Sigma DP2M: Is sharpening necessary or advantageous before printing? Any "recipes"?

rogerxnz

New Member
I am used to routinely sharpening photographs made with Bayer-type sensors once they are at the desired size and before printing.

Is this practice necessary with files from Foveon sensor cameras?

If so, are there any sharpening recipes users would like to share? I have a DP2M if that is relevant.
Roger
 
Yeah, with just the tiny amount I've played with some of those files, I don't see how sharpening can do you anything but harm. They're just the most astonishingly sharp files I've seen, just with straight processing of the raw files...

-Ray
 
It certainly isn't necessary with the original DP camera files even when interpolating up a bit. I can't see therefore that sharpening would be required for the Merrills given the resolution bump.
 
The answer to the question depends partly on what sharpness setting you use in Sigma Photo Pro. As I pointed out in an earlier thread, a Sharpness setting of 0 in SPP sharpens the image and no further sharpening may be necessary. If you prefer to sharpen your images at the tail end of post-processing, then a Sharpness setting of -0.8 to -2.0 would be needed in SPP, and you may need to sharpen some in post before printing.
 
Thank you both for your replies.

I use RAW images so I expect the in-camera sharpness settings do not apply.

I am surprised that SPP sharpens images even if Sharpness is set to 0.

A test I did showed increased sharpness in Photoshop when I processed a file for output printing. So, it seems to me that post-processing sharpening is still required.
Roger


The answer to the question depends partly on what sharpness setting you use in Sigma Photo Pro. As I pointed out in an earlier thread, a Sharpness setting of 0 in SPP sharpens the image and no further sharpening may be necessary. If you prefer to sharpen your images at the tail end of post-processing, then a Sharpness setting of -0.8 to -2.0 would be needed in SPP, and you may need to sharpen some in post before printing.
 
Hi rogerxnz- Yes they do apply to RAW images in a sense. The Picture Settings- Contrast, Sharpness and Saturation you set in camera are reflected in the starting point for the three sliders in Sigma Photo Pro. So if you have Sharpness set to 0 in Picture Settings, SPP will carry this same setting. Have a look at this thread for info on the Sharpness setting: https://www.photographerslounge.org/f55/sharpness-sigma-photo-pro-18505/

Incidentally, the Sharpness setting in Picture Settings runs from -1 to +1 but the Sharpness slider in SPP runs from -2 to +2. I have no clue if these map 1:1 or that for example, -1 in camera means -2 in SPP.

I consider this issue rather naughty of Sigma. People are blown away by the sharpness and detail of images straight out of the camera DPx Merrills. Part of this "wow factor" is that some sharpening has likely gone on without most people knowing it, i.e., the sharpness setting is 0. Sigma does not need to do this because even at Sharpness = -2, the images are very detailed and sharp.
 
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