Helicon images: Adding sharpness - when, how much?

[okie]

Instead of trying to "reinvent the wheel" possible someone else has defined the answer.

Sharpness - when is it best applied... to the entire stack of individual images - before - running through Helicon Focus software, or only after HF's stacking work is accomplished? Likewise, does HF produce better results if more than (or less than) normal sharpening values are applied?

Background information: the in-camera sharpening on the Canon 5D is set a "zero" (none). (With normal shooting this delivers the best final image which is post-processed through Adobe LightRoom, or PhotoShop CS3 (or both), sharpening the last step applied after image tweaks are accomplished.

Does the same rule-of-thumb apply when using Helicon Focus? I've tried it both ways, pre-sharpened and unsharp images run through HF and neither seemed to lend an absolute answer. Or is there a worthy reason to sharpen twice, some applied prior to HF, additional sharpening in post-processing?

[stevez]

I am anxious to hear the exact same answer too

[Dan Kozub]

I would recommend to sharpen after stacking. Sharpening increases pixel-to-pixel contast which is the main indicator of the focused area.
Sharpening can amplify the noise in the unfocused part and the program will have difficulties detecting the focused areas.

But: if you have low noise and low-contrast scene, then presharpening may help.