The other tools have introduced some noise into it. The main difference between Topaz Sharpen AI and the others is seen in the sky. The results – in focus imageĪll the tools have sharpened the image well.

There are colour differences between the results as Photoshop, DXO and Luminar were working off the RAW image, Photo Ninja worked off a DNG created from the RAW image and the others worked off a basic, unsharpened TIFF output from the RAW image by Exposure X5. In this image, I found the automatic settings to be fine. It offers automatic settings, which you can also adjust manually. I spent much time manually adjusting each tool for optimal results apart from Topaz Sharpen AI. Of the modes offered by Focalblade, this is the most sophisticated and always yields good results. I presented it with an unsharpened TIF of this image and performed a two stage sharpening process – Capture and Creative. It is a very good tool with a wealth of options. Luminar 4 and Photo Ninja provide Detail adjustment and sharpening.įocalblade is a Photoshop plugin and a standalone application. It contains Camera/Lens profiles that compensate for lens edge and corner softness. DXO Photo Lab has always had a unique feature. The other tools I tested range from having a bewildering set of options (Focalblade) to automatic settings (NIK Define). It’s not scientific, but often provides good enough results. That is fine for a handful of images, but impractical for large sets of images.Īdjusting the settings until it yields good results can be a lengthy process of trial and error, so many photographers have their favourite settings and stick with those. If you spend more time, then creating a layer with a layer mask can provide a greater level of control over the sharpening process. USM is global – it sharpens the whole picture, although its settings build a mask that targets edges and leaves flat areas alone. The main challenge with sharpening a good image is to not introduce unwanted artefacts – halos and noise. Photographers have used USM (Unsharp Mask), the standard Photoshop/Affinity Photo sharpening method, for years and with good results. In theory at least, sharpening an in-focus image is fairly straightforward. Sharpen AI has three sharpening modes: Sharpen, Focus and Blur.

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