nik Sharpener Pro

[Tom C]

Call me a whimp, a whiner, and a slacker.  I simply haven't had the time to 
learn or become proficient at certain (many/most) tasks in Photoshop.  I 
would rather be taking photographs than spending hours at trial and error 
manipulation.

I downloaded the demo of nik Sharpener Pro (recommended on Luminous 
Landscape)... a supposedly intelligent sharpener plug-in for Photoshop.  I 
was quite impressed and purchased it.  I suspect it will save a lot of time 
and it has 'protections' against oversharpening.  Also included are 
sharpening routines for web vs. printer output.

I had one image that I've messed with for thirty minutes or more, never 
being happy with the results.  On the first try with nik Sharpener Pro I got 
an image I was happy with.  I haven't tried the printer output sharpening 
routines yet.

I also recently purchased a Digital Velvia plug in which automates 
saturation adjustments, allowing images to be saturated/desaturated quickly 
at selectable levels.  Fairly impressed with it as well.

Tom C.