FocusFixer plug-in *rocks* -- fixes focus problems!

photobug

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:


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!)

Stustaff

Looks intersting! deff sharper but has introduced weird effect on the tooth. and also some grain in the shadows?

Andy

Stustaff wrote:

Looks intersting! deff sharper but has introduced weird effect on the tooth. and also some grain in the shadows?

Yes, use this on an adjustment layer, so you can mask away unwanted effects like the halos on the teeth. And any unwanted added shadow noise or crunchiness.

Stustaff

Is it something you think is worth the money Andy?

Andy

Stustaff wrote:

Is it something you think is worth the money Andy?

I use it, but I use it for improving out of focus shots from customers, not my own stuff.

Sure it's pretty good. But how many times will you use it?

Stustaff

Andy wrote:

I use it, but I use it for improving out of focus shots from customers, not my own stuff.

Sure it's pretty good. But how many times will you use it?

Fair point, and hopefully never! I dont think I would invest at the mo but ill pop it on my list of apps n plugings and if im ever really stuck one day...

Why dont adobe just put all this stuff in CS3!

photobug

Stustaff wrote:

I dont think I would invest at the mo but ill pop it on my list of apps n plugings and if im ever really stuck one day...

I hear ya -- I was stuck this time, and FocusFixer did save my tail, making it worth every penny (in this case). Sharpening can help a slightly out-of-focus shot somewhat, but FocusFixer seemed to do a more complete job of fixing focus problems. (or maybe I'm not adept enough at more sophisticated sharpening methods to get good results from out-of-focus images via sharpening)

---

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).

I'm wondering if the source of the problem was the combination of not-so-bright modeling lights and an f/4 max aperture lens just not providing enough light for the 20D to autofocus effectively -- or if there is some other problem at work. As I recall, the red focus-confirmation squares in the 20D viewfinder did light up (and beep) in the right places.

Why doesn't Adobe just put all this stuff in CS3!

Adobe can't do everything itself ... that's why Photoshop is set up to accept 3rd-party plug-ins and Actions. Adobe does seem to add such functionality over time, but of course if it's too aggressive at doing so, it runs the risk of alienating the Photoshop developer community. Adobe's first priority is probably to incorporate functionality that can't be addressed well with plug-ins and works best when it's in the core Photoshop product. Just my guess!

manta1900

I prefere mine . No halos (look on teeth). Unfortunatelly I didn't have the original (it would look WAY better).

photobug

manta1900 wrote:

I prefere mine . No halos (look on teeth).

Oh, I agree that the "tooth halos" were awful in the sample I posted. Looking back, the hair is a bit overdone, too. I likely turned up the focus-fixing "dial" too much (I think to 3.2) on that first use (at the time, I was probably concentrating on the eyes too much). I've used it on other shots from the same sitting since then and recall using more like a 2.0 to 2.5 setting on those.

AZsnapper

Focus
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

photobug wrote:

Oh, I agree that the "tooth halos" were awful in the sample I posted. Looking back, the hair is a bit overdone, too. I likely turned up the focus-fixing "dial" too much (I think to 3.2) on that first use (at the time, I was probably concentrating on the eyes too much). I've used it on other shots from the same sitting since then and recall using more like a 2.0 to 2.5 setting on those.

dogwood

AZsnapper wrote:

I really don't see anything different than Smart Sharpen or USM.

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.

colourbox

Stustaff wrote:

Why dont adobe just put all this stuff in CS3!

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.

ziggy53

...

It can't re-do the focus. The image is what it is. ...

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