[dleung000]

Should I do resize first or unsharp mask first? Can anyone advice? And what should be the recommended numbers to use for unsharp mask?

[tam_dominic]

For a 8mp image , here is what I usually do :

1. level adjust
2. saturation, contrast adjust
3. Neat Image noise removal if necessary
4. USM 400, 0.3, 0

5. resize to 800 x 600
6. level adjust if required
7. clean up noise using blur tool
8. USM again 80, 0.4, 0
*** end of workflow ***

Happy shooting !

[Ant70s]

Unsharp mask should always be the last step.

There is no one setting fits all photos. You should try and see it for yourself.

I'm no expert, hopefully, the following info will help.

There are three lever in the "Unsharp Mask" window. From top, "Amount", "Radius" and "Threshold". They all works together, try set the last two to "0" and play around with "Amount", you will find no different.

Try set the "Amount" to 30-70%, "Threshold" to 0. When you slide the "Radius" lever towards the RH side, the photo getting more contrast, especally around the edges. To counter this effect, try move the "Threshold" lever to the right abit. This should smooth out the edges.

Generally speaking, try set the "Amount" to 30-70%, "Radius" not larger than 5 pixels, the amount of "Threshold" depends on the "Radius" setting.

Try playing around and you will find the optimal setting for each photo