- The sharpening area with automatic sharpening and numerous individual influence options.
- The supersampling area, which finally calculates the sharpened image in the details and contours even more finely and precisely, thus creating an optimal result image that inspires the user.
To begin with, the flash workflow shows that you can achieve a finished and impressive result in three to four steps if you rely on the automatic system and do not want to intervene manually.
1. Flash workflow - quickly to the finished image
The Flash workflow takes particular account of the changes in photography. In addition to professional photographers and ambitious ‘hobby photographers’ with professional equipment, most people today photograph unforgettable moments or ‘normal’ life situations with children, grandchildren or sights, celebrations such as weddings with their mobile phones or simpler system cameras.
Spontaneous snapshots of unusual or funny subjects have their price - the sharpness of the image - because, for example, the subject was too fast or the hand was not steady enough.
Despite all the differences, the desire for the resulting image is the same: it should be optimally sharpened.
If you want to do it quickly and automatically, you can do it in 3 steps:
Step 1: File import: Load the desired image file into the programme window (1). Step 2: Accept all presets with the default preset Original (2), then this step is omitted.
Step 3: Optional: Select a category other than the preset category (3).
If you accept the preset, this step is also omitted.
Step 4: Trigger automatic mode by clicking on Set automatically (4).
Step 5: Save or select one of the image cropping/scaling suggestions beforehand - done!
In most cases, you will achieve very good results with these ‘quick steps’.
Note: The steps listed in the flash workflow are described in detail in the General files guide.
The individual steps or special features for SHARPEN are listed here in abbreviated form and are described in detail in the following chapters.
Step 1: File import
There are various ways to load an image, e.g. via File/load image, all of which are equivalent. You decide which method is quickest or easiest for you.
Drag & drop: With the method selected in the example, simply drag & drop the image file into the programme window. To do this, select the desired image in Explorer and drag it into the programme window by holding down the left mouse button.
The note Determine image depth with AI that then appears refers to the fact that SHARPEN determines a depth map for each image, which is explained in the chapter Protect image areas with 3D variants.
In contrast to the other Ashampoo programmes, you will not see the resulting image seconds later, but the unchanged original, because in SHARPEN the presets only prepare the sharpening options, but do not sharpen them themselves.
If you have specified a folder for the individual images in the
Extras/Settings/Programme menu, this folder is always selected automatically.
Step 2: Activate automatic
Click on the green Set automatically button to let the automatic programme select the appropriate category and presetting for any blurring and blurring that may be present in the image.
As a rule, the last category Artwork is selected and in this category the appropriate preset for the analysed motif, in the example district haze/blurring.
If you would like to ‘override’ the automatic system with a slight or stronger correction, click on this button or the small arrow next to it and select one of the presets shown for this category or all others (see the Categories chapter) that corresponds more to your personal preferences, which was not necessary in the example.
The resulting image (graphics on the right) has the desired ‘correct’ sharpness corresponding to reality, the currywurst looks ‘crispier, the fried potatoes appear crispier, and everything looks more present and appetising.
The combination of district haze/blurring leads to simultaneous sharpening and slightly more intense colours. If haze is reduced in an image, it becomes darker and the colours, e.g. those of the sky, more intense. Increasing the brightness counteracts the generally undesirable darkening, which is automatically applied in the Photographic settings area in SHARPEN. In the example, the stronger intensity of the colours is desired.
Step 3: Save or select one of the image cropping/scaling suggestions beforehand - done!
Click on the green Save button to automatically switch to the Image cropping and subtitle window. Here you are offered further options such as customised image cropping, title input or, by clicking on Scale and save, scaling presets,
e.g. for social media formats such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, which you can use if required.
If you decide in favour of these offers or are satisfied with the resulting image without further intervention, click on the second green Save button to switch to the selected folder ...
... and either accept the file name or assign a ‘descriptive’ one, which makes it easier to find your way around later.
Image example 2: Selection of a different category
In the first image example with a direct click on Set automatically, the more intense colours were welcome in addition to the sharpening. This is not desirable for all subjects, e.g. for many portraits as in this 2nd image example.
In addition to the Portrait category with its customised presets, the second category, Camera shake and blurring, can be the first choice for many subjects.
Here it is worth selecting a different category, in many cases the most frequently used flash workflow, as step 3 before immediately triggering the automatic function.
After clicking again on Set automatically, you will see a very good result that preserves the smooth skin structures, sharpens the hair, eyes and lips more and leaves the colours unchanged.
Save with the corresponding options is identical to the first flash workflow.
2. Interface overview with sharpness area and presets
After loading an image file and clicking on the diamond symbol in the toolbar...
... you can see the user interface with the sharpness area displayed. If required, the supersampling area can be displayed by clicking on the button next to the minus sign for finalising.
1. The familiar programme window with the unsharpened original.
2. On the left are the presets, which themselves do not sharpen, but prepare the various sharpening options.
3. Compact interface mode (standard), which displays the main modules and parameters for the image sharpening settings, and Professional mode, in which all setting options are displayed. This mode is described in more detail in the Professional mode chapter.
4. Sharpness categories with the corresponding presets.
5. Automatic camera shake and blurring. After activating the automatic mode by clicking on it, further modules are displayed.
6. Quality modes for blurring reduction.
7. Visualisation of the blur distribution in the image.
8. Photographic settings depending on the different sharpening methods.
Note: The presets, modules or categories are described in the following chapters.
3. Importance of the presets
The presets in SHARPEN are not presets that offer different sharpening options. In contrast to most other programmes from Ashampoo that offer different image looks or image moods in several categories to choose from, the presets in SHARPEN are preparatory presets with different image look variations or corrections such as ‘Reduce JPG artefacts’ that do not offer different levels of sharpening. The selected preset is outlined in green and is the template for all sharpening options on the right-hand side of the programme.
Browser: If required, you can see a quick overview of all presets or presettings by clicking on the browser icon in the Variant browser window. As a rule, you can simply accept the preset ‘Original’.
Change opacity: The opacity of a preset is set to 100% by default. You can use the slider to reduce the effect of a preset to 80% to 0% (original) or increase it to 200%, as in the High Key example.
The window that appears indicates that the change must be reset if the presets are to be calculated with normal strength again, which happens automatically each time the programme is started.
The graphics show that the presets offer very different image looks. As the sharpness options with the resulting images are always related to the selected preset, it is worth trying them out for many subjects.
Reset sharpness settings: If you only scroll through the presets after sharpening, only the image look changes; the sharpness settings remain the same as the originally selected preset.
Clicking the Reset button resets all sharpness settings to the default values. Clicking Set Automatically again triggers the sharpening of the currently selected preset again, which can also lead to other sharpening presets, such as in the example Camera shake – fine correction for the High Key preset to
Camera shake - considerable correction for the Glamour Portrait preset.
4. 7 sharpening categories, 3 different sharpening methods
If you want to ‘override’ the automatic system, you have the choice between three different sharpening methods in 7 categories, which adapt the sharpening even more specifically to the loaded subject.
Example: With the standard preset Original in the Portrait sharpness category, SHARPEN analyses the differences in a portrait even more precisely and sharpens only where it makes sense with the help of adaptive sharpness. However, this intensive sharpness is not applied to the entire image: The result is a differentiated, sharpened image without colour change with discreetly sharpened skin and stronger sharpening of the eyes, lips and hair with more details, which is very pleasant and convincing.
The parameters belonging to each image sharpness category, such as Adaptive image sharpness and Photographic settings in the example, are also adapted to the different sharpening methods and, together with the other options, enable the optimum results to be achieved that are completely customised and tailored to personal taste.
However, personal taste also means that not every viewer will like the selected sharpness of the sample images shown in the same way. SHARPEN makes it easy for you to approach your personal taste intuitively and live until the entire image statement is ‘right’ for you. The different sharpening methods, the associated image sharpness categories and all other individual intervention options are explained in more detail below.
Note: If you ‘override’ the automatically suggested preset by clicking on another preset, this preset is immediately recalculated. Click on Set automatically again to change the preset back to the original one.
Presets
Each category includes customised presets from which the automatic system selects and applies what it considers to be the optimum preset. If required, each of the presets offered can be selected manually. The presets are displayed by clicking on the original image or the small arrow next to it.
7 sharpness categories
1. All default settings: Click on Original image to see the presets for all categories.
2. Camera shake and blurring: Here only the blur and blurring are reduced from minimum to maximum in the image without the haze & fog correction, the colours in the image remain unchanged.
3. Haze & Fog: This category is a speciality. Nothing is sharpened here, only haze and fog are reduced from slightly to intensely in the image.
4. General image sharpness: Here the image is sharpened evenly from slightly enhancement to significantly enhancement to colour-optimised.
5. Portrait: This category also offers special features. In addition to the sharpness gradations from slight sharpness to intense sharpness, you can select a soft look and a black and white look if required.
6. Landscape: Here, too, the image is not only sharpened in a differentiated way from slight sharpness to high sharpness, image looks such as soft look, colourful, twilight hour and HDR look invite you to experiment.
7. Artwork: The default settings are summarised here, usually combinations of 2 categories such as artwork – haze/blurring correction, which are preferably selected by the automatic system and cannot be assigned directly in the other categories. You can also select special image looks here if required, such as high image depth, night shot or dramatic.
3 Sharpening methods
- Camera shake - General image sharpness - Adaptive image sharpness
Sharpening method 1: Blurring correction
This sharpening method dominates the sharpening methods because it analyses the most common problems such as camera shake when taking snapshots with cameras without a tripod or mobile phone shots and corrects minimal or intense blurring in the image as effectively as possible.
Even SHARPEN can't do magic: no programme can conjure up ‘crisp’ results from completely blurred images, but you can experience everything that is possible here in astonishing quality.
The first image sharpness category All default settings not only corrects blurring in the image via the automatic function, but also haze and fog. You have already seen the effects in the flash workflow: The subject is not only sharpened, it also becomes more colour-intensive, which is desired for many subjects like this one and is therefore usually selected by the automatic system, as in the example Artwork - distinct haze/blurring.
For portraits, where not only sharpening is used, but also the skin colour becomes more intense, as the comparison with the original shows, this is rarely intentional, as is the case here with Artwork - distinct haze/blurring, where the sharpening is a little too strong and the colours too intense. Depending on your taste, this can of course be intentional.
This is different with the same sharpening method in the 2nd category Camera shake & blurring, where only the blurring is removed and the colours remain untouched. As a result, the skin colours look as natural as in the original, the sharpening is not as differentiated as in the Portrait sharpness category, but it is very good and convincing.
Note: The fact that the sharpening does not appear too sharp here is due to the Protect image areas, which is set to Protect smooth areas by default in all image sharpness categories and is described in a later chapter.
Sharpening method 2: General image sharpness
General image sharpness is used in the fourth and seventh image sharpening categories, i.e. in General image sharpness settings and Artwork – default settings. The special thing about this 7th category is that the sharpening method does not exist in ‘pure culture’ and the automatic function is also missing.
The associated presets are always a combination of general image sharpness and a photographic setting such as slight haze/blurring, which you are familiar with from the flash workflow.
The desired combinations or special image looks such as deep black and white in the example must always be clicked on manually.
This sharpening process does not correct blurring, but makes the image sharper overall, making it appear more present and ‘crisper’, as in the example of category 4 with image sharpness.
General image sharpness with further image look variations
Also Motifs like these ....
... are well suited for general image sharpness in category 4 with image sharpness increase ...
or in category 7 with the combination of an offered image look such as Artwork - colourful in the example.
Sharpening method 3: Adaptive image sharpness
Adaptive focus is used in the fifth and sixth focus categories, i.e. portrait and landscape.
This adaptive image sharpening mainly sharpens only where there are contours. This means that it makes a clear distinction in sharpening between smooth surfaces such as skin in a portrait ...
or smoother image areas in a landscape photo that are only sharpened very slightly, even though the Protect smooth areas, which is switched on by default, has been switched off. Image areas with contours, structures or details such as eyes, lips, nose, hair in portrait photos or detailed image areas in landscape photos are sharpened more.
The method of sharpening is the same in these categories, but they differ in the corresponding default settings for portraits and landscapes, which are adapted to these different types of motifs.
Here, the automatic portrait - intense sharpness has been selected for the RAW Brilliant preset. The skin is subtly sharpened, the eyes, lips and hair are sharper depending on the structure and richness of detail, which is just as intentional and fits the subject perfectly.
In this image subject, the automatic system has selected high sharpness in the landscape category with the same RAW brilliance preset, and the adaptive sharpening method also works as desired here and ‘provides’ an optimum result with ideally sharpened details and more discreetly sharpened, smoother parts of the image. It is therefore worth choosing the ‘right’ category.
Category Haze & Fog
This category is a speciality: It does not sharpen, but reduces haze and fog.
The images still appear sharper than the original because this presetting influences the brightness values and the ‘deshading’ makes the colours appear stronger. Click on the small arrow or the ‘Original image’ button to display all four options in these categories, from reduce slightly to reduce intensely.
If you now trigger the automatic suggestion by clicking on Set automatically, the automatic system selects what it considers to be the optimum haze/fog reduction - in this case, greatly reduce.
Note: The following also applies in this category: If you ‘override’ the automatically suggested preset by clicking on another preset, this preset is immediately recalculated. Click on Set automatically again to return to the original preset.
5. Comparison view of blurring before – after
In the sharpening area, after loading an image file, your gaze automatically falls on the comparison view, which visualizes the distribution of the blurring of the original on the left and the visualization after the sharpening process on the right. If nothing has been sharpened yet, you will see the same view on the left and right.
This comparison view impressively visualizes a sharpening process: On the left, the calculated blur around any pixel with the average blur distribution in the image and on the right, the result after the sharpening process.
In the image example, the automatic system has selected the strong correction preset for Camera shake & blurring. The “blurred cloud” has become a small sharp point, which “confirms” the impression when looking at the resulting image.
This Point Spread Function (PSF) illustrates the distribution of the blur of a single pixel of the original in terms of extent, direction and color. The expansion in the image example indicates a visible blur. And it has a (slightly reddish) color on the outside. The larger the bright area, the more blurring was analyzed in the image.
The smaller this area is, the better the sharpening worked. The automatic mode in the Camera shake & blurring category leads to a very convincing result in the comparison view: The “cloud” around the pixel with a large extension is reduced to a minimum, which suggests a cleanly sharpened result image, which is confirmed in the comparison.
Ideally, an almost single bright pixel should be visible in the center of the display.
But here, too, “optimal” is in the eye of the beholder, because not every optimal sharpening must be the best possible result for personal taste from the point of view of the program and in the image example only a slight sharpening with intentional remaining blurring is desired.
Manually influence the direction of blurring
In the image example, the blurring of the original is distributed around the individual pixel and means an undirected blurring, which can happen, for example, due to inaccurate focusing or slight blurring.
By clicking on one of the directional arrows or, in the example, on the circle, you can “tell” the program to focus with the manual blurring correction, in the example Camera shake & blurring/maximum correction and place particular emphasis on a general blur reduction that extends equally in all directions and has an intensifying effect. The resulting image confirms the promise and is very convincing.
In this image example, the directional blur goes from top right to bottom left.
Manually influence the direction of blurring
Clicking on the arrow pointing to the bottom left creates a new point spread function (PSF), which corrects the blurring with the selected sharpening method, as in the example Camera shake strong correction in this direction, whereby the arrows cannot be combined.
The result is a visibly more effective sharpening and leads to a minimal shift of the image in the direction of the arrow.
The colorations visualize that the sharpening is performed for each color channel.
Note: The direction of the arrow should generally be selected in the direction of the blur shown. in the example, to the bottom left or top right. An activated arrow pointing to the bottom right or top left would force the sharpness correction in the “wrong” direction and lead to a poorer result.
Click on the circle or one of the arrows again to deactivate these additional functions.
When resetting the currently selected sharpening method, this manually influenced directional blur is not automatically deleted.
Note: This visualization of the blur distribution is only available in the first 3 categories.
Smoothing slider
This slider causes an integrated denoising of the original in the sharpening and thus ensures better smoothing of the image. The automatically set level of smoothing, in the example 28%, depends on the automatically or manually selected presets, in the example Camera shake - intense correction.
If you drag the slider to the left to 0%, the smoothing does not work at all, the image appears much more unsteady, ...
... with stronger smoothing up to a maximum of 100%, the image appears more harmonious and calmer, especially at the edge transitions.
It is important to note that this smoothing does not affect the sharpness, unlike the denoising control, which also affects the sharpness.
6. Multidirectional sharpening
This module is only displayed if you have triggered a sharpening process automatically or manually.
This Multidirectional sharpening module, which has been trained with neural networks, sharpens in different directions, as the name suggests. Most photographed images have blurs that are distributed around the individual pixels. This applies equally to general blurring caused by inaccurate focussing and to directional blurring caused by camera shake. Or objects such as cars on the road, people or animals have moved in the image.
Multidirectional sharpening does not generally determine this blurring or camera shake for the entire image, but for each individual pixel. It analyses the direction in which the blurring has occurred and corrects or reduces it significantly, bringing more sharpness to the image.
In addition, the integrated halo reduction (without its own controller) reduces unwanted brightness fringes, for example, which leads to even better quality results depending on the image motifs loaded.
You can choose between five options or intensity levels, whereby the radius of the calculations increases from left to right, which is also illustrated by the increasingly larger stars.
Multi-directional sharpness is switched off by default, which is indicated by the green button (1).
In the first stage (2), the multi-directional sharpness is activated with a small radius, in the second (3) with a medium radius, in the third (4) with a high radius and in the fifth (5) with a very high radius, which also increases the calculation time accordingly.
Note: The highest level is not always the best, as the result can also look exaggerated and unnaturally sharp.
Like all modules, this one can also be combined with others.
Reset: Click on the arrows to reset your corrections to the default values.
Example: Multidirectional sharpening level 5
The image example shows the loaded original image, in which everything appears somewhat blurred, especially the plumage and the eyes, ...
... has been sharpened with Camera shake strong correction. In addition, the highest level 5 was selected Multidirectional sharpening , which leads to the impressive result: Practically every single feather of the feathers is recognisable and sharp, the same applies to the eye.
The additionally activated arrow in the comparison view has further increased the sharpening in the desired direction and optimised the result.
7. Protect image areas with 3D-variants
In other Ashampoo programs, you decide individually whether and which image areas you want to protect from certain influences such as micro details, graining or colour manipulation, depending on the motif loaded and the changes made.
SHARPEN is different: load an image file here and leave the sharpening to the automatic system or sharpen manually, the area protection Protect smooth areas is active by default. The result is a sharpened image which, despite intensive sharpening with Camera shake - intensive correction, makes the rose look pleasantly sharp, very present, but not unnaturally oversharpened as after deactivating the protection (do not protect any image areas). Note: The Adaptive in Portrait, Landscape method differentiates very well even without area protection, and even more specifically with area protection.
The Protect image areas module with numerous options offers a further option on the way to an optimum sharpness result. It protects certain areas in the image slightly to intensively from the selected sharpening method and other additional settings that you may have made to optimise the image for your individual viewing habits.
By clicking on the Protect smooth areas button, which is preset by default and covers most cases for differentiated sharpening, or the small arrow to the right of it, the various options for protecting certain image areas are listed in the drop-down menu.
Scroll slowly from top to bottom through the possible protection areas, you will see individual area subdivisions or colours such as skin tones, sky blue, smooth areas, details, centre, edge areas, which you can select specifically or combinations such as smooth/skin areas, skin tones/centre or blue/shadow protection.
Just as selected areas can be protected, areas are also offered where sharpening is specifically permitted and other image areas are excluded from sharpening.
3D protection areas: Particularly interesting are the 3D areas from near to centre to far or the combination offers such as close/smooth, close/detail or close/skin, which can be recognised by the 3D in brackets. how is this possible?
Create automatic depth map
As described in the flash workflow, the information is displayed when a new image file is loaded: Editing: Determine image depth with AI. This is a basic function of the programme that generates a depth map for each image. If, for example, you crop an image, mirror the image, straighten or distort it in the RAW module, the depth map is adapted to the changed geometry of the image and prepared for the 3D area protection variants.
Visualisation of the depth map and the protected image areas:
Protect close-up mask: For example, if you select (3D) Protect near field and click on the eye symbol to the right of it, the associated mask impressively visualises the desired sharpening and its exception: The close-up area with the lantern remains unsharpened (black to dark grey), the background receives the automatic sharpening of Artwork – distinct haze/blurring.
Note: The masks can of course be displayed for all area protection offers.
Mask combination (3D) distance/smooth intensive protection
In the 2nd picture example the original ...
... with blurring - strong correction sharpened and the combination distance/smooth intensively protect has been chosen.
The displayed mask confirms the very convincing result: All smooth areas such as the skin and the background are excluded from the sharpening, all areas with contours or structures have been assigned the selected sharpness.
Mask (3D) Protect rear half of image
If, for example, the rear half of the image is to be protected and the impressive lantern in the foreground is to be more of a sharp eye-catcher, select (3D) Protect rear half of image or Protect far field and click on the icon to display this mask view, which shows that the white areas are completely sharpened and the light areas are slightly sharpened, the dark grey areas are slightly sharpened and the black areas are not sharpened at all. Click on the icon again to hide the mask.
With these area protection variants based on the depth map, you can determine yourself in which image area the sharpness and blurring should be located, and with the combinations you can control the sharpness distribution individually.
8. Reduce camera shake/blurring, 4 Modes
In this module, the four quality modes each increase the radius of the blur analysis.
You will only find it in the sharpness categories where the camera shake/blurring method is used (1 and 2), in the third category haze & fog and in the seventh Artwork with combinations as Artwork – slight haze/blurring. In the default balanced mode (1), 50 pixels are calculated in each direction, which represents a compromise between quality and calculation time. If the mode is increased by one level to Pro mode (2), the quality of the blur reduction also increases. In this mode, 100 pixels are calculated in each direction and the radius of the blur analysis is increased accordingly. The (Pro + mode (3) increases the quality considerably once again and requires around 10 times the calculation time due to the 250 pixels calculated in each direction.
As in the following modes, the warning message that appears draws attention to the increased calculation effort that this entails.
Finally, Pro Infinity (4) increases the quality to the maximum possible. The warning about the up to 50-fold calculation time can also be displayed in Pro + with the 10-fold calculation time. In this last mode - Infinity stands for infinity - practically the entire image is included in the calculations. This also makes the structures and subtleties present in a loaded image visible. The result impresses in the image with a very pleasant sharpness, which is also visualised and confirmed in the comparison view.
It should also be noted here that each quality mode can of course be combined with other modes, for example with Supersampling.
Parameter
If you load an image file, the 2 parameters Correction and Denoising are displayed below the 4 modes.
If a camera shake/blurring is triggered automatically or manually, an additional Halo reduction slider is displayed, which is omitted for haze & fog.
You can use these sliders to fine-tune the quality modes.
The preset values depend on the loaded image motif, the selected category and the default settings.
Correction: Use the correction slider to determine the strength or intensity of the blurring correction from 0% (no strength) to 100% (full strength). Denoise: This slider causes the image to be denoised before sharpening as opposed to the smoothing slider.
Halo reduction: This slider ‘takes care’ of the unsightly halo contours ...
… especially at the transitions from edges, e.g. to the sky, as in this roof construction of the Sydney Opera House and especially the steel bridge in the background.
If necessary, increase the preset by one level to compensate for the slight loss of sharpness.
If the halo slider on the left is set to 0% for Camera shake – considerable correction, the result looks like this when enlarged, with unsightly transitions, especially on the steel bridge.
Note: As the value of 30% automatically set by the programme for this motif has been changed, the information Camera shake – considerable correction has become Own settings.
If you pull the halo slider to 100%, the difference is immediately apparent: the transitions of the roof construction have become ‘smoother’ and the white edges of the bridge have disappeared. This impressive correction is somewhat at the expense of sharpness, but this is hardly noticeable when zooming out and offers a good compromise with an average value of 30 to 50%.
Relationship between subject - selected sharpness - slider settings
As mentioned, the slider settings are related to the loaded subject and the automatically or manually selected sharpness preset. The image section with the rose illustrates this once again: In the image on the right with the automatically selected camera shake- strong correction preset, the Halo slider has been manually set to 0% for demonstration purposes with the unsightly edge transitions.
The automatic system has selected the control settings Correction 90%, Halo Reduction 54% and Denoising 42% with a very good result.
The parameters are adjusted for Camera shake – minimal correction: Correction 60%, Halo Reduction 30%, Denoising 22%: The stronger the sharpness preset, the stronger the corrections.
9. Photographic settings
Photographic settings ‘accompany’ the sharpening processes in SHARPEN and can be used for corrections or, if required, independently of sharpening an image file to create a different desired image look or a different image statement.
As a rule, you do not need to intervene manually here. If you start the automatic or manual sharpening process, in the Portrait - intense sharpening example, the slider settings adapted to the image subject and the sharpening method are displayed. When switching to another category, such as Haze & Fog, the slider settings change accordingly.
If you want to deliberately vary the image look after automatic sharpening or the image mood of the original, you can choose between various options in addition to the Smoothing slider described in the chapter Comparison view of blurring before - after:
- Remove haze: Effectively reduces haze and fog in images. The more the slider is moved to the right, the stronger the reduction and the image is ‘dehazed’. If the reduction is too strong, the result can be worse instead of better because, for example, the blue of the sky can become blotchy.
- Brilliance: Deepen the depth effect of the image subject the further the slider is moved to the right.
- Brightness: If you move the slider from the centre position to the left, the image becomes darker and to the right it becomes brighter.
- Colour: Here you do not change the colours, but the colour luminosity. To the left, the colours are desaturated up to the greyscale image, to the right, they become stronger.
- Structure: Changes the structure drawing in the image. If you drag the slider to the left, the image is smoothed, to the right all structures in the image are intensified.
Reset: Click on the arrows to reset all automatic or customised corrections.
Image example
If you select the Landscape category in the image example and trigger the automatic function, the Smoothing slider is set to 20, Remove haze to 5 and Brilliance also to 5% under Landscape - slight sharpness, with all others set to 0%.
If, for example, you want to enhance the colours of the flowers and the meadow and ‘blur’ the somewhat pale sky, ...
... drag the Colour slider to the right as desired (here 60%) and the Remove haze slider also to the right to the value you want (here 50%) and with just 2 slider changes you will quickly have a significantly different image.
10. Pro mode with additional modules
SHARPEN offers 2 interface modes: Compact and Pro (Professional. By default, after loading an image file, compact mode is active with the associated modules for fast and efficient processing.
All the modules you need for the flash workflow or a more advanced workflow are available at a glance without having to scroll up or down.
To see all the options on offer, switch the interface mode to Pro. The description above has already made it clear that you don't need to be a professional to do this; in this mode, you will see an even wider range of options that are collapsed in compact mode.
The additional offers are described in more detail in the following chapters:
- Export/import function (graphic on the left).
- Sharpness - colour dominance (graphic on the left).
- Oversampling (graphic on the left).
- Button for activating/deactivating artificial intelligence (graphic left). - 3 additional sliders for blurring correction (centre graphic).
- Additional direct comparison view (graphic on the right) with precision slider for the PSF function, brightness/contours slider.
Note: The selected interface mode remains active even after closing and reopening the programme and must be changed manually.
11. Export/Import function
The Export and Import module can speed up your workflow and save or shorten the time spent repeatedly experimenting with different sharpening methods and individual settings.
Once you have automatically or individually sharpened an uploaded image file so that the result meets your requirements, you can export all the sharpening settings you have made temporarily or permanently. With temporary quick export, the settings can be immediately applied to other files. When saving to a file, the settings can be used identically at any later point in time.
Save settings permanently: Click on the Export button (2) to save the entire sharpness module with all current sharpness settings and photographic settings in all categories with the exception of supersampling as a separate module in a folder of your choice (graphic on the left).
Click on Import (3) to open the same folder (image on the right) and you can import the desired file and apply it to another image. This is very practical because you can transfer the exact same sharpening to other images with all the combinations you like.
Another advantage is that you can later combine these saved settings with all supersampling variants if required.
Save settings temporarily: In addition to saving them permanently in a file, you can temporarily use the sharpening you have found for other image files as long as the programme is not closed.
If you click on the button to the left of Export (1), the export of your settings is confirmed in the dialogue window that then opens (graphic on the left). If you then load another file and click on the button to the right of Import, the dialogue window that opens (graphic on the right) confirms the successful import of the sharpness settings.
12. Sharpness colour dominance
The Sharpness colour dominance module is displayed when you trigger the automatic function or move one of the sliders of a sharpness range. In this module, you have the option of specialising the image sharpness process to a selectable colour space, to dominant colours. These are (from left to right) neutral grey, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue and violet. A selected main colour ensures that the sharpening process treats the selected colour tone with increased precision and thus produces finer accuracy. The two symbols Camera (1) and Eye (2) automatically determine a colour dominance when they are active: Translated with DeepL.com (free version) If you activate the camera symbol by clicking on it, the colour dominance is automatically determined from the camera data of the original image. With the eye symbol activated and preset by default, the colour dominance used corresponds to the brightness perception of the human eye. This socalled ‘retina method’ rates red at around 21%, green at 72% and blue at 7%, which corresponds to the colour distribution of the human eye and consequently means that green is calculated more accurately than blue. If you want to change this for orange tones, for example, which usually dominate in skin tones, the result only changes minimally, but these subtle differences can make the difference to a perfect result image.
As a rule, you do not need to intervene manually in this module and rely on the default settings.
Reset: Click on the arrows to reset the individual settings to the default value.
Image example
The colour red dominates in the picture example.
The automatic system has sharpened the image with camera shake – considerable correction. The setting in the Sharpness - Colour dominance module is set by default to the ‘normal’ brightness perception of the humaneye.
By clicking on Red-dominant, the red colours are calculated more accurately than the others during sharpening, the result is nuanced better in the enlargement than in the standard setting, but not a great leap in quality.
13. Oversampling
Oversampling is based on all the sharpness settings made up to that point for an uploaded image, such as automatic, multi-directional sharpness or individually selected area protection, and converts these calculations into a multiple calculation (cascade), whereby each calculation is performed at a lower level, which leads to more balanced, nuanced results with finer details and reduced sharpness halos. It therefore makes sense to experiment with the different oversampling levels at the end or before the final supersampling. The oversampling level specifies the number of calculation levels in which the resulting sharpness in the image is to be calculated. The more levels are selected, the finer and therefore more precise the result of the generated image sharpness will be.
- Single Oversampling: The default 1x oversampling level is the normal mode and calculates the image sharpness in one pass from the original to the resulting image.
- Double Oversampling: With 2 –fold oversampling, the image sharpness is calculated more precisely in two automatic successive steps: In the first step, the original is sharpened by around 50 % and the resulting image is sharpened again by around 50 %. This step-by-step procedure enables finer and more detailed results.
- Triple Oversampling: With triple oversampling, the sharpening is calculated in three successive steps.
- 5-fold-Oversampling: With 5-fold oversampling in five consecutive steps, the sharpening is still calculated somewhat more finely and precisely in 5 consecutive steps.
The sharpening is not only finer and more nuanced, a further advantage is the avoidance of more sharpness halos in the image compared to sharpening an image ‘in one go’.
Consequently, the difference between single and fivefold oversampling is the clearest and most visible. At the same time, the computing time increases accordingly.
Reset: Click on the surrounding arrows to reset the oversampling to the default value.
Image example
If this image file is created with Camera shake - intensive correction sharpened and customised with various parameters, the result looks very good in the high magnification (graphic on the left), but could appear a little ‘calmer’ and the slight halo effects a little more reduced.
After selecting 5-fold Oversampling, the desired effect of the complex calculation process is visible in the strongly zoomed view ...
... and as expected also in the ‘normal’ view.
14. Multi-directional sharpness: deactivate/activate AI
This module is described in compact mode in the Multi-directional sharpness chapter.
By default, the Artificial intelligence button is active, highlighted in green and indicates that the module has been trained with several neural networks specifically for the task of blur reduction in different directions.
In professional mode, you can decide whether the multi-directional sharpness algorithms should be calculated with or without AI.
If the artificial intelligence is switched off by clicking on the button, the green becomes grey and the multi-directional sharpening is calculated using the conventional local PSF (Point Spread Function) blurring algorithms.
The comparison of AI off (diagram on the left) to AI on (diagram on the right) shows in the greatly enlarged view that the result appears more homogeneous and ‘calmer’ with AI.
It therefore only makes sense to deactivate it in exceptional cases.
15. Reduce camera shake/blurring with 3 new sliders
In addition to the familiar controls from the compact mode (diagram on the left), this module in Pro mode with the 4 quality modes has been supplemented by 3 further controls (diagram on the right), which enable even finer tuning and more individualised adjustment if required:
Radius: Use this slider to select the desired radius of the camera shake: A high value corrects large-scale blurring (diagram on the left) and requires more calculation time, a low value corrects small-scale to localised blurring.
- Quality: Use this slider to influence the quality of the correction: the higher you drag the slider to the right, the more detailed blurring is corrected.
- Fineness: Here you can specify whether the correction should concentrate or focus more on large (slider on the left) or fine areas (slider on the right).
16. Great Blurring comparison view
The comparison view, which you are familiar with from compact mode and which visualises the analysed blur/blurring on the left and the correction result on the right, as in the image example for camera shake - strong correction, ...
… has been expanded in professional mode to include the ‘large’ comparison view and 2 controllers:
- Precision: If you drag this slider to the right up to 200%, the sampling accuracy for calculating the blur distribution is increased and leads to an even more precise result.
- Brightness/Contours: For each image loaded, this module automatically analyses the contours of the image to determine whether the image is dominated by areas with many or rather few or soft contours. The result of the analysis determines the choice of modes and leads to better results thanks to the differentiation; if necessary, switch to Brightness (left) or Contours (right).
Great Blurring comparison view
Click on the button ...
... opens the window with the Blurring comparison view between the original and the sharpened result image.
The toolbar at the top can be used to change the display as shown in the graphic, where the same image section with the original (left) and the sharpened result (right) is shown on the left and right.
17. Super-sampling area
Super-sampling is a very special, quality-enhancing function that adds the finishing touches to the image and should therefore come at the end of all automatic and/or customised sharpening.
This scaling technology, a combination of edge smoothing and halo reduction, is characteristic of super-sampling and leads to high-quality resulting images with more pleasant, smoother and more harmonious sharpening.
Super-sampling is a stand-alone module because it can also be used as a finishing touch for other image modifications.
Click on the symbol in the toolbar to display it.
Activate super-sampling: Super-sampling is activated when you click on the Inactive button or the small arrow to the right of it ...
... and select one of the available super-sampling levels. This selection initiates the internal upscaling of an image by the selected factor. The resulting image is then sharpened with all the selected settings and then reduced back to its original size. In the case of 2x scaling, the image is enlarged to twice its original size; in the case of 3x or 4x scaling, the image is enlarged to the corresponding size and then reduced again, resulting in impressive images.
2 buttons
2 modes: Sharp and soft: The default mode Sharp (graphic on the left) ...
produces a strong correction compared to sharpening without supersampling, such as camera shake – strong correction (graphic on the right) ...
... very clear and homogeneous contours and is particularly suitable for images with many micro details.
Mode Soft
In Soft mode, the interpolation (determined approximately) is somewhat softer, which produces very homogeneous surfaces and contours, is more suitable for soft subjects and leads to a somewhat smoother result.
The same motif has been selected here for better comparability.
Note: Sharp and Soft do not refer to sharpening, but to the scaling method used in these modes.
Even if 5x super-sampling was selected in the image example above, 2x to 3x is usually sufficient for an impressive result image, as here with the same subject, and is achieved with a significantly shorter calculation time.
18. Example of an extended workflow in keywords
At the beginning of this guide, the flash workflow showed how you can achieve great results literally in a flash using the automatic mode. The following chapters have shown numerous other possibilities for optimisation or adaptation to personal taste.
The following brief overview can provide guidance for an ‘extended’ workflow, which is of course only a suggestion and not binding.
The first two steps are identical to the flash workflow.
Step 1: Load image, activate a preset of your choice if required.
Step 2: Select the sharpness category depending on the subject and trigger the automatic function. In the example, this is the 2nd category Shake & blurring, the automatic has selected camera shake - strong correction.
For a portrait, this can be the Portrait category. Here the Portrait - intensive sharpness automatic has been selected.
Step 3: Select other presets: Zoom in on a ‘critical’ part of the image to better assess the sharpness result ...
... and, if required, select the preset one or two levels lower or higher, in the example from camera shake- strong correction one level higher to camera shake - intense correction. The image is immediately automatically sharpened with the currently selected preset without having to click the automatic button again.
Step 4: Increase the sharpness even further: If even more sharpness is required individually, ...
... increase the quality level, in the example to Pro +, or/and experiment with the sliders below until the result meets or comes closer to your expectations. Note: When switching to the Pro user interface, 6 instead of 3 are displayed in the compact interface.
Step 5: Multidirectional sharpening (optional)
In the penultimate step, activate the multi-directional sharpening if required, in the example with a medium radius, and decide whether this sharpening or one with a lower or higher radius improves the result in your favour. As in the example, this is often particularly recognisable in the contours.
Step 6: Supersampling
This final step is useful in most cases to make the image appear more homogeneous and simply ‘better’ overall after all the sharpening. As a rule, the 2nd or triple level is sufficient, as in the example.
Before - After – Comparison
The comparison of the enlarged section of the unsharpened original ...
... to the final result image impressively demonstrates the performance of SHARPEN and the options for achieving very good result images with the automatic system or for further optimising or refining these results with individual interventions if required.
Before - After - Portrait comparison
In the case of the unsharpened portrait, the automatic system had suggested the intense sharpness in the selected portrait category.
With this adaptive sharpening method, this ‘intermediate result’ was already so convincing that only the area protection was changed to (3D) Protect rear half of image, because the background was deliberately left out of focus. After switching on supersampling in the 2nd stage, the final resulting image looks even more harmonious and leaves nothing to be desired.