How to sharpen image...

I prefer to shoot videos with my sony A7s with low detail - sharpen , because it can cause alias-moire and reduces motion detail .

So i try to sharpen in post, but i can't find an easy - fast and effective way to do this.

Can you suggest a method or plugin to do so ?

Does the sharpen tool built into final cut not work for you?

its just ok... but it sharpens the whole image .

I would like to have some control on what portion of an image to apply sharpen, maybe something like unsharpened mask in Photoshop or similar.

There is always some noise in videos , and its not wise to apply sharpen all over the place....

Hi
The best tool that I know is neat video which has a sharpen only preset or if you are worried about noise use some noise reduction as well. Unfortunately the unsharp mask or sharpen in fcpx is rubbish IMHO. Neat video is slow to render if you have anything earlier than the latest macs. Also while you can see the results in the plug in, you need to render before you can see the results in fcpx, at least on my system which is a couple years old.

Cheers

Ian S

i know about neat video... but i don't want that (its VERY slow on my system).

My footage is clean enough to use it.

I just want some plugin or something else just to sharpen the image , but not the whole image.

Alex 4D has an Unsharp Mask tool (free) that works well. It's part of this package: blog.alex4d.com/2012/02/12/blurs-7-free-fcpx-effects/

thanks... i will try them.

toxotis70 wrote: ...
I just want some plugin or something else just to sharpen the image , but not the whole image.

You can duplicate the clip to the secondary storyline via Option-drag up, then apply a shape mask plugin like FCPEffects Advanced Masking Tools to the top, set inside opacity to 0% and outside opacity to 100%, then apply FCP sharpening to the bottom (main storyline). Then sharpening will be constrained to the region of the mask.

I don't know if this is a good procedure or not. If the target region moves, it will be obvious. Then you'd need to keyframe the mask, or use a tracking mask like SliceX. With SliceX the procedure is similar except you select "Shape Mask Layer" for the top (secondary storyline), and pick "invert shape" so the sharpening on the main storyline is limited to inside the mask shape. To a degree SliceX can auto-track subject movement.

Another vote for Alex4D's unsharp mask plugin. I find it works well with my Canon 7D Mark II. The default settings are a bit strong. I find that Radius 2.5, Amount 1.0 and Threshold 0 gives a nice sense of clarity without an artificially sharpened quality. YMMV. Check your waveforms. I find the plugin pulls down the shadows. Usually just makes for nice extra contrast but you still want to check.

toxotis70 wrote: … it sharpens the whole image . I would like to have some control on what portion of an image to apply sharpen, ....

Have you considered SliceX?
You can mask and track areas of your frame to apply any effect (sharpen) to just that piece of pic.

… in general, be careful with 'artificial sharpening' - lately got this offer in my mail, and although I'm a satisfied customer of fcpeffects.com (nice plugins for hobbyists like me!), this is way beyond acceptance!

When every leaf got its own white 'glow' , that isn't sharp, that is just ugly... :silly:

iskurrie wrote: Hi
The best tool that I know is neat video which has a sharpen only preset or if you are worried about noise use some noise reduction as well. Unfortunately the unsharp mask or sharpen in fcpx is rubbish IMHO. Neat video is slow to render if you have anything earlier than the latest macs. Also while you can see the results in the plug in, you need to render before you can see the results in fcpx, at least on my system which is a couple years old.

Cheers

Ian S

It's not rubbish at all. It's just a bog standard sharpen method which works the same as any other image application with a sharpen function, and it's the most appropriate alternative to in-camera sharpening. The Alex 4d plugin is the same effect I believe, just with more controls exposed.

To sharpen by area, fcp is not really the right tool. Resolve gives you lots of control over sharpening and has the requisite masking and tracking to make setting up multiple sharpens very easy.

Seamusvfx wrote: ...It's not rubbish at all. It's just a bog standard sharpen method which works the same as any other image application with a sharpen function, and it's the most appropriate alternative to in-camera sharpening. The Alex 4d plugin is the same effect I believe, just with more controls exposed.

There are various sharpening algorithms; I don't know which one FCP X or Alex4D uses. The Premiere Pro sharpen effect uses deconvolution, whereas the unsharp mask uses contrast edge enhancement.

A good explanation of the difference was once posted on Topaz Labs' web site: "Deconvolution is the process of approximately reversing the process that caused an image to be blurred. While unsharp masking increases the perceived sharpness of an image, deconvolution increases the actual sharpness based on information which describes some of the likely origins of the distortions when capturing the image. With deconvolution, lost image detail may be approximately recovered."

Unfortunately Topaz Infocus is for stills, not video. However it's possible to import the video to Photoshop, apply effect there, then export back to FCP X. Procedure: import to PS, convert to a smart object (Layer/Smart Objects/Convert to Smart Object), apply filters, export it (Export/Render to Video).

Pixel Film Studios has an advanced sharpening plugin for FCP X: store.pixelfilmstudios.com/plugin/tool-prosharpen

Likewise Digital Film Tools also has one: www.digitalfilmtools.com/refine/

I don't know what sharpening algorithm Resolve uses. The good thing is it has tracking built in. The other tools would have to be paired with SliceX to produce a tracking mask to constrain the sharpened area.