In response to a PM I received, here's some background information and bed-time reading for anyone who wants to know what goes on It is, in part, some of the information I used in developing my "Sharpen-O-Matic" action for Photoshop.

Just to start the subject, sharpness is dependent on a number of factors. We are talking sharpness in terms of the ability to render fine details, not just the ability to produce "hard" looking edges where there is obvious contrast.

* The lens. Resolution and contrast are two important qualities. In addition, collimation of the lens is important for digital (how perpendicular the light hits the CCD, because the individual sensors are deep as there's other stuff in front of the sensor)

* The low-pass filter. There's a filter in front of the CCD that provides the colour, and this is coated too.

* The CCD itself. Resolution is the main factor.

* The quality of the A-to-D conversion. Fine detail needs fine rendering of the nuances of light, rubbish A-to-D will produce a corresponding image.

* If using JPG: in camera RAW-to-JPG conversion. (This is probably the main focus of "Pentax is soft" rants)

* If using RAW: which software is used to convert the RAW. Not all RAW convertors are the same

* Final post-processing techniques.



Now, I'll just say that the last two procedures require skill. Acquiring that skill takes time and effort.

So, here's some reading for you all:
Bayer matrix: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_filter
Demosaicing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demosaicing

Adding presence: http://www.outbackphoto.com/dp_essentials/dp_essentials_05/essay.html
(the main inspiration for the Sharpen-O-Matic)

Tutorials for post processing:
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/learning-sharpening-toolkit.htm and http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/tutorials/PutAFineEdgeOnYourSharpeningSkills...
(Also worth checking out all the tutorials and learning galleries http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/tutorials-pdf.htm - especially the Developing Photos that Pop series)


There's a lot more to be said on the subject, but let me finish by saying that the K10D is sharp. Very sharp indeed. And the Pentax lenses I use are all sharp too (and frankly I don't care much if anyone tells me the K10D is "soft", 'cause it's not )

Enjoy!
Matt

Jamie,
There's also www.gimpshop.net (more Photoshop like version of Gimp).
There's a few layer tutorials and the like on my website (and some I wrote linked to the ePhotozine website - a fine place to start)

Matt

Rodger,
Your aversion to RAW software sharpening isn't entirely justified. Not all are the same - a few are very good

Bruce himself proposed the three stage sharpening (which I happen to use). But, as he says you have to be cautious!
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/20357.html

And yes, it requires caution, and skill (which, incidentally takes time and practice to acquire!!).
(FWIW, I've also been using the Fixerlabs FocusFixer as a first stage sharpen and it produces good results, but visibly equal to Silkypix's sharpening when used properly )

Thanks for the heads up on the book though - might take a read

Matt

PS: There's also www.thelightsrightstudio.com which has sharpening stuff - not for wimps or newbies though

Pete,
Silkypix differences are here: http://www.isl.co.jp/SILKYPIX/english/products/ds3/function/
(the grey ones are the paid for items. Too many to list here.)

One machine is 12000 Yen is about £53 at today's rate.
You can have up to two extra licenses (e.g. so you can load on laptop and desktop) at 3000 Yen each = about £13.

(If you want Capture One LE, then buy a Compact Flash card Sandisk Extreme III for about £19 which generally includes a Capture One license. Trouble is the update for K10D isn't ready yet... could be a while. But I still prefer Silkypix's level of control and IQ)

Matt

This is because only Photoshop is colour managed. Most applications are NOT. Don't trust anything else with colour.

Silkypix is colour managed, Capture One is colour managed, Photoshop is colour managed. (You need to read my sticky post on Colour Management - more stuff to learn :roll And you need to set them up correctly too

As far as RAW goes - IMO there are only two candidates for quality: Capture One and SILKYPIX. Capture One does not do DNG or K10D (yet). So there you are. You can take it or leave it Pete

(Adobe Camera RAW has its place, but it still is lower in IQ than Silkypix for all the images I've tried.)


Matt

It's not the saving that degrades the IQ per-se. You should use "Save As" and pick a high value for the compression (something like 90 to 95). You'll end up with a larger JPG file than the original because it has more data.

Golden rule of image editing: Never overwrite your original file (whether that's JPG or RAW)

(Hint: you won't get a pro saving in JPG. They'll use TIFF, and save intermediate files in PSD layered format. They are big, but that's what you get for 10 mega pixel!)

Article/thread on sharpening is here: https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4097

Matt

I'm just about to post a technical thread on the subject of sharpening...

Low in camera sharpening was on of THE main requests before the *ist-D came out - and Pentax didn't disappoint. I'd rather have control over it all

The only thing that might be worth changing is the default setting for the cameras. Perhaps they should default to the bright image with a touch of sharpening so all these "reviewers" can cope

(Entering school teacher mode )
Actually it's not The proof of the pudding is in the eating...

...but then you can't take a horse to the spilt milk off the duck's back and make it put the table on the other foot. (Apologies to forum members from other countries who might not have a clue what I'm talking about! LOL!)

Matt

Something like this:
http://www.tut.fi/units/arc/amltech/eaea/modelscope.htm

(Google'd)

Looks like the original went straight into the Olympus (ie it is the lens). However, it appears on quick inspection that a 52mm thread adaptor is possible (look at the digital section).

HTH!
Matt

I'm not bothered at all by it either

By the way Peter - I have used a Metz 50MZ5 with SCA3702 on the K10D with absolutely no problems whatsoever. Any of the SCA adaptor stuff will be perfectly ok. Just be aware that TTL will not work - you are "restricted" to A and M on the flash (but I'm sure that's not a problem for you )

EDIT: You'll find that Metz list the 45CL3 with SCA adaptor for all the *ist-D series. http://www.metz.de/downloadFile.php?type=adapterarchiv&lang=en
There'll be no problem on the K10D

Matt

The EXIF data carries a simple 2-byte lens ID. It's not a full "name".

Only the Pentax browser decodes the ID and shows the lens name. That's why some of the third party lenses show up with Pentax lens names (at least the Tokina AT-X Pro lens I had did!).

Nothing else decodes the lens data from the EXIF. (There is a file that contains a table of the ID-to-name information, should you wish to go looking for it!)

Matt