Focus fixer for PS

[Anders Helleteg140620]

Has anybody here tried this?

http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/fixer.html

And if so, does it work (well)?

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

 

[Bakman_29]

try it yourself, you don't have to register, just download it...

i am trying it now..

BaKMaN

Has anybody here tried this?

http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/fixer.html

And if so, does it work (well)?

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

--



http://www.digitallyactive.com

 

[Bakman_29]

Just tried it, it introduces a lot of noise (what else did I expect)

My example was very blurry (or OOF), you can still make something useful from it (as long as it is small). I tried it on the original and PS couldn't handle it (out of memory I have 512mb). I think if your pics are slightly OOF it will work OK.



BaKMaN

Has anybody here tried this?

http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/fixer.html

And if so, does it work (well)?

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

--



http://www.digitallyactive.com

 

[FrancisCF]

Seems like using strong USM and contrast.

My example was very blurry (or OOF), you can still make something
useful from it (as long as it is small). I tried it on the original
and PS couldn't handle it (out of memory I have 512mb). I think if
your pics are slightly OOF it will work OK.



BaKMaN

Has anybody here tried this?

http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/fixer.html

And if so, does it work (well)?

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

--



http://www.digitallyactive.com

--
Go ahead, never look back

 

[WalterK]

Seems like using strong USM and contrast.

I agree with Francis. Maybe if you're printing 4x6 with party pix it could save some shots. However, I think you could do better with the Photoshop technique of finding edges, making a layer mask, adjusting with levels, blurring, then using USM, which will not sharpen the noise or little details, but can use a high degree of sharpening without producing visible halos.

I downloaded the tial version of Focusfixer, and this weekend will compare the two methods and post them.

--
Walter K

 

[Giacomo Tognoni]

...it's the most utterly useless piece of software I have ever used in my life, and I have used a lot of software. It doesn't even deserve its own page...

I tested it with 10 images that were slightly out of focus (those are the kind of stuff you'd want to fix 99% of the time...the rest you'd just have to throw anyway...).

In 2 cases, the program crashed.

In 8 cases, the result was AWFUL. Other than ridicolous USM, contrast, and noise increases...the photo was still not in focus (only posterized...).

This program should be avoided.

Seems like using strong USM and contrast.

I agree with Francis. Maybe if you're printing 4x6 with party pix
it could save some shots. However, I think you could do better
with the Photoshop technique of finding edges, making a layer mask,
adjusting with levels, blurring, then using USM, which will not
sharpen the noise or little details, but can use a high degree of
sharpening without producing visible halos.

I downloaded the tial version of Focusfixer, and this weekend will
compare the two methods and post them.

--
Walter K

 

[Anders Helleteg140620]

Thanks for your posts. I think I'm happy with your answers. I will not spend any time with that software.

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

 

[WalterK]

It is horrible. It also needed more memory than my 256mb, which works well enough in Photoshop 7 with my 16bit color files of 36mb size...

I'm not going to bother doing a comparison...I don't want to waste my time.
--
Walter K

 

[charlibob]

would rather abandon the shot than settle for this.

Seems like using strong USM and contrast.

--
Bob Poole

 

[Ron Hodgson]

Has anybody here tried this?

http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/fixer.html

And if so, does it work (well)?

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

NeatImage will do the same thing, but a little better... in Noise filter settings, you open a filter preset, and dig in the directory for the Sharpening folder. There are presets for fixing focus problems.

Nothing will fix a really bad focus. But if it's slight, NeatImage will fix it with a little experimentation.

--
Ron

http://users.qconline.com/~starship/eagles/

 

[Ron Hodgson]

Just tried it, it introduces a lot of noise (what else did I expect)

My example was very blurry (or OOF), you can still make something
useful from it (as long as it is small). I tried it on the original
and PS couldn't handle it (out of memory I have 512mb). I think if
your pics are slightly OOF it will work OK.



BaKMaN

Just as a test, I ran Neatimage with the focus fix on this... here's what it did.

At least it didn't clobber it with noise. So if you already have NeatImage, it will do in a pinch.



--
Ron

http://users.qconline.com/~starship/eagles/

 

[Giacomo Tognoni]

Using Neat Image in the way described above, as a way of preparing the image for further processing, is a good idea. However, the real magic happens in photoshop. Follow these steps to bring back SOME sharpness into your out of focus (read: slightly out of focus) shots:

1) duplicate the background layer

2) Select filter / stylize / emboss. Set the Angle to mimic the direction of the light in the image, keep the Height between 1 and 4 and the amount between 90 and 105%

3) Change the embossed layer's Blending Mode to Overlay (and adjust layer opacity if needed). The edges are accentuated, and the photo looks more in focus!

Cool, huh?

let me know if this works!

Giac

 

[Clicker]

1) duplicate the background layer

2) Select filter / stylize / emboss. Set the Angle to mimic the
direction of the light in the image, keep the Height between 1 and
4 and the amount between 90 and 105%

3) Change the embossed layer's Blending Mode to Overlay (and adjust
layer opacity if needed). The edges are accentuated, and the photo
looks more in focus!

I find on most images that Vivid Light overlay works a tad better... depends on the shot, but another option.

--
Clicker

 

[Anders Helleteg140620]

I tried this (on a JPG) and it worked ok. I guess it would have been better with a Tiff. The picture looked a bit "hard" (like over sharpened).

Using Neat Image in the way described above, as a way of preparing
the image for further processing, is a good idea. However, the real
magic happens in photoshop. Follow these steps to bring back SOME
sharpness into your out of focus (read: slightly out of focus)
shots:

1) duplicate the background layer

2) Select filter / stylize / emboss. Set the Angle to mimic the
direction of the light in the image, keep the Height between 1 and
4 and the amount between 90 and 105%

3) Change the embossed layer's Blending Mode to Overlay (and adjust
layer opacity if needed). The edges are accentuated, and the photo
looks more in focus!

Cool, huh?

let me know if this works!

Giac

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

 

[WalterK]

Cool, huh?

let me know if this works!

Surprisingly good, and it can be used more subtly to sharpen without oversharpening details. I still prefer using Find Edges, and making a layer mask, though.

--
Walter K

 

[Giacomo Tognoni]

I just tried another program called FOCUS MAGIC and unlike Focus Fixer,

the engine is actually VERY good and the results surprisingly good. I was able to get usable images out of slightly out of focus photos.

The problem is that this software is totally rudimentary. At present the interface is too basic and only jpeg is supported...but still if well developed this could be a win

giac

Has anybody here tried this?

http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/fixer.html

And if so, does it work (well)?

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

 

[Giacomo Tognoni]

I just used FOCUS MAGIC in its PhotoShop plugin version and this is really good with many more options than the standalone program I discussed in my previous post (is this strange or what?

The results are EXCELLENT. Give it a try, you can download the plugin here:

http://www.focusmagic.com/download.htm

Giac

the engine is actually VERY good and the results surprisingly good.
I was able to get usable images out of slightly out of focus photos.

The problem is that this software is totally rudimentary. At
present the interface is too basic and only jpeg is supported...but
still if well developed this could be a win

giac

Has anybody here tried this?

http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/fixer.html

And if so, does it work (well)?

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

 

[WalterK]

The results are EXCELLENT. Give it a try, you can download the
plugin here:

http://www.focusmagic.com/download.htm

Giac

the engine is actually VERY good and the results surprisingly good.
I was able to get usable images out of slightly out of focus photos.

The problem is that this software is totally rudimentary. At
present the interface is too basic and only jpeg is supported...but
still if well developed this could be a win

giac

Has anybody here tried this?

http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/fixer.html

And if so, does it work (well)?

--
Anders

http://www.pbase.com/sniper

--
Walter K

 

[WalterK]

I found it to do a creditable job as a PS plugin. I tried it on 2 slightly out of focus images, and they were made to appear more in focus. However, it took a very long time to process the images.

In addition, I tried playing with the USM on the same images. I found that by cranking up the amount to 500, the radius to between 2 and 4, and the threshold to 14-18 I was able to create approximatedly the same degree of improvement as Focus Magic, in a tiny fraction of the time. By using a very high threshold I avoided sharpening the noise and other little details in relatively solid color areas.

I think, with ingenuity and care, USM can be used to get results similar to FM, with enough speed to make it useable. Tomorrow I will try FM on a couple of more difficult shots, and compare USM. If I have time I will post the comparisons.

The results are EXCELLENT. Give it a try, you can download the
plugin here:

http://www.focusmagic.com/download.htm

--
Walter K

 

[Oliver Barton]

We are quite surprised at the standard of the review Giacomo Tognoni gave of FocusFixer.
We have about 35 years experience of digital imaging.

FocusFixer does not use a simple technique like Unsharp Masking (USM).
It uses a sophisticated iterative algorithm that reverses focus blur.

It does this based on mathematical models of the optical process and the noise generated by digital cameras.

No amount of USM can recover focus blurred images - it may make sometimes them look better, but this is more of a visual illusion caused by the artifacts in USM.

We do not have problems with the program crashing, but welcome constructive feedback about any aspects of our software.

It does use a lot of memory - and the amount of processing is way beyond anything else in Photoshop by, perhaps, a factor of several hundred. But focus blur restoration should be applied to regions of an image at approximately the same depth - not the entire image.

The technique has previously been the stuff of supercomputers and the military - FocusFixer brings it to the digital photographer in a form they can use.

You claim that USM can remove focus blur and that FocusFixer doesn't produce better results than USM. We do not believe this is the case. If you can provide supporting evidence for your strong claim then please submit it as the guidelines for these forums suggest.

Give FocusFixer a fair hearing and a fair comparison, go look at
http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/advertorial.html
and also have a look at the readme file.
http://www.fixerlabs.com/pages/FocusFixer_ReadMe.pdf

Thanks,

Oliver Barton
Imaging Scientist
FixerLabs Ltd.