Sharpening with Unsharp Mask

[GettingIT]

Sorry if I call this a bug and it turns out to be me but----when I try to use unsharp mask and click apply (using Tiff files) the photo returns to the place it was before I made the Unsharp Mask adjustments.

Confused as this just seems to have started --- maybe since the 1.7 upgrade?   Help!!!!

And many thanks

[GettingIT]

And how does that happen?

[Chris B]

Hey GettingIT, welcome to the Affinity Forums.

Are you viewing the image at less than 100% view?

Ideally, you want to be viewing the image at 100% or higher so the pixel ratio is 1:1 between the screen and image.

[GettingIT]

I tried going bigger. Same problem. When I click on sharpen then Unsharp Mask I can immediately see the changes from the setting that are there from (I presume) the previous useage. When I make adjustments, I can see the changes but when I hit 'Apply' the changes disappear. I am mystified at this and I have tried both locations of unsharp mask (under Filter heading and under Layer heading. 

[HVDB Photography]

Works fine for me. If possible, it would be preferable to attach the .afphoto file.

[Chris B]

Yes, I think an .afphoto file will help. 

[GettingIT]

Hi Folks;

I have sent along the Tiff file I tried to work on last night. Bow Fiddle Rock. The Affinity layers are attached in the file and maybe you can see my efforts in the History. You both ask for an .afphoto file ---- I am not of the opinion that I need that file for Unsharp Mask to work---am I wrong. I switched to tiff because I can't focus stack .afphoto files.

Sorry for trouble -- still GettingIT

Boe_Fiddle_Rock_6.tiff

[HVDB Photography]

Hi @GettingIT

Can't open the file ...

 

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, HVDB Photography said:

Can't open the file ...

Me, neither. I suspect the upload did not work properly.

Exiftool also says there is a file format error.

[Chris B]

Would you mind trying again or can you try uploading it to this Dropbox folder? Sorry for the trouble...

[LocNetMonster]

I have a similar issue.  When I sharpen a Canon RAW file, it sharpens fine in the develop persona.  FYI - in earlier builds it would sharpen and then go to the default appearance on the screen unless you held the mouse down and dragged the image to a new location on the screen.  Then, the sharpening would disappear again.  As with @GettingIT was experiencing, when I convert Canon RAW files I have to sharpen and denoise high ISO again after it is converted ... at least so it looks correct on the screen while working AP.  However, when I save the jpg and open it in another application, the image is oversharpened to the point I get fine line halos.  It appears the sharpen settings are being written to the file but not to the monitor output.

[walt.farrell]

4 hours ago, LocNetMonster said:

It appears the sharpen settings are being written to the file but not to the monitor output.

In case it's relevant (as I'm not sure of your exact workflow) you need to view your document at 100% zoom when making many adjustments if you want to see the true effects. If you're viewing at a lower zoom level you won't see the true effects. I believe this applies to sharpening, too.

[LocNetMonster]

5 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

In case it's relevant (as I'm not sure of your exact workflow) you need to view your document at 100% zoom when making many adjustments if you want to see the true effects. If you're viewing at a lower zoom level you won't see the true effects. I believe this applies to sharpening, too.

That is true if the image you are processing is 100% or near that of the native resolution of the monitor you are working on.  If the pixel dimensions are twice the screen resolution then visually making adjustments at 50%. Hope that makes sense.

[LocNetMonster]

The real problem @walt.farrell is having to sharpen the image again after being processed by RAW engine/persona. 

[walt.farrell]

23 minutes ago, LocNetMonster said:

That is true if the image you are processing is 100% or near that of the native resolution of the monitor you are working on.  If the pixel dimensions are twice the screen resolution then visually making adjustments at 50%. Hope that makes sense.

I am not sure that's correct, and it's not anything I've ever seen the Serif staff mention. Given the Affinity processing (use of mipmaps for lower resolutions) the recommendation is always to use 100% zoom for making some kinds of adjustments.

 

22 minutes ago, LocNetMonster said:

The real problem @walt.farrell is having to sharpen the image again after being processed by RAW engine/persona. 

If you were not using 100% zoom when doing the sharpening I would suggest giving that a try. It may resolve your problem.

[Johners]

This is a bug I have experienced on the two occasions that I have needed to use ‘unsharpen mask’ so far. The first time was working on the core skills section of the affinity photo workbook in the Sharpen section. The effect is shown and looks amazing, you then click apply and the image onscreen reverts back to the original image. I then tried to reapply the effect as I thought I’d done something wrong but the programme applies the effect a second time so when you are viewing the image before clicking ‘apply’ you are seeing an over sharpened image. Then when you click apply, it doesn’t revert back to the previously sharpened image but the original version - so it looks like no effect has been applied. 
I came to use this with another image yesterday and the same problem occurred and it didn’t seem to matter what resolution the picture was in, I.e. it didn’t matter that it was 1:1 ratio etc. The image always reverts back to the original. I am working on the latest Windows version of Affinity Photo, if that helps? 

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Johners said:

This is a bug I have experienced on the two occasions that I have needed to use ‘unsharpen mask’ so far. The first time was working on the core skills section of the affinity photo workbook in the Sharpen section. The effect is shown and looks amazing, you then click apply and the image onscreen reverts back to the original image. I then tried to reapply the effect as I thought I’d done something wrong but the programme applies the effect a second time so when you are viewing the image before clicking ‘apply’ you are seeing an over sharpened image. Then when you click apply, it doesn’t revert back to the previously sharpened image but the original version - so it looks like no effect has been applied. 
I came to use this with another image yesterday and the same problem occurred and it didn’t seem to matter what resolution the picture was in, I.e. it didn’t matter that it was 1:1 ratio etc. The image always reverts back to the original. I am working on the latest Windows version of Affinity Photo, if that helps? 

Were you using 100% zoom (or higher) when you did your sharpening? If not, you're getting an incorrect view of the effects. This is not a bug, but just the way the program works, as at zoom levels less than 100% the effect is applied to a lower-resolution image.

[Johners]

Thanks Walt, but surely the bug is the fact that I can see what changes are being made whilst using the mask. When I click apply, that should not change at all. I can accept what you’re saying but that doesn’t make sense as the effects adjustments clearly do work at whatever the resolution is at. By pressing apply, that shouldn’t change! 

I haven’t tried different resolutions but I will try it at 100% and let you know. But what I have said above is the bug I think, not how the program calculates the effect, but the changes that I can see should stay visible after I click apply. 

[Colmann]

The worst thing about forums is when people don't read the question properly and then harp on with useless information. This problem has nothing to do with what size you view your image at. I had the same problem. You can see the change to the image but the change doesn't apply when you hit apply. It reverts back to previous image. This happened to me while using .aphoto file and a .png file. I exported my original file as a .jpeg. Opened the jpeg, applied the filter and walla! worked perfectly. This is an Affinity bug which they need to address. I am running the latest versions of Affinity and macOS on a M! Mac.