Sharpening
 

Following the trend of starting a topic in hope of beginning a debate here goes.

I like to High Pass Sharpen because for me it gives better control and you can sharpen at any stage, not best to use last as with other methods.
Giving time to see if one part needs more or less sharpening whilst working on pic.
Choice of Blending mode & opacity, can change mind at any time try other mode etc.
Just one click to turn on and off to see what works best as its on a copy layer etc. Can sharpen a copy on other methods I know.
Plus a lot more but brain is over working.

Ok I use USM after resizing, its quicker.

Just the same H.P.S. Rules ok, ;) ... or dose it?

Don't see why anyone would want to sharpen the image at all. Every camera gives a satisfactorily sharp image. So many people do it and it looks completely wrong and artificial.

There, my opinionated 2p worth ;-)

Come on Alex - you don't really believe that ... the unsharp mask technique was developed from film days as a way of increasing edge contrast (sharpness) - its not specifically digital technique.

Mind you don't fall off your "traditional" hobby horse ;)

Thanks for your 2p worth Alex. Can appreciate your point of view.
Im not so keen on in camera sharpening. Want different amounts of sharpening depending on subject, to slow to change camera settings.
Also like to be able to sharpen one part of a picture different to other parts. Why? Because I can.
Started in the 1970s with a black & white darkroom & loved it, would not want to go back. Digital offers me so much more.
Just need the self control not over use it.
Arthur OTT PP. :D

Cameras only sharpen images if you shoot in JPEG, in RAW you have to do it yourself or the images would look very flat. Anyway the default sharpening is only a best guess for an average scene for an average viewer so will not suit all pictures. In the good old film days when developing and printing your own you carefully chose the film and the developer to get the sharpness you wanted. People did not use 'universal' film and developer all the time. The opportunity to selectively sharpen different areas for pictorial effect is an added bonus.

Images on my 450d are sharper with RAW than JPEG not all cameras are the same and also depends how you look at them through what pc/tv screen or printer and software and at what resolution.

Generally, I do not sharpen my out-of-camera photos.

If it was called edge defining, more people would admit to it.

maybe a little understanding of the reason for sharpening would not be amiss http://www.bythom.com/sharpening.htm

As Miketoll has already mentioned, if you shoot in Jpeg then sharpening has already taken place.

However on many cameras the amount of sharpening can be to a certain extent be controlled via the camera menus sytem.

Harry

I always sharpen a little as when it leaves your camera it always is out a bit. It also depends on the amount you spend on your lens and its quality. Take my kit lens 18-55mm, it not great and I have to always sharpen it. I have a setup in lightroom to do it automatically. SO to state you 'WONT' is arbitrary when you have to on basic lens's. Give me a fast 2.8 300mm zoom and I will be a happy man