Post processing v Lens Quality (1 Viewer)

Taxboy · May 9, 2015

Having read a lot of the thread re the new Sigma zoom and comparisons to the Tamron I was wondering at what point does post processing take over from the hardware?

I guess what I'm really asking is with broadly similar lenses doe the outright sharpness matter all that much and can the difference be overcome by skilled post processing

kitefarrago · May 10, 2015

You cannot recover detail that isn't in the photograph, even with the best post-processing software in the world. And since birds have very fine detail in the form of feathers you can always tell a really good quality picture from a not so good one.

Sharpening in post-production is more about bringing out edges, which makes us see an image as sharper. Reducing noise is about removing unwanted bits of colour, but the more aggressive you are here, the more you lose detail.

Post-processing can make a big difference in correcting colour cast (wrong white balance, eg), bringing out colours, and taking care of exposure issues (as long as these are not too bad), in particular for an image taken in raw. But to get a top quality photo out you need to put something in that has as much detail as possible, and that's where the quality of the lens comes in.

Andrea

Musoman · May 10, 2015

kitefarrago said:
You cannot recover detail that isn't in the photograph, even with the best post-processing software in the world. And since birds have very fine detail in the form of feathers you can always tell a really good quality picture from a not so good one.

Sharpening in post-production is more about bringing out edges, which makes us see an image as sharper. Reducing noise is about removing unwanted bits of colour, but the more aggressive you are here, the more you lose detail.

Post-processing can make a big difference in correcting colour cast (wrong white balance, eg), bringing out colours, and taking care of exposure issues (as long as these are not too bad), in particular for an image taken in raw. But to get a top quality photo out you need to put something in that has as much detail as possible, and that's where the quality of the lens comes in.

Andrea

100%

mr_birdman · May 27, 2015

Yep. You cannot make chocolate cake from mud.

Post processing v Lens Quality (1 Viewer)

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Taxboy

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Musoman

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mr_birdman

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