbeckelman]

I've recommended Photokit sharpener to a friend who uses both the Leaf Valeo with Leaf Capture 8, and the Kodak Pro Back with Kodak Capture Studio 2.

He downloaded the sharpener demo and tried digital high res sharpen - medium edge with one of his Kodak files and found he was getting white speckles on the image (which were obviously visible when viewing the file at 200%)

He says he had not applied any initial sharpening with the Kodak software.

I seem to remember seeing something about this on the forum, but can't find it.

Any suggestions?

Mark Beckelman

[John MacLean Photography]

Hey Mark,

How large will the images actually be reproduced? Maybe viewing at 100% or 50% is more accurate to the output?

Did he try reducing the layer opacity on the Light Contour?

[markbeckelman]

John -- the point is, the specks shouldn't be there, and he was getting better results using Photoshop unsharp mask. He hasn't done anything with the layer opacities, but should he have to if the software is working as it should be?

His reproduction sizes vary -- he is quite interested in getting the best quality file he can.

Although I don't get a commission from Pixelgenius, I would still like him to buy the product and be happy with it.

Mark

[John MacLean Photography]

Mark,

As you know, default settings aren't always optimal! Maybe a tweak is required for this particular combo of digital back and the PKS. Also, viewing at 100% vs. printing it can be two completely different animals.

[Mike Boreham]

I know exactly what you mean about white specs. There was indeed quite a heated discussion about it and I sent samples into the Pixelgenii. Others commented on the same effect.

The conclusion as I remember it was that the Photokit Sharpener suite is optimised for final print output, not 200% on the monitor. You have to decide whether Capture sharpening does indeed result in a better final result even though it may have speckles at 200%.

If you keep the layers it doesn't matter of course, but I flatten before archiving and don't use capture sharpening any more.

Mike

[Mark D]

This is not a new issue. I brought it to the attention of the Pixelgenius team some time ago, and mailed samples of files and prints to Bruce Fraser for examination. I have not had feedback on that material yet. I suspect the recent tragedy of Mike Skurski's passing may be causing an understandable and unfortunate hiatus of the normal flow of business there.

Regardless, as Bruce had mentioned in the past, one should view the monitor image at 50% or 75% magnification to get the closest approximation to the apparent sharpness of the eventual print, and then examine the print itself for these white speckles. I have done both and frankly I think it is for the most part a non-issue.