CANON DPP 4
The Canon Magazine
VIDEO ALSO ONLINE SHARPEN IMAGES
http://bit.ly/pp_159_8(^01)
METADATA
You can see from this shot’s
metadata panel that we captured the
image using an aperture value of f/9.
This middle-of-the-road setting helps
us get a balance between keeping
most of the foreground subject in
focus while still giving us an attractive
background blur. On a wider aperture
(such as f/2) less of the child would
be in focus, making it more of a
challenge to keep key details, such
as the face and flowers, looking as
sharp as we’d want.
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AF POINTS
To help you work out which areas in
the photograph should look sharp,
click this button to turn on the
autofocus point display settings.
You can click on the adjacent triangle
dropdown icon to show all the
camera’s available AF points, or you
can switch it so only the AF points
that were used when focusing on
the subject.
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ACTIVE AF POINTS
The AF points used to capture sharp
details appear as red boxes, while
unused AF points appear as black
boxes. This shows us that the camera
focused on the girl’s hand and
flowers, so we can expect other
areas to look a little softer.
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IMAGE DISPLAY
The only way to see if an area is really
sharp or not is to zoom in to 100%.
You can then sharpen the shot more
effectively and notice sharpening
artefacts, such as halos, more easily.
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SOFT
After zooming in to 100% you can
see that the start image’s focused
areas actually look a little soft.
The delicate texture and detail
of the flower is lacking impact.
By sharpening the image we can
create a print with more impact
and reveal delicate details.
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UNSHARP MASK
This tool’s Strength slider increases
the contrast around the edge of
objects in the photo to give them
a sharper appearance. Don’t push
it too far or you’ll add sharpening
artefacts. It does the same job as
the Amount slider in Photoshop’s
Unsharp Mask window.
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FINENESS
This slider increases the spread of
the contrast change around the edge
of sharpened objects. If you push it
too far you might exaggerate halos
and create clipped areas.
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THRESHOLD
This slider enables you to dial down
the combined effect of the Strength
and Fineness sliders. It’s a bit like a
master slider on a sound mixing
desk. This helps you get a balance
between sharpening key details while
minimizing the presence of artefacts.
05
JARGON BUSTER
HOW IT WORKS SHARPEN KEY DETAILS
Ensure the presence of sharp details without adding unsightly sharpening artefacts
Can I use DPP 4?
Download the latest version of DPP
from http://bit.ly/get_dpp. Check
the website to see if your DSLR is
compatible with DPP 4 – you’ll need
your serial number to update. DPP 4
works with most recent Canon EOS
DSLRs, but for older cameras you
may have to use a previous version.
UNSHARP MASK
This confusingly named tool
actual sharpens the shot.
It derives its name from an
analogue darkroom masking
technique used to sharpen
negatives in the days of film.
HALOS
When you increase the contrast
around the edge of an object you
run the risk of adding white or
black outlines, known as halos.
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