Another real-world question for D800 users, but this one is about post processing.

Now that you have a D800, how do you feel about the amount slider in Photoshop for the unsharp mask tool? Is 500% still enough, or would you like to see the limit increased in a future version of Adobe PS?

First, the threshold value doesn't even make sense to me. 500% of what? Stupid measure if you ask me.

Second, the radius adjustment can very quickly increase the amount of perceived sharpening. If your radius is set to a tiny number (say 0.3), then 500% may not be enough on any image from any camera. Bump the radius up to 3 and then 500% is hideous looking. I recall reading somewhere long ago that a radius of ~1.8 was a good starting point for a 12MP image. But it's not a linear response, so 5.4 doesn't look to good on the D800 images if I recall.

I'd argue that if you find 500% to be insufficient, you're not using an appropriate radius value. Or you just need to rerun the sharpening algorithm a second or third time since the results cumulative. Some photographers have very elaborate sharpening approaches that use multiple passes with differing settings rather than a one-stop-shop approach that most people apply.


-Alex Rosen
www.flickr.com/photos/klrbee25/

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Consider using a 2-step sharpening process to get the maximum resolution (first do modest sharpening followed by sharpening the sharpened image). On the web you can find people recommending this. Jason Odell uses Capture NX2 and recommends a 2-step process, the first one using High-Pass sharpening, the second one using USM.

http://www.luminescentphoto.com/blog/2012/06/29/get-sharp-with-the-nikon-d800/#more-2399

Jim

a San Diego Nikonian