Anyone care to share step by step instructions on how they process their 7D files? I have read that files from this body must be processed differently and I'm curious what others do to maximize sharpness.
I really don't do anything different.
I make sure I use proper technique in the camera. I maximize my sharpness by lens and lighting choice. When I process the files, I work the same way I work with 5 1 and 7 series cameras.
7D files are no different from other files from same sensor (60 D, t2i, t3i, etc). its an 18mp 1.6 crop sensor which many times used for wildlife photography, with long lenses, which are further cropped. some of this "special" needed processing is the sensor, part of it is the subject matter.
As a very high density sensor, it is extremely demanding not only on the lens, but also on technique. viewed at 100% it requires more sharpening than for example a 5d2 file, or even a 1d4 file. At the same time, you have to be more careful with noise compared the the other two cameras mentioned. add to that many are shooting picture of moving objects at 400mm, and then cropping a bunch too, and shooting at 1/800 second, and not getting sharp results, and they are wondering why.
But to go back to you original question, viewed at 100%, they need more aggressive selective sharpening and noise reduction.
marino420td wrote:
Anyone care to share step by step instructions on how they process their 7D files? I have read that files from this body must be processed differently and I'm curious what others do to maximize sharpness.
Assuming good technique and optics, sharpness is not a problem. The problem is controlling noise at ISO 800 and higher. Low mids and shadows are problematic at higher ISO and require selective application of NR to trouble areas. Global NR isn't very effective because it may soften mids and highs too much.
I do basic tweaks in Aperture 3, including a moderate global application of NR. I export to PS as TIFF and use a mask to selectively apply Topaz Denoise to trouble areas. I also selectively apply USM to important areas, being careful not to sharpen noise prones sections. of course this is not needed for tiny web galleries but really makes large prints look good.
Thanks for the replies. I guess what I'm looking for is a before and after so I can tell if my in camera technique is good, or if I just lack proper processing skills.
I mostly shoot sports so I'm tracking a moving subject in AI servo mode. But even when the subject is not moving I don't seem to get the sharpness I want. I have no doubts that it's something I'm doing incorrectly and not the gear. I'm just trying to pinpoint it to photo technique or lack of processing.
Jeff, thanks for that thread. That's exactly what I'm looking for. The 100% crop of your pigeon head is exactly what I'm experiencing. I will shoot a baseball (or soccer or basketball) player, blow it up on my monitor and see no detail in the eye. Then I browse the Sports Forum and see countless similar shots where the eye looks like a glass marble. When I get a few more minutes, I'll post an example.
I don't think I do a whole lot differently either, but I would like to improve my high ISO processing, since I'm at 4000 and above a lot during hockey season.
Right now I typically shoot jpg, Neutral Picture Style, Standard high ISO noise reduction. I run those jpg's through Neat Image allowing NI to auto profile each image, and standard defaults. Then it's curves, shadow/highlight, bump the saturation, and Smart Sharpen at 250/0.8
I'm pretty happy with these images, although as I blow them up the faces get kind of soft. I've tried shooting RAW and using the NR in ACR, but I just can't get those resulting jpg's anywhere close to the quality of the jpg's I'm getting out of the camera.
Well I was able to take my 7D out today and shoot with my new (to me) 300 F2.8 L. I'm impressed. Maybe my 70-200 has a focus issue because I could rarely get really sharp photos. With this camera/lens combo I am very pleased.
Here is a sample shot. I don't know what happened to the color when I uploaded to Flickr. But this is to show sharpness, not color
