Portola Valley Hike Jul 4 2012

Nikon D90 with Nikon 16-85mm zoom, Aperture priority mode.

Sample B&W Nikon D90 Images [000]

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[Trick] Which Sharpening Method do I use?

I keep seeing this question from people who now have access to a digital camera and want to create the best image they can out of it. 


Regardless of what some people may claim, there is no single sharpening method/parameters that will work on all kinds of images. What method you use, and what parameters you use, will (and should) depend on the nature of features in the image, the size of the image, the amount of noise in the image, and what you want the final results to convey aesthetically. 

Example: you have a macro shot, and you want to accentuate the fine tentacles on a spider's arms. You cannot just use the Librodo sharpening method with those parameters. It may work, it may not. The reason being: most sharpening filters are a combination of one or more 'local' image operations, and one inherent part of a filter's definition is its 'scale' (meaning what is the local area of impact of the filter). So let's say you want to use a RAW image of dimensions 4000x4000 (example only), and you know that a single tentacle spawns over 3 pixels in width in the image, it won't serve you any good by specifying the filter size to 0.1 pixels. On the other hand, if you downsized the image to say 800x800, now you may be able to use a sub-pixel filter size. 

In summary, there is no such thing as a 'generalized sharpening method'. You will have to tweak and create one that suits your needs for a given image, and what you want to achieve with it. 

ETA: In general, it helps to do these steps generally in this order: 

- On a full resolution (RAW) image, de-noise it first 
-- To do this, you will need to understand the type of noise. Generally its randomly distributed, but may not be equally distributed across all three channels, and may be more prevalent in dark areas. Either you trust the NeatImage sorta filters, OR you zoom in the image, and understand the nature of the noise, and play around with parameters for the method to reduce it. The most basic method would be to apply a gaussian smoothing, with filter size of the order of a single noise element 

- Do any other post processing here (layers etc) (optional) 
-- If you sharpen (unsharpen) here, make sure to pay attention to the 'scale' of the feature that you want to preserve/accentuate. 

- Down size the image, with the 'best interpolation' method available to you 
-- Use the option to keep the sharpness upon down sampling if you already did all the pre processing before and just want to create the final image now 
-- Use the option to keep smooth gradients in the image if you intend to do the post processing on the reduced size image 

- Do any remaining post processing here 
-- If you sharpen (unsharpen) here, make sure to pay attention to the 'scale' of the feature that you want to preserve/accentuate. 


Here is a good article on sharpening.

Hope that helps...

Photo Blog May 2010

[Candid Photo] Close Your Eyes Baby...

Nikon D90 Best Pictures Challenge [2010-002] [Theme: Candid]

Nikon D90 Best Pictures Challenge [2010-002] [Theme: Candid] is now open for submission. Please submit your image to win the challenge ribbon and a place on the Nikon D90 wall of elites.

Good Luck!

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Nikon D90 Challenge.

[Candid Photo] Keeping An Eye...

This is my entry to JPGMAG's 'Traditions' issue. Please click on the image to goto the entry page, and vote if you like it.:-)

[Sample Pictures] Nikon D90: Sports

Lens Used:

Nikon D90 Pictures Index

Still images:
Sample Nikon D90 Images [000].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [001].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [002].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [003].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [004].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [005].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [006].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [007].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [008].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [009].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [010].


Low-light test images:
Sample Nikon D90 Images [001].
Sample Nikon D90 Images [002].


Videos:
Sample Nikon D90 Video [000].
Sample Nikon D90 Video [001].
Sample Nikon D90 Video [002].
Sample Nikon D90 Video [003].

[Sample Pictures] Nikon D90

Sample images from our Hawaii trip last year (Sept 2009). Comments/criticism welcome.

Enjoy!

Note. All pictures are copyright of Prashant Chopra, 2009-2099. (Smart embedded watermarks will trigger an email if they are posted without permission).

All pictures are copyright of Prashant Chopra, 2009-2099. (Smart embedded watermarks will trigger an email if they are posted without permission).

Review: Nikon D3000, Nikon D5000, and Nikon D60 Comparison

Courtesy dpreview.com.

	Nikon D3000	Nikon D5000	Nikon D60
Sensor	• 10.2 million effective pixels • 23.6 x 15.8 mm CCD (DX format)	• 12.3 million effective pixels • 23.6 x 15.8 mm CMOS (DX format)	• 10.2 million effective pixels • 23.6 x 15.8 mm CCD (DX format)
Image sizes	• 3872 x 2592 (10MP) • 2896 x 1944 • 1936 x 1296	• 4,288 x 2,848 (12 MP) • 3,216 x 2,136 • 2,144 x 1,424	• 3872 x 2592 (10.0 MP) • 2896 x 1944 • 1936 x 1296
Sensor cleaning	• Image Sensor Cleaning • Airflow control system • Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 software required)	• Image Sensor Cleaning • Airflow control system • Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 software required)	• Image Sensor Cleaning • Airflow control system • Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 software required)
Autofocus	• 11 area TTL • Nikon Multi-CAM1000	• 11 area TTL • Nikon Multi-CAM1000	• 3 area TTL • Nikon Multi-CAM530
In-body focus motor	• No	• No	• No
AF area modes	• Single point • Dynamic area • Auto area • 3D Tracking (11-points)	• Single point • Dynamic area • Auto area • 3D Tracking (11-points)	• Single point • Dynamic area • Auto area (closest subject priority)
Live view AF modes	N/A	• Face priority • Wide area • Normal area • Subject tracking	N/A
Sensitivity	• ISO 100 - 1600 • ISO 100-3200 with boost	• ISO 200 - 3200 • ISO 100-6400 with boost	• ISO 100 - 1600 • Up to ISO 3200 with boost
Continuous	• 3 fps • 100 / 7 frames (Fine JPEG / raw)	• 4 fps • 63 / 11 frames (Fine JPEG / raw)	• 3 fps • 100 / 9 frames (Fine JPEG / raw)
Viewfinder type	• Pentamirror	• Pentamirror	• Pentamirror
Viewfinder magnification	• 0.78x	• 0.78x	• 0.8x
Viewfinder Frame coverage	• Approx. 95%	• Approx. 95%	• Approx. 95%
LCD monitor	• 3" TFT LCD • 230,000 pixel TFT	• 2.7" TFT LCD • 230,000 pixel TFT • Articulated	• 2.5" TFT LCD • 230,000 pixel TFT
Dimensions	126 x 97 x 64 mm (5.0 x 3.8 x 2.5 in)	127 x 104 x 80 mm (5.0 x 4.1 x 3.1 in)	126 x 94 x 64 mm (5.0 x 3.7 x 2.5 in)
Weight	• No battery: 485 g (1.1 lb) • With battery: 536g (1.2 lb)	• No battery: 560 g (1.2 lb) • With battery: 611g (1.3 lb)	• No battery: 471 g (1.0 lb) • With battery: 522g (1.2 lb)
Image processing engine	• Expeed • 12 bit	• Expeed • 12 bit	• Expeed • 12 bit
Active D-lighting	On/Off	Can be selected from Auto, Extra high, High, Normal, Low, or Off	On/Off
Automatic chromatic aberration correction	No	Yes	No
In-camera retouching	• D-Lighting • Red-eye reduction • Trimming • Monochrome & filter effects • Color balance • Small picture • Image overlay • NEF (RAW) processing • Quick retouch • Color outline • Miniature effect • Stop-motion movie	• D-Lighting • Red-eye reduction • Trimming • Monochrome & filter effects • Color balance • Small picture • Image overlay • NEF (RAW) processing • Quick retouch • Straighten • Distortion control • Fisheye • Color outline • Perspective control	• D-Lighting • Red-eye reduction • Trimming • Monochrome & filter effects • Color balance • Small picture • Image overlay • NEF (RAW) processing • Quick retouch • Straighten • Distortion control • Fisheye • Stop-motion movie
Movie mode	No	Yes	No
Live View	No	Yes	No
Bracketing	No	Yes	No