As we all know, monitors have an adjustment for "sharpness." How do you determine if the monitor setting needs to be increased/decreased, vs.the sharpness you might add/subtract in the editing (both video and still)?
I wouldn't add traditional sharpening to first gen source during editing, very few exceptions. Reason is that a second downstream sharpening or pre-leveling can cause blown pixels. Unsharp mask is OK.
For monitor sharpness, I use some image/video with text, and adjust for best overall read. Simple but effective.
Thank you MV. I've been using a plug-in called "Smart Sharpen," which seems to give me a lot of sharpening capability without all of the noise. Much more so than the Sony version.
Yes I've heard it's good and surprised the plugin is only $25!
That would be Pixelan? I have the entire suite and find it excellent, and the price is right.
Yes, I consider it quite a bargain, though I was initially skeptical. It, in many ways, compensates for a less than stellar lens.
The one complaint I have about the plug-in is that it doesn't leave any indication about which level of sharpening you chose (and there are many). So, if you want to go back and re-edit, you must remember which level you chose the first time. This may not be a problem if you've just made the edit, but if you go back a week later (or even a day later), you must start experimenting again to find your preferred setting.
I wrote to Pixelan this past week about the above, and they responded withing 12 hours, saying they were working on it. Great customer service response.
I turn the monitor sharpness down all of the way. That is a high pass filter that emphasizes or distorts (depending on your point of view) the high spatial frequencies. Most of the time it is more a distorter than anything. Over use will cause noise and halos.
I then cautiously use sharpening in vegas.
The other choice is to guess what you think the consumer of your video has done with their TV. I have found that some default to sharpness off (as they should) and others default to a middle setting. I have also found that clueless viewers turn it up all of the way creating a cartoon like effect.
Then adjust the sharpness of your video to taste while viewing it the way you think your consumer will.
I prefer to get the video right and encourage my consumers to adjust their TVs properly which these days is usually the default.
Thank you, ROcky. Most people that see what I produce (YouTube content) will be viewing on a computer monitor or even a cell phone or tablet. No telling.