Akvis 'Refocus'

[Peppercorn]

Good morning, all,

 

Some time ago I bought Akvis refocussing software. I understood that it could be used to refocus out-of-focus photographs, the clue being in the software's title and the blurb.

 

I've now used it a couple of time and am blowed if I can the difference between the 'before' and 'after' shots, and was wondering if anyone has it, or can recommend something that does work?

 

Thanks,

 

Cliff

[Danemouth]

Sorry Cliff,

 

If a picture is out of focus it's out of focus - end of! There is no way it can be made sharp.

 

As a keen photographer any out of focus  pictures I immediately discard,

 

Dave

[Kylestrome]

As Danemouth has just indicated, this software cannot "re-focus" a photograph that is out of focus.

 

I have just tried out the trial Photoshop plug-in version, and it is just a tool for "sharpening" digital photos which is a process that most digital image processing apps are already capable of. It seems to work by increasing local contrast which increases the apparent sharpness. Obviously, the softer the original image, the less sharpening effect you will see. It is not a miracle worker and it is misleadingly named. 

[ParkeNd]

The name suggests some sort of photo Mecca - but all the reviews I can find are from disappointed users. Adding sharpness to a photo just means accentuating the contrast at the boundaries between different tones which is a feature of all photo editing software where it is applied to correctly focused images.

 

I think your expectations are, as others have said, unrealistic. Any chance of a refund?

[unravelled]

I rarely discard any photographs. From the archive point of view, even out of focus, badly exposed images can provide useful information even if they are artistically bad pictures. But then I take pictures as a record rather than works of art. I'm aways plesed to see light scarred, end of roll images posted in threads here. While it would be nice to have perfectly focussed images it's better to have an out of focus record rather than none at all. Enjoy, and post, them for the content, not the technical quality.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[Peppercorn]

Thanks, all. Yes I was done, my fault for my naivety, I suppose. 

I shan't discard my photos - the ones I wanted to 'correct' are those which I took on my first forays into the steam world, basically at some of the big north London termini in '63 as example below. I think I tend to agree with Dave, that oftimes a technically poor photograph can, somehow, describe the sense of time and place better than a really good shot.

Oh, well, I shall just have to try and re-create them using such artistic skills at my disposal using pen, ink, watercolour and oils.

Again, my thanks,

Cliff

[phil_sutters]

Thanks, all. Yes I was done, my fault for my naivety, I suppose. 

I shan't discard my photos - the ones I wanted to 'correct' are those which I took on my first forays into the steam world, basically at some of the big north London termini in '63 as example below. I think I tend to agree with Dave, that oftimes a technically poor photograph can, somehow, describe the sense of time and place better than a really good shot.

Oh, well, I shall just have to try and re-create them using such artistic skills at my disposal using pen, ink, watercolour and oils.

Again, my thanks,

Cliff

As a consolation for the lack of success with your software, I have had a go with Photoshop Elements and attach the result - which may or may not be better than the Akvis result. I am not sure what the two overlapping squares are near the front. They looked clear enough to be something that was supposed to be there, although I couldn't think what. They can be removed if they shouldn't be there.

[Peppercorn]

Here's one I did earlier - not pen and ink, but dry point, and Andrew KMcCosh, also at KX