The Canon 10D CSpro
II Plugin is a new sharpening technology specific designed
to accommodate Canon 10D SLR files. This plugin
is compatible with JPEG files straight from the camera
or TIFF/JPEG files converted from RAW files.
Although Canon 10D CSpro II's interface appears simple and intuitive, complexity
makes this plugin very smart: It provides everything from haloless sharpening,
edgesharpening, luminance sharpening, mode sharpening, and more with just the
press of a button. With this plugin you can choose from low or high ISO settings.
Other options allow you to sharpen fine detail. There are pre-designed intensity
levels, and options to reduce color noise from high ISO files. You can even create
your own sharpening settings, preview settings and tweak intensity results.
*This
plugin will work with 8-bit and 16-bit files
when using Photoshop CS. When using Photoshop
Elements 1 and 2, Photoshop 6.0 or 7.0, it will
only work with 8-bit files.
The
Canon 10D CSpro II
Plugin is compatible with Photoshop
Elements 1 and 2, Photoshop 6.0, 7.0
and Photoshop CS.
NOTE: PC
and MAC FM plugins are offered as separate packages.
Make sure to download the correct one for your operation
system.
After
agreeing to the license agreement "EULA",
the installer will automatically detect compatible
versions of Photoshop installed on your system
Canon
10D CSpro II plugin interface:
Full instructions included in the Canon 10D CSpro II User Manual PDF file
Image
Type options: The Canon 10D CSpro
II plugin works with most common file extensions
including
8-bit TIFF and JPEG files. Under Photoshop CS,
it will work with both 8-bit and 16-bit files.
Under "Image Type", you will be able
to select from "Low ISO File" or "High
ISO File".
- Low
ISO File: This option should be
used with clean files. It was tested with 10D
ISO 100, 200 and 400 images. It works best with
your landscape and studio work.
- High
ISO File: This option should be
used with "grainy" files. (ISO 800
and up). It also works best with portrait work.
(It's not recommended to combine "Sharpen
fine detail" with this setting).
Sharpening
Level: You have the option of choosing
from Level 1 to Level 5. (Level 3 is the default
sharpening intensity.)
Level 1 provides
the lightest custom sharpening effect and Level 5 the
highest. If more strength is desired, you could always
run the plugin again. For example: Run Level 5 followed
by another run of Level 1. (However, this is NOT recommended
for optimal results since the pre-selected intensities
were carefully designed for the 10D.)
After choosing your
desired sharpening intensity, you will be able to "preview" the
results on your original file by clicking on the Apply button.
When you finish running the plugin you will see the
results of the selected intensity. At that point you
also have an option to tweak the intensity of the sharpening
effect by decreasing from 100 to 0. (Zero will be the
original state of the image before applying the plugin
and 100 is the result after applying the plugin --
so you have all of the options in between to work with).
For example, if you would like to see half of the sharpening
effect, move the "Intensity Tweak" slider
from 100 to 50 and you will be able to preview the
tweaked results on your file.
If you desire to
experiment with different intensities, click on Undo and
your file will be brought to the original state. Otherwise,
click on the OK button if you are
happy with the results.
Sharpen
fine detail (slower): This setting
can be used with any Intensity level and will sharpen
very fine detail in your images. However, it will
make the plugin run slower (especially with 16-bit
files), but is recommended when maximum sharpening
is desired. It works great with landscape images
but it's not recommended to be combined with the "High
ISO File" setting.
Halo
Settings: The default halo setting
is "Normal Halo" and it's the best compromise
between detail sharpening and halo size. Under "Normal
Halo", the plugin will already provide minimal
halo around high contrast areas and therefore it's
my recommended setting. However, if you would like
to tweak this setting and sacrifice some sharpening
for an even smaller or non-existent halo, select "Low
Halo" or even the 0% halo option.
Reduce
color noise: Check this setting
if you desire to reduce color noise from your files
during sharpening. This setting is recommended
when editing High ISO files but can be used with
Low ISO files as well.
"Reduce
color noise" is included with this custom sharpening
plugin because in some cases it will improve the sharpening
results.
Levels
and sharpening Tweak option: The
Levels and sharpening Tweak option is for advanced
users only. It provides photographers with the
flexibility to fine tune a pre-selected Canon
10D CSpro II intensity.
Intensity
Tweak slider: The Intensity
tweak slider is a powerful and flexible option
included with this plugin.
As mentioned earlier,
after selecting any intensity level and clicking on
the Apply button, the Intensity Tweak
slider will be available to tweak the results you see
on screen. As you move the slider from 100 (default)
to your desired level, you will see the results changing
on your image.
You may choose from
100 to 0 within the selected intensity level. The intensity
you choose will bring you closer to the desired effect
works best with your files.
Example: When clicking on the Apply button to preview level
4 (High), you will be able to move the Intensity Tweak slider from
100 down to 50 ---by doing that, half of the level four sharpening effect will
be applied and shown on your image.
---------------------
Below is a
comparison shot taken with a 10D. The RAW file was converted
to 8-bit tiff with "no sharpening" as the camera
parameter. Here is the thumbnail:
|
|
 Full
size thumbnail. Resized using the 10D WP at 400
pixels and compressed to JPEG
level 7. |
Out
of the camera -- the white balance appeared a bit
greenish
for this image. However, I left the original colors intact
for the purpose of this test.
This waterfall
image is a 100% crop from the full size.
|
|
Photoshop
USM with the settings of: Amount 500%, radius: 0.3,
threshold: 0
|
|
|
Canon
10D CSpro II
|
The first cropped
image above was edited using Photoshop's Unsharp Mask
and the second with the Canon 10D CSpro II. Notice
that the level of sharpening is very similar but the side
effects you get from using global Photoshop's USM are
severe. When using Photoshop's USM you will notice a dramatic
increase in luma noise and excessive edge halo. These
side effects are minimal or non existent when using the
Canon 10D CSpro II instead.
Below are
sections of the sky and rock details to demonstrate this
difference.
|
|
Photoshop's
USM
|
|
|
10D
CSpro II
|
Notice the
accentuated halo effect result after using the Photoshop's
USM setting as compared to the haloless look result from
the Canon 10D CSpro II. Also pay attention to the
amount
of noise created by USM. The Canon 10D CSpro II does
not increase noise and only sharpens what needs to
be
sharpened.
Now, let's
compare USM and Canon 10D CSpro II for sky noise increase.
By the
way, all of the samples are 100% crops from full 8-bit
tiff files saved as jpg low compression. When using
Photoshop's
USM, you may get a sharpened image, but you will also
get a very noisy sky! The complex steps used in the
new
Canon 10D CSpro II avoid sharpening skies. Look at how
smooth the sky looks after running the Canon 10D CSpro
II at HIGH
intensity.
|
|
Photoshop's
USM
|
|
|
Canon 10D CSpro II
|
This
can be used with any type of images, from portraits, landscape,
still-life and especially with HIGH ISO files. It sharpens
your 10D files and keeps noise and artifacts to a minimum.
(Also works with jpeg files straight from the camera.)
