How does Photoshop's image deblurring work, and are there similar tools?
Asked 3/9/2012
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Adobe demoed an image deblurring feature for Photoshop that appears to recover sharpness from a blurred photo. What technique does this kind of tool use, what kinds of blur can it realistically correct, and is similar software available from other companies?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
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It almost certainly uses an image analysis technique called "deconvolution." Reading the wikipedia page on it is a good start but it is awfully technical and you might be left just knowing the name of the technique.
I did read a blog somewhere where is suggested that the inverse transform that is needed for proper deconvolution can be known since the blur that comes in our digital pictures comes from the needed anti-aliasing filters in the camera's hardware. This seems like a good theory to me. Except that that would only work for images that were focused properly, not blurry as a result of any hardware limitations. Topaz's infocus certainly works with improperly focused images, at least it does according to their website!
Originally by user7310. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user7310
14y ago
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This kind of feature is generally based on deconvolution: estimating the blur pattern in the image and mathematically reversing it as much as possible.
In practice, the software tries to model the blur as a point-spread function caused by factors like camera shake or lens/optical behavior, then applies an inverse process to restore detail. More advanced approaches can use knowledge of the lens or calibrated optical profiles, but the basic idea is still deconvolution.
Its limits are important: these tools can help with some motion blur or camera shake, but they are much less effective on images that are simply out of focus. They also can’t create detail that was never recorded.
Regarding Photoshop specifically, the cited Adobe MAX 2011 video was a technology demo and not a feature that shipped in CS6. Similar tools have existed in third-party software; one example mentioned in the discussion is Topaz InFocus.
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