Nearly all photos (and even scanned images) need to be sharpened to a certain degree. Sharpening without losing detail is one of digital photography’s greatest challenges, and effective sharpening tools are critical to the overall success of the workflow. Although Photoshop’s sharpening tools are in a state of constant development, the Unsharp Mask and Smart Sharpen tools are difficult to use and could still be improved.

Nowadays, there are a great number of sharpening tools available. We don’t want to repeat our online discussions ([69] and [8]) of these tools here, so we will limit ourselves to listing the ones that we have used and found to be effective.

Sharpening is certainly an art and possibly even a philosophy, and it’s the subject of heated online discussions regarding individual tools, RAW editors, all-in-one workflow tools (such as Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture), and when and whether sharpening is necessary at all. Some tools support sharpening as part of the output process (e.g., Qimage, Adobe Lightroom, and Apple Aperture).

FocalBlade •. This is a powerful but complex sharpening tool with a built-in Novice Mode for beginners.

Figure 12-10. FocalBlade is powerful but quite complex to use.

EasyS Plus •. Uwe’s own EasyS Plus (Easy Sharpening Plus) module is a simple-to-use plug-in that produces negligible fringing effects. It allows various degrees and various different types of sharpening.

Nik Sharpener Pro •. This program has a good reputation among DSLR photographers and is one of only a few tools that integrate image resolution, specific printer models, and viewing distance into the sharpening process. Sharpener Pro costs around $200 and is available for Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture, too.

Photokit Sharpener •. This program by Pixel Genius is not only a plug-in but also its own complete sharpening workflow. It includes functionality for: