thompsonkirk
02-01-2005, 11:47 PM
I've been having some trouble with very small patterns of noise that appear in shadow areas of low-ISO images after Capture Sharpening. I saw Bruce's advice about using Digital High Res capture sharpening with the 20D & have been using that, but I'm surprised to see some accentuation of noise - a kind of 'mini-noise,' small spots like film grain - in ISO 100 & 200 images that originally look noise-free in ACR.
What I've been doing: I've recently switched from Nikon & now am using a 20D. I've been accustomed, with a D100, to setting ACR for no sharpening, using PK Midrange Capture Sharpening (usually Narrow, for detailed urban-scapes); reducing the sharpening set's opacity to 60%; then later, after res-ing up, moderate Output Sharpening. I've been delighted with the results on D100 images & thought the same thing would work with a 20D, if I just switched from Mid to High Res. But instead I've encountered this unexpected noise.
Before spending a lot of time experimenting to avoid it, I thought I'd better ask how experts would sharpen detailed 20D images. I've thought of using some Smoothing, but I wonder about sacrificing detail in low-ISO images where I can't see any noise to begin with. I also wondered if Narrow is a bad capture-sharpening choice. My D100 experiene suggested that Superfine looked a little crunchy & was probably meant for folks with large digital backs(?). I could also experiment with the Mid, instead of High, Res setting.
Anyhow I'd like some experienced guidance on how to apply moderate capture sharpening to 20D files without generating what looks like grain.
What I've been doing: I've recently switched from Nikon & now am using a 20D. I've been accustomed, with a D100, to setting ACR for no sharpening, using PK Midrange Capture Sharpening (usually Narrow, for detailed urban-scapes); reducing the sharpening set's opacity to 60%; then later, after res-ing up, moderate Output Sharpening. I've been delighted with the results on D100 images & thought the same thing would work with a 20D, if I just switched from Mid to High Res. But instead I've encountered this unexpected noise.
Before spending a lot of time experimenting to avoid it, I thought I'd better ask how experts would sharpen detailed 20D images. I've thought of using some Smoothing, but I wonder about sacrificing detail in low-ISO images where I can't see any noise to begin with. I also wondered if Narrow is a bad capture-sharpening choice. My D100 experiene suggested that Superfine looked a little crunchy & was probably meant for folks with large digital backs(?). I could also experiment with the Mid, instead of High, Res setting.
Anyhow I'd like some experienced guidance on how to apply moderate capture sharpening to 20D files without generating what looks like grain.