Auto Features

FocalBlade's auto features provide standard sharpening settings that work with most images. There are three combo boxes with sharpening parameters (Auto Sharpen, Auto Details and Auto Surface) and two buttons (Screen and Print) for selecting the purpose of sharpening. The same settings don't produce the same sharpening on each image, because an internal algorithm automatically analyses the image and assigns optimal values to these settings.

Screen & Print Buttons

Images that are intended to be printed require a much stronger sharpening than images for screen display. During the printing process the image is softened again, so the image needs to be sharper from the very beginning. That's why FocalBlade sharpens an image much more if you have the Print button activated. The final printed result will look somewhat softer than what you see on your screen.

With the Screen button activated FocalBlade will apply a much weaker sharpening effect suitable for screen display. That avoids that hidden noise and artifacts are amplified too much and become visible.

The auto feature will sharpen for a screen viewing distance of 30 inches of an average PC user. If your head is closer than 30 inches away from your monitor you may perceive the sharpening effect as too strong. Onthe other hand if you are farther away than 30 inches you may perceive the result as too soft. If you only sharpen the image for display on you own monitor, you can adjust the Auto Sharpen option to match your taste. However, if you plan to publish the image on the Internet, it is recommended that you keep the default "Medium Sharp" setting.

Using the Sample Area

The Auto features set the values of various sliders and readjust them when you move the preview. So the auto feature analyses only the image area that is displayed in the preview. So it is better to display the most important image area in the preview. You can also make the auto features analyse a much smaller image area by drawing a rectangular sample area on the preview.

To draw a sample area hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse over the preview. Releasing the mouse button again, displays the sample area as a b/w marquee on the preview. The sample area should be drawn around the most important part of the image, e.g. a face, a whole person or another important object. By doing so FocalBlade will apply the optimal sharpness for that area whereas other areas in the photo will be less sharp or sometimes too sharp. If the sampling area technique still doesn't produce a satisfying result, you have to create a selection of that object in your image application and use FocalBlade to sharpen it with a different setting than the rest of the image.

To remove the sample area please hit the Reset button. Don't just left click on the preview to remove the marquee, because that creates a one pixel lage sample area which can produce unpredictable results.

Auto Sharpen

The Auto Sharpen combo box offers five settings from "Soft" to "Extreme Sharp". With the Screen button activated the "Soft" setting doesn't sharpen the edges, but only the surfaces. The "Medium" setting is sufficient for most images that haven't been sharpened already. If you apply FocalBlade to an image that was sharpened already, but not sufficiently, you should try the "Light" setting. The "Heavy" and "Extreme" settings are usually only recommended in connection with an activated Print button for the purpose of printing photos that have to be viewed at a larger distance, but sometimes you need to use them for very soft or blurred photos. If the photo still looks too blurred at the highest setting, you should try one of the two DeBlur modes.

The Auto Sharpen setting determines the value of the Sharpen slider of the Edges tab.

Auto Surface

The Auto Surface slider lets you define the balance between edges and the surface. For photos with a lot of sky, skin and walls you had better choose a "Even" or "Light" setting which doesn't sharpen them at all or only slightly. Regular photos need a "Medium" setting and photos with a lot of texture details (and no noise and artifacts) look better with a "Heavy" or "Extreme" setting.

Another factor that you should take into account when adjusting the Auto Surface setting is image quality. The better the image quality, the higher the setting you can choose. You should use a "Even" or "Light" setting for photos with a lot of noise and artifacts. It also helps to use the Soften slider from the Surface tab if you don't mind the sharpness decrease.

The Auto Surface setting sets the value of the Sharpen sliders of the Surface tab in relation to the value of the Sharpen slider of the Edges tab.

Auto Details

Auto Details lets you set the size of details that are dominant in the photo. For most photos that show people or objects at a larger distance you should use the "Very Fine" or "Fine" setting. Photos of people that occupy a large part of the photo will usually only need a "Fine" or "Medium" setting. For close-up photos and portraits a "Rough" setting will sometimes be sufficient. If the edges of the objects in the photo are noise, a "Rough" or "Very Rough" setting will produce a better result.

The Auto Details setting determines the value of the Radius sliders of the Edges and Surface tab. The Screen and Print buttons don't influence this setting.

The Context Menu

By right clicking on one of the auto controls you an display a context menu with four options. Each of these options sets the Auto Sharpen, Auto Surface and Auto Details settings to special values that are suitable for landscape, portrait, nightshot or regular photos.