Does anyone have any experience with this plug-in for PS CS? http://www.fredmiranda.com/shopping/D2xRP The results shown on his site as samples are impressive and it may make the workflow process faster if it automatically resizes and interpolates the sharpness and USM??? settings of the image. What do you think?
I haven't seen a recent version of this, Brian, but Fred usually does an intelligently designed set of actions -- I can't imagine this to be any less. I generally use Genuine Fractals for upsampling, but Fred's Stair Interpolation methods and edge-sharpening methods work quite well in many instances. I'd say it's worth taking a look at, and it's not expensive. Ron
ResizePro I bought it and let me say, this thing is awesome!!! http://www.fredmiranda.com/RP/ This saves running USM in Capture and/or PS CS and does an excellent job regardless of your output sizing. Just tell it what size you're outputting to and it does the rest. It is very accurate and fast. I've only run some limited tests on it tonight (emailed samples to RR & JF).
Re: ResizePro I agree, it's better than anything else I've used (Genuine Fractals, PS CS upsizing, etc.).
Follow up Question I just want to confirm this.... By using ResizePro, one does their normal processing in Capture and saves to a TIFF without camera sharpening or any USM. Then in PS CS, by simply selecting the output size, ResizePro automatically applies sharpening based on the output size. Correct? Generally, is there any need to apply any USM in PS CS after ResizePro has done its job?
Depends on the intended output, Brian. From what I've seen so far, if you nailed the original and upsampled to 150%, the output is marginal for screen output or a hard-glossy print as-is out of the FM automation with no sharpening. You may want to apply some fine-edge sharpening to it, but it could go as-is for that sort of output. You will definitely want to add sharpening for matte, fine art, watercolor or canvas media (in ascending amounts of sharpening), or if you don't absolutely slam-dunk the shot. Ron
This resize action has recently been updated. I've been using the old version for about 4 months now. Ron is correct regarding sharpening. This plugin does a great job, but its not an exact science. Your best bet is to run the plugin, then look for yourself to see if it needs additional sharpening, or if it has sharpened too much. I'll probably upgrade in the next few weeks. Let us know how you like it once you get used to it. Dave
The ResizePro can be run and have the image remain the same size...correct? It will still run its interpolation and sharpening process even if you leave the image the same size? What I'm trying to understand is what this action really does beyond resizing.....based on the resizing it is sharpening based on the size selected right? What you both are saying is that its good, but not perfect and sometimes additional sharpening may be required. Ron, fine sharpening.....75, 0.3, 1???? What do you mean by fine sharpening?
Brian, if you set the FM Interpolation Level to Low it doesn't sharpen much. To get the output from Low to equal the sharpening when Interpolation Level is set to High requires that a USM of 165, 0.3, 1 be applied to the Low file. To get Interpolation Normal to equal High in sharpening, it requires 93, 0.3, 1 applied to the Normal file. To get the output from High really crisp requires 75, 0.3, 0 -- but you really have to watch finely-detailed oblique edges for breakup. What I'd do if I were you is decide whether High is right for your output. If it isn't, I'd work with Low or Normal and then do a one- or two-stage sharpening operation to the level required rather than apply additional sharpening to High. Ron
