M
MLKimages
Guest
So I thought it was time again to send off for some prints to make sure printed reslts are up to par. Since I made the switch to CS3, Lightroom, Noise Ninja and Photo Kit sharpener over the winter, I also wanted to make sure the printed results from the new software and workflow I have been using is not out of wack so to speak.
I picked 3 images and here is what I had printed (5x7 and 8x1''s) - I also placed the text of my processing right on the image to avoid confusion. All images shot with a D3'', RAW, converted to DNG imported into LR (Pro Photo Colorspace), images sent to CS3 remained in ProPhoto Colorspace), exported as jpegs from Lightroom sRGB Colorspace.
The 3 images I had printed are at the bottom of the post to give a referance of what "type" of image I was printing.
#1. Original image - no sharpening or Noise Reduction - Base line image as well, always wondered if I missed PP an image how the results would look
#2. Applied Sharpening and Noise Reduction in Lightroom as follows: NR 25/25 - Sharpening 5'/1.2/5'/'
#3 Applied in CS3 Noise reduction using Noise Ninja (image profile w/ no sharpening) & sharpening using Photo Kit sharpening (High Res, Medium edge capture and Conotone 2'' output sharpening)
#4. With one of the higher ISO images (125') no NR applied, sharpening only.
Results in my "Blind Taste Test" (not looking at what was done with each image)
You could easily tell the original unprocessed image - up close, but 12+ inches away and it started getting difficult to tell. Not sure a non-photographer could actually tell the difference here at a distance.
I was looking at the fine detail in the images and truth be told, it was often difficult to tell the difference between the images processed in Lightroom vs the PKS/NN processed image. In the end I picked the PKS/NN images marginally. Noise reduction was noted to be not as good in LR, but 25/25 may not have been "enough" compaired to NN
Funny thing is my wife came in and I had her do the "Blind Taste Test" and she prefered the Lightroom processed images in all 3 samples - go figure!
Reason for posting this info here is that many people say that the sharpening and NR features are not all that great in Lightroom. Just wanted to offer a different perspective that it man not be all that bad on actual prints! Pixle peeping on a monitor it is much easier to tell, but in an end result print.......
I plan on running a different test soon and this time I will "oversharpen" a bit to see how the results look printed as well as run some High ISO printed test.
Michael
www.MLKimages.com
I picked 3 images and here is what I had printed (5x7 and 8x1''s) - I also placed the text of my processing right on the image to avoid confusion. All images shot with a D3'', RAW, converted to DNG imported into LR (Pro Photo Colorspace), images sent to CS3 remained in ProPhoto Colorspace), exported as jpegs from Lightroom sRGB Colorspace.
The 3 images I had printed are at the bottom of the post to give a referance of what "type" of image I was printing.
#1. Original image - no sharpening or Noise Reduction - Base line image as well, always wondered if I missed PP an image how the results would look
#2. Applied Sharpening and Noise Reduction in Lightroom as follows: NR 25/25 - Sharpening 5'/1.2/5'/'
#3 Applied in CS3 Noise reduction using Noise Ninja (image profile w/ no sharpening) & sharpening using Photo Kit sharpening (High Res, Medium edge capture and Conotone 2'' output sharpening)
#4. With one of the higher ISO images (125') no NR applied, sharpening only.
Results in my "Blind Taste Test" (not looking at what was done with each image)
You could easily tell the original unprocessed image - up close, but 12+ inches away and it started getting difficult to tell. Not sure a non-photographer could actually tell the difference here at a distance.
I was looking at the fine detail in the images and truth be told, it was often difficult to tell the difference between the images processed in Lightroom vs the PKS/NN processed image. In the end I picked the PKS/NN images marginally. Noise reduction was noted to be not as good in LR, but 25/25 may not have been "enough" compaired to NN
Funny thing is my wife came in and I had her do the "Blind Taste Test" and she prefered the Lightroom processed images in all 3 samples - go figure!
Reason for posting this info here is that many people say that the sharpening and NR features are not all that great in Lightroom. Just wanted to offer a different perspective that it man not be all that bad on actual prints! Pixle peeping on a monitor it is much easier to tell, but in an end result print.......
I plan on running a different test soon and this time I will "oversharpen" a bit to see how the results look printed as well as run some High ISO printed test.
Michael
www.MLKimages.com
