Sharpest Image Possible Lightroom/Photoshop?

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Hi

Just got a Phantom 3 Standard last week, and of course it is great fun. However with the fixed aperture of f 2.8 of course the focal depth is limited for still photography.

Does anyone have any tips on how to achieve the sharpest images possible using the likes of Photoshop/Lightroom (the distant background in my still photos is soft as you would expect from f2.8)? Yes, I use RAW, ISO 100, and a short shutter speed, but would be interested in any post processing tips.

Thanks
 
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However with the fixed aperture of f 2.8 of course the focal depth is limited for still photography.
... (the distant background in my still photos is soft as you would expect from f2.8)?
Even though the aperture is fixed at f2.8, there should be no problem with depth of field.
The viewing angle of the lens is the equivalent of a 20mm lens in fill frame 35mm photography.
Look at a depth of field calculator and you'll see that if the lens was focused at 5 metres, the DoF would extend from 2.4m to infinity.
 
Thanks for reply. I'll be honest I've quite limited technical knowledge, and don't fully understand all the jargon. I just felt from the first still photos I've taken with my Phantom, the foreground is sharp, and anything beyond is soft.

Is there anything that can be done to sharpen the entire image with Photoshop and Lightroom?

Thanks.
 
There is a setting to adjust the sharpness in Photoshop Elements (and probably all the versions) but the image can become too sharp..
 
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PhotoShop, PhotoShop Elements, Lightroom, Picassa, PhotoImpact Pro, etc. - they all have "sharpness" enhancing modules which halp to bring things back into focus, but they can go only so far before bad things start to happen to the image. I restore old photographs and have to correct badly-focused images a lot, and I find that it works well to do things a little at a time and not make big changes all at once. By adept useage of the brightness, mid-level brightness, and shadow brightness controls, along with numerous small changes of sharpness along the way, you can achieve a modicum of success without getting into noticeable pixelization problems. Be patient - make small changes, then save the photo to a file, make more changes, save to a different file, etc. You know the drill - Scrub - wash - rinse, repeat.
 
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I had a standard and to be honest, wasn't impressed with the still images. Pretty soft in general. Video was ok though. I got a pro and the camera is significantly better for stills. Much better resolution and vibrance, clarity, sharpness etc.

In LR you can play with the blacks, clarity, contrast and ND filter, but may still not be up to expectations. My $.02.
 
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I had a standard and to be honest, wasn't impressed with the still images. Pretty soft in general. Video was ok though. I got a pro and the camera is significantly better for stills. Much better resolution and vibrance, clarity, sharpness etc.

In LR you can play with the blacks, clarity, contrast and ND filter, but may still not be up to expectations. My $.02.
Question: When you made your comparisson between the photos from the P3 with the photos from the P4, were you taking the images off the on-board memory card or off the hand-held control device (phone, I-pad, etc) memory in both cases? Just wanted to hear if there was any difference in the quality of the photos taken from the on-board memory cards.
 
I never had a p4. The photos on computer screen were better with the Pro camera vs. standard. Pretty clear. Usually too bright to analyze on a phone during flight.
 
I never had a p4. The photos on computer screen were better with the Pro camera vs. standard. Pretty clear. Usually too bright to analyze on a phone during flight.
My bad - I was thinking you were comparing a P3 vs a P4. I need to quite multi-tasking - trying to think and trying to type at the same time!

I have a terrible time trying to even see the screen on my phone when I'm flying - it's literally impossible to make out anything.
 
On my P3A I noticed an improved image as a result of the recent firmware upgrade AND I reset the camera settings (on advice from a fellow P3A pilot) and I'd say the images are improved.
 
There is a known issue on Phantoms where the lens is incorrectly focused during assembly. A quick search should produce quite a bit of material. If you happened to get a dud and are within the return period you may want to try another bird.

Google bought a company called Nik and started giving away their software for free. It used to be $350 and many photographers were happy to pay that. It includes sharpening and noise reduction modules that work well. They operate as plugins for both Photoshop and Lightroom.

Google Nik Collection
 
You should get a tablet and a sun shade ,makes a world of difference,,
I have a tablet but it won't fit in the device holder that came with the P3S (even though it is one of the smaller tablets it is too wide to fit in the jaws). I've got to design some kind of holder that I can attach to the controller and when I do I will incorporate a sun-shade with it. And, while I'm at it, I might even include a parabolic antennae device to help extend the radio range (And, while we're still dreaming, how about some mud flaps and some fender skirts, too?)
 
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I'm pretty sure there's a fix for that tablet problem on amazon,,I can't find the link though,
 

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