Sharpening a photo that's slightly out of focus

[momsavealot]

Hi there,
In my haste to get the perfect picture, I sometimes did not let my camera focus in time. So, some of my pics are just slightly out of focus. I really like Picasa's editing features but its "sharpen" feature is not graduated and sometimes sharpens too much. So my question is "Is there a software program out there that can sharpen on a grade?" Picasa's sharpen is either "on" or "off", there is no grade. I hope someone understands. Thanks!

 

[ukcatfan]

Most programs have that feature. Look for "unsharp mask". It is probably not the very best sharpening tool, but it is likely the most popular and works very well. You should be able to find plenty of information on how to use it on the net.

A couple free options are Irfanview and The Gimp.

 

[klmall]

If you need to sharpen photos and do other simple editing even occasionally such as removing unwanted objects (i.e. that darn bird that flew into your castle picture) or increasing contrast in an overexposed picture I strongly suggest investing $50 or so in an editing program such as Photoshop Elements. While it won't cure every out-of-focus picture it does sharpen well. You can purchase an older version (PSE 7 is being released late September) such as PSE 5 for around $51 on Amazon and then if you really like it upgrade to a later version for a reduced price.

There are friendly message boards, tutorials online, books available everywhere for PSE and most people find it intuitive to use. Nowadays it's rare that I can't salvage someone's photo with PSE and Picasa2 and I speak from experience with disposable cameras from a recent rafting trip!

I'll get off my soapbox/sales pitch now!

Kathy

 

[JR6ooo4]

also look at focus magic.

Mikeeee

 

[MICKEY88]

Paint shop pro photo X2 is another software option...

with paint shop pro and photoshop, you can download 30 day free trials to see how you like the program before buying..