Question about sharpening

[Stina3246]

I have just discovered ViewNX2 for Nikon that allows me to edit in RAW. I actually have 2 questions.
1. There is a sharpen tool and the photos look GREAT on my computer when using this tool but I was told that they will print out grainy. Is this true?
ALSO
I've noticed that on some of my photos the skin color looks just a little too red. I can't find ANYWHERE on this program a color edit other then saturate which only makes it worse.
Help?

[dakwegmo]

Most printers will soften an image a little bit, so if the image looks great on screen, you may need to push it a little more, so that it looks a little too sharp on your monitor. That should ensure you get a nice sharp print, though you will need to experiment with your printer to be sure. While it is possible to over-sharpen an image, it would have to be pretty extreme in order for it to start looking grainy on a print.

NX2 does have color correction tools. I know you can set the white balance and adjust the camera profiles to optimize the color for portraits or landscape shots. It's been a few years since I've used it though, so perhaps someone else could help.

[OsmosisStudios]

If youre developing from RAW, you can always use the HSL sliders to bring the red down a bit.

As for sharpening: you'll have to experiment, as mentioned, but I generally find I have to double-up on my sharpening layer for print, at least. Sometimes triple.

[Stina3246]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

If youre developing from RAW, you can always use the HSL sliders to bring the red down a bit.

As for sharpening: you'll have to experiment, as mentioned, but I generally find I have to double-up on my sharpening layer for print, at least. Sometimes triple.

That's good news on the sharpening. As far as the HSL slider....I can't find it. I can saturate (actually it's called color boost) but I want to turn down JUST the red and can't figure out how.

[OsmosisStudios]

Im not familiar with ViewNX: Ive always used the Adobe Camera Raw. In it there are sliders for separate colours: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple and magenta. Each can be adjusted in hue, saturation, and lightness.

[Stina3246]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Im not familiar with ViewNX: Ive always used the Adobe Camera Raw. In it there are sliders for separate colours: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple and magenta. Each can be adjusted in hue, saturation, and lightness.

Yup....I have photoshop and am familiar with those sliders however my version of PS is so OLD that it can not read RAW from a newer camera. I've tried to install update and camera RAW but nothing has worked. I have a program that is specifically for Nikon and I can edit in RAW but can not find a way to edit individual colors. Actually other then Color Boost I can do ANY color corrections at all. I can't change to BW or sepia or lower just red tones or anything. At least I cant find the controls to do it. So the only thing I can thing of is to edit what I can and then convert everything into JPEG.

[dakwegmo]

If the color controls aren't in Nikon View, try Nikon Capture. One of them had a few more options for color corrections than the other. Neither were very good programs though.

Edit: Here's the link for the Nikon Download page: Current versions of Nikon software

[Stina3246]

Originally Posted by dakwegmo

If the color controls aren't in Nikon View, try Nikon Capture. One of them had a few more options for color corrections than the other. Neither were very good programs though.

Edit: Here's the link for the Nikon Download page: Current versions of Nikon software

Thanks dakwegmo. I'll give that a try. I certainly prefer Photoshop but at least with Nikon View I can do white balance corrections, save pictures with blown highlights or that are too dark in RAW and then go in and do the fun stuff in PS

[Photologyst]

Can you save in TIFF and then go to Photoshop for sharpening and controlling the printing?

The Lab Mode method of sharpening in Photoshop is preferred by many people. It gives much cleaner edges because it uses the luminance/brightness channel rather than affecting all of the colours:

Click on Image, then Mode drop down menu, then click on “Lab Color.” Go to the channels/layers panel and click on “Lightness.” This will turn the photo B & W. Then go to the “Filters” drop down menu and click on “Unsharp Mask” amount 120%, radius 1 pixel, Threshold 3 levels.

Then return to the “Image” menu and click on RGB color.

These amounts are not set in stone. It depends on the photo. You can play with the sliders to lessen or try making two passes if one is not enough.

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by Stina3246

Thanks dakwegmo. I'll give that a try. I certainly prefer Photoshop but at least with Nikon View I can do white balance corrections, save pictures with blown highlights or that are too dark in RAW and then go in and do the fun stuff in PS

When I upgraded to my D300, I was still running CS2, so I wasn't able to open RAW files directly in Photoshop anymore. I used View and Capture, but didn't like the way they worked, so I gave LightRoom a try. It took a little getting used to, but I loved it. It was a lot cheaper than buying a new version of Photoshop, and so much better than Nikon's software.