Just a little look at a frame I shot today.
EM1 Mk2, 12-40 at 18mm, ISO 400 f2.8.
In tight with Capture 1, no adjustments.
Added sharpening, notice the bushes in the front planter and the rails.
Now the same file with no adjustments over to ON1 No Noise 2024 as a DNG, auto in-out. There is detail in the sign, but the colour has shifted.
Again the same file with no adjustments over to ON1 Tack Sharp 2024 as a DNG, auto in-out. This time, look at the detail in the planter box.Same or more detail overall, slightly lighter and again colour shifted.
Powerful tools, but we are now in the realm of needing to be aware of when to use them and when to stop.
For almost any uses, there is no reason to avoid the base file.
These were good light samples, but what if you turn up to an “available gloom” shoot without your fastest lenses?
ISO 6400 underexposed, G9 Mk1 12-40 wide open at f2.8, C1 to No Noise (TIFF), then C1 again. This was a bad file, not actually submitted but used as a worst case scenario experiment.
Same again, but a better file. Not horrible and repeatable. Processing was C1, slight lift, then some Dehaze, over to No Noise, back and some colour added back in.
I guess the questions that needs to be asked are;
At what point is enough enough?
What price are we willing to pay for ultimate sharpness and noiseless-ness?
Are we starting to demand too much and accept a change in perceived quality to get it?
It is nice to have the ability to clean up noise and add sharpness to an image that has obvious blurring, but this needs to be used with restraint. The base settings for both these ON1 programmes are set to maximum, which is too much.
We are entering a new age of software power, something similar to the Photoshop emergence of last century, but we do need to remember to keep things natural and accept levels of perfection in balance with artistic quality.