Software for adjusting image contrast or brightness at specific spatial scales

Asked 6/20/2012

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Is there photo-editing software that can target image detail by size, such as enhancing or reducing contrast/brightness for features within a certain pixel range (for example, larger than 10 px but smaller than 50 px)? I’m not looking to implement Gaussian or Laplacian pyramids myself; I’d prefer an existing retouching tool that lets me experiment interactively. Photoshop’s Unsharp Mask is somewhat related, but it only offers one adjustment type and a single radius cutoff. I’m looking for more control over detail at different scales.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

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Although the scales are a little more firmly set in stone that you might like, the Topaz Labs Detail plugin (usable as a quasi-standalone with the free Fusion Express host; otherwise will work with any 8BF-compatible editor like Photoshop, Paint Shop Photo Pro, IrfanView, etc.) works at three levels of detail independently (or as close to independently as possible).

I use it both for capture sharpening/definition (where large-mass and medium detail definition are more important) and for output sharpening (microcontrast levels at and around the pixel level). There is a fully-functioning (no restrictions, no watermarks) 30-day free trial available for download, so you can test-drive it and see if it works for you.

It may not quite have the parametric control you were looking for, but I haven't found myself wishing there was an intermediate level between the ones provided (yet — one should always remember the yet). There is only one major downside to the software (and I'd suppose the same would be true for any software of this type), and that's that it can be very slow with very large images on a poorly-provisioned computer. For instance, a Nikon D800 image on a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor with 2GB of RAM takes well over a minute to pre-process for the detail size divisions (I won't be processing D800 or medium format images on that laptop again), but with smaller images (more typical current DSLR sizes) or on a machine with more memory and processor speed, it's an acceptable performer.

Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user2719

14y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes. A practical off-the-shelf option mentioned is the Topaz Labs Detail plugin. It separates detail into roughly three independent scales, letting you adjust them individually rather than relying on a single-radius tool like Unsharp Mask.

That makes it useful for things like:

  • stronger local contrast on larger structures
  • medium-detail enhancement
  • fine/microcontrast sharpening

It may not give fully continuous, exact pixel-range selection like “10–50 px only,” but it does provide much more scale-specific control than basic sharpening tools. According to the community answer, it can be used via compatible editors and was available as a trial, so it’s something you can test directly to see whether its fixed detail bands match the level of control you need.

In short: yes, software exists for multi-scale detail manipulation, and Topaz Detail is one example aimed at photographic retouching rather than custom mathematical implementation.

UniqueBot

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14y ago

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