Explaining unsharp mask

DR
Posted By
Doug Raflik
Jan 5, 2004
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335
Replies
6
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Closed
Hello all. I am new to the group and pretty new to photoshop.

Can someone point me to a link, or just explain the whys of unsharp mask. I know the basics of how to use it, but am wondering why I should use it as opposed to just sharpening the picture with another program, such as Irfan View, which is what I have been using for years.

Here is a link to the same picture saved at the highest quality and at the same size.

http://www.wxnut.net/unsharp.htm

Image one is straight from the camera. (D60 if it matters)

The second picture is using USM. (specs are above the picture)

The third is using the sharpen option under filter in APS 7

The last picture is sharpened in Irfan View.

I seem to like the Irfan View the best, so I am wondering why I am seeing all this hub bub about USM? I think the IView one looks better AND it is a smaller file size which is better for not taking up so much server space. Am I just not using USM in the right way?

Thanks in advance…
Doug
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Paul Furman
Jan 5, 2004
The advantage is being able to get different effects.
Try zooming in as far as possible & see what happens. Here’s a crop of your images and another setting attempting to match *not very well): http://www.edgehill.net/unsharp

Doug Raflik wrote:
Hello all. I am new to the group and pretty new to photoshop.
Can someone point me to a link, or just explain the whys of unsharp mask. I know the basics of how to use it, but am wondering why I should use it as opposed to just sharpening the picture with another program, such as Irfan View, which is what I have been using for years.
Here is a link to the same picture saved at the highest quality and at the same size.

http://www.wxnut.net/unsharp.htm

Image one is straight from the camera. (D60 if it matters)

The second picture is using USM. (specs are above the picture)
The third is using the sharpen option under filter in APS 7
The last picture is sharpened in Irfan View.

I seem to like the Irfan View the best, so I am wondering why I am seeing all this hub bub about USM? I think the IView one looks better AND it is a smaller file size which is better for not taking up so much server space. Am I just not using USM in the right way?

Thanks in advance…
Doug
PF
Paul Furman
Jan 5, 2004
Also look at the sky areas when you do too much, they become gritty. And see what different jpeg quality saves look like when you are zoomed in all the way!

Paul Furman wrote:

The advantage is being able to get different effects.
Try zooming in as far as possible & see what happens. Here’s a crop of your images and another setting attempting to match *not very well): http://www.edgehill.net/unsharp

Doug Raflik wrote:

Hello all. I am new to the group and pretty new to photoshop.
Can someone point me to a link, or just explain the whys of unsharp mask. I know the basics of how to use it, but am wondering why I should use it as opposed to just sharpening the picture with another program, such as Irfan View, which is what I have been using for years.
Here is a link to the same picture saved at the highest quality and at the same size.

http://www.wxnut.net/unsharp.htm

Image one is straight from the camera. (D60 if it matters)

The second picture is using USM. (specs are above the picture)
The third is using the sharpen option under filter in APS 7
The last picture is sharpened in Irfan View.

I seem to like the Irfan View the best, so I am wondering why I am seeing all this hub bub about USM? I think the IView one looks better AND it is a smaller file size which is better for not taking up so much server space. Am I just not using USM in the right way?
Thanks in advance…
Doug
A
avdree
Jan 5, 2004
How the "Unsharp Mask" works, is explained at:

http://www.nebulus.org/tutorials/2d/photoshop/ps8/index.html

Good luck

vdRee

"Paul Furman" wrote in message
The advantage is being able to get different effects.
Try zooming in as far as possible & see what happens. Here’s a crop of your images and another setting attempting to match *not very well): http://www.edgehill.net/unsharp

Doug Raflik wrote:
Hello all. I am new to the group and pretty new to photoshop.
Can someone point me to a link, or just explain the whys of unsharp mask. I know the basics of how to use it, but am wondering why I should use it as opposed to just sharpening the picture with another program, such as Irfan View, which is what I have been using for years.
Here is a link to the same picture saved at the highest quality and at the same size.

http://www.wxnut.net/unsharp.htm

Image one is straight from the camera. (D60 if it matters)

The second picture is using USM. (specs are above the picture)
The third is using the sharpen option under filter in APS 7
The last picture is sharpened in Irfan View.

I seem to like the Irfan View the best, so I am wondering why I am seeing all this hub bub about USM? I think the IView one looks better AND it is a smaller file size which is better for not taking up so much server space. Am I just not using USM in the right way?

Thanks in advance…
Doug
KZ
Kris Zeklika
Jan 5, 2004
in article , Doug Raflik at
wrote on 1/4/04 9:18 PM:

Hello all. I am new to the group and pretty new to photoshop.
Can someone point me to a link, or just explain the whys of unsharp mask. I know the basics of how to use it, but am wondering why I should use it as opposed to just sharpening the picture with another program, such as Irfan View…

You should use some other program. Photoshop is not for you.
H
Hecate
Jan 6, 2004
On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 23:18:33 -0600, Doug Raflik
wrote:

Hello all. I am new to the group and pretty new to photoshop.
Can someone point me to a link, or just explain the whys of unsharp mask. I know the basics of how to use it, but am wondering why I should use it as opposed to just sharpening the picture with another program, such as Irfan View, which is what I have been using for years.
Here is a link to the same picture saved at the highest quality and at the same size.

http://www.wxnut.net/unsharp.htm

Image one is straight from the camera. (D60 if it matters)

The second picture is using USM. (specs are above the picture)
The third is using the sharpen option under filter in APS 7
The last picture is sharpened in Irfan View.

I seem to like the Irfan View the best, so I am wondering why I am seeing all this hub bub about USM? I think the IView one looks better AND it is a smaller file size which is better for not taking up so much server space. Am I just not using USM in the right way?

Thanks in advance…
Doug

DO NOT, under any circumstances use anything in the sharpen menu except USM. All the rest should have been removed from PS years ago. Unless you want to ruin an image of course, then the sharpen options will do it for you every time.

—

Hecate

veni, vidi, reliqui
A
Auspics
Jan 6, 2004
In traditional printing of slides a B&W (negative) a mask was made by contact printing which, when made unsharp and very pale, actually served to sharpen the image and reduce the contrast so that – properly done – a Cibachrome print of a slightly soft, high contrast transparency could be made which resulted in a sharp print with full tonal range.

Like many things from the past, Adobe chose to call their electronic version of a sharpening tool by the same name. That is where the similarity ends but it does pretty much find the edges of the image and reduce the ‘smudge’ or ‘bleed’ of the edge into the background. It also puts a sort of halo tightly at the edge thereby creating the illusion of sharpening the image… Which is quite to opposite to it’s name!

Doug. (too)
————————————-
"Doug Raflik" wrote in message
Hello all. I am new to the group and pretty new to photoshop.
Can someone point me to a link, or just explain the whys of unsharp mask. I know the basics of how to use it, but am wondering why I should use it as opposed to just sharpening the picture with another program, such as Irfan View, which is what I have been using for years.
Here is a link to the same picture saved at the highest quality and at the same size.

http://www.wxnut.net/unsharp.htm

Image one is straight from the camera. (D60 if it matters)

The second picture is using USM. (specs are above the picture)
The third is using the sharpen option under filter in APS 7
The last picture is sharpened in Irfan View.

I seem to like the Irfan View the best, so I am wondering why I am seeing all this hub bub about USM? I think the IView one looks better AND it is a smaller file size which is better for not taking up so much server space. Am I just not using USM in the right way?

Thanks in advance…
Doug

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