Deconvolution?

[dmstraker]

I just had a question on my InAffinity channel as to whether APh uses deconvolution in sharpening algorithms. Apparently Photoshop uses it for its smart sharpening. Deconvolution? I had to look it up.

So I though I'd pass it on to you good folks. Any moves in such a direction? Or maybe even more intelligent stuff?

Tx

[Jowday]

1 hour ago, dmstraker said:

I just had a question on my InAffinity channel as to whether APh uses deconvolution in sharpening algorithms. Apparently Photoshop uses it for its smart sharpening. Deconvolution? I had to look it up.

Deconvolution is in use in "Smart Sharpen" and "Shake reduction" in Photoshop. I believe Unsharp Mask in Photo is plain vanilla unsharp mask.

In Photoshop deconvolution is beautifully implemented in "Smart Sharpen" - the user interface doesn't bother you with complex settings (Shadows and highlight settings are hidden by default) and the it delivers stellar results. I use it all the time for all kinds of sharpening. I get much more natural sharpening using it. Well, it won't matter much to the world with all the over-sharpening going on out there 🙂

[dmstraker]

17 hours ago, Jowday said:

In Photoshop deconvolution is beautifully implemented in "Smart Sharpen"

I'm an inveterate tinkerer and would be grateful in the shorter term with just a basic implementation.

There does seems to be all kinds of sharpening methods out there, from stacking to use of assorted blend modes. I've played with quite a few though it's tricky to figure out what works best where. Maybe one day there'll be an AI (yes, I know, over-used) sharpening which understands parts of the image and uses different sharpening methods for different parts. You could already do things like avoid sharpening skies and do selective sharpening on different parts of a face.

Where we are now, Custom Blur is an interesting sandpit, and would benefit from the ability to set and use presets, plus being made a live filter.

[Jowday]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:01 AM, dmstraker said:

I'm an inveterate tinkerer

Not surprised 😄

Quote

and would be grateful in the shorter term with just a basic implementation.

Perhaps you are lucky. I doubt it can be implemented in a basic implementation that would appeal to more than just a few users. A basic implementation would probably look like what you have in Rawtherapee. On a rainy Sunday I tried a lot of settings and combinations with very little luck. A little like your first day in a cockpit with no prior training. 🙂

AI based sharpen - or lets call it clever, dynamic sharpen algorithms instead - will of course dominate in not too many years. Sharpening is creative and rewarding work when dealing with a few images but hours of precious life lost when you develop hundreds or even thousands of images. Due to fx sensor noise I have to apply selective sharpening on countless images together with noise reduction. If Topaz merges Sharpen AI and DeNoise AI into a significantly faster program - or Adobe does something similar in Adobe Camera RAW... I would almost pay any price for their product.    

Of course you love to tinker - but few to zero people actually see the difference in the final image. So I am simply looking for a professional tool that can automatically determine the best ratio and amount and sharpens naturally (organic) with separate sharpening of surfaces and edges. Noiseware Professional and DxO Photolab are my favorites tools. But I am still waiting for "fast AI" sharpening for the many, many images I take that would benefit from it.

In short; eagerly awaiting next generation software. Not old wine in new bottles.

[kirkt]

The Photoshop plug-ins "Focus Magic" and Topaz "In Focus" both utilize deconvolution and both run in AP as a plug-in (at least on my Mac).  They both do deconvolution sharpening and motion blur reconstruction.

Kirk

[mbrakes]

On 8/22/2020 at 1:37 AM, Jowday said:

Sharpening is creative and rewarding work when dealing with a few images but hours of precious life lost when you develop hundreds or even thousands of images. Due to fx sensor noise I have to apply selective sharpening on countless images together with noise reduction. If Topaz merges Sharpen AI and DeNoise AI into a significantly faster program - or Adobe does something similar in Adobe Camera RAW... I would almost pay any price for their product.    

Of course you love to tinker - but few to zero people actually see the difference in the final image. So I am simply looking for a professional tool that can automatically determine the best ratio and amount and sharpens naturally (organic) with separate sharpening of surfaces and edges. Noiseware Professional and DxO Photolab are my favorites tools. But I am still waiting for "fast AI" sharpening for the many, many images I take that would benefit from it.

In short; eagerly awaiting next generation software. Not old wine in new bottles.

Hear, hear!