FocusFixer plug-in *rocks* -- fixes focus problems!
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In another thread, a fellow DGrin'ner ended up leading me to the Photoshop plug-in "FocusFixer", from FixerLabs.com.
I just bought it (actually the whole FixerBundle for just a few $ more) because FocusFixer helped me salvage some good but slightly out-of-focus shots into quite usable ones. (This was especially helpful to me because those shots were part of my first truly "paying" gig).
FocusFixer gave me nearly jaw-dropping results! "Sharpening" tools don't address focus problems, but FocusFixer does. You move a slider to tell it how large the radius of confusion (the amount of defocus) is and it recovers a reasonably-focused image from a defocused one.
Here is my example ... the "BEFORE" image:
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And here is the image "AFTER" FocusFixer filter was applied (no other changes):
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Of course it's always better to focus dead-on in the first place, but if you're off (camera LCD won't show minor focus issues) and you can't re-take the shot, at least with FocusFixer you have a good chance to ecover something useful. I've never heard of any Photoshop intrinsic function or other plug-in that does this.
Check it out: FocusFixer. The example it gives on the web page isn't kidding -- it gave at least that much improvement to my shots.
.....p.s. ..... the demo version is kinda lame -- works fine but only lets you see the result through the "Preview" peephole and I couldn't find a way to save the result.
And my other complaint is that doing the download left me feeling "unclean" -- the downloader wouldn't work in Firefox, it will only work with (yukk!) Internet Explorer :puke. (I had to go take a shower after being forced to use IE!)
I just bought it (actually the whole FixerBundle for just a few $ more) because FocusFixer helped me salvage some good but slightly out-of-focus shots into quite usable ones. (This was especially helpful to me because those shots were part of my first truly "paying" gig).
FocusFixer gave me nearly jaw-dropping results! "Sharpening" tools don't address focus problems, but FocusFixer does. You move a slider to tell it how large the radius of confusion (the amount of defocus) is and it recovers a reasonably-focused image from a defocused one.
Here is my example ... the "BEFORE" image:

And here is the image "AFTER" FocusFixer filter was applied (no other changes):

Of course it's always better to focus dead-on in the first place, but if you're off (camera LCD won't show minor focus issues) and you can't re-take the shot, at least with FocusFixer you have a good chance to ecover something useful. I've never heard of any Photoshop intrinsic function or other plug-in that does this.
Check it out: FocusFixer. The example it gives on the web page isn't kidding -- it gave at least that much improvement to my shots.
.....p.s. ..... the demo version is kinda lame -- works fine but only lets you see the result through the "Preview" peephole and I couldn't find a way to save the result.
And my other complaint is that doing the download left me feeling "unclean" -- the downloader wouldn't work in Firefox, it will only work with (yukk!) Internet Explorer :puke. (I had to go take a shower after being forced to use IE!)
Canon EOS 7D ........ 24-105 f/4L | 50 f/1.4 | 70-200 f/2.8L IS + 1.4x II TC ........ 580EX
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
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My www. place is www.belperphoto.co.uk
My smugmug galleries at http://stuarthill.smugmug.com
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
My www. place is www.belperphoto.co.uk
My smugmug galleries at http://stuarthill.smugmug.com
Sure it's pretty good. But how many times will you use it?
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Fair point, and hopefully never!
Why dont adobe just put all this stuff in CS3!
My www. place is www.belperphoto.co.uk
My smugmug galleries at http://stuarthill.smugmug.com
Now, to figure out what went wrong -- how did focus get "off" in the first place, so I can avoid this problem again? I was shooting with a 20D and 24-105mm f/4L lens. It was after dark and the photos were shot indoors with the only ambient light coming from the modeling lights on two strobes (monolights) (two 150w modelling lights at about 1/2 power, at about 5-6 feet from the subject).
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
I really don't see anything different than Smart Sharpen or USM.
It can't re-do the focus. The image is what it is. Maybe a better sharpening technique than what's available in CS2, I dunno, but I've started to use Smart Sharpen more, and it gives pretty darn good results
www.shadowlakes.com
Yeah, I agree. I actually think USM produces better results if used as an adjustment layer where you paint back in the soft/out of focus skin for a sort of slight glam effect.
Portland, Oregon Photographer Pete Springer
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Because some of it is already in CS2. As mentioned earlier, in the Smart Sharpen filter. If you switch the Remove pop-up menu to Lens Blur instead of the default Gaussian Blur, the algorithm is tuned more to reverse the blur a lens would produce.
Actually, there is a mathematical method of adjusting focus in an image, it is called, "deconvolution" and attempts to reverse the effects of "convolution", or out-of-focus (in one example and application).
It can be very useful, but, as Andy mentioned, should be used on a layer because it will also affect other areas of the image with a halo effect, such as was demonstrated in the teeth of the previous example in this thread.
For a freeware example (probably not the best, but it lets you test the process) check out "Image Analyzer" (deconvolution compensation is one feature),
http://meesoft.logicnet.dk/
ziggy53
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