Sharpening with Elements on a Nikon D70 (w/ kit lens)

Question

As much as I love this camera, I can't help but feel that I should be getting sharper images from it. I realize that much is left up to me as far as post-processing, and that's okay, that's why I bought Elements in the first place (I'm using version 3 for Mac).
Initially, all I shot was in the JPEG format, but now that I have version 3, I've moved to RAW. I like the way I can change exposure, white balance, and the like using the RAW plug-in, but I still don't see a signifigant difference when it comes to sharpening. My suspicion is that it's something to do with my workflow; maybe I should forego Camera RAW sharpening and just stick to USM? Or maybe I'm just missing the whole point when it comes down to sharpening an image. This seems to be the one major "hurdle" I have right now (well, that and just getting the hang of RAW, which is STILL Greek to me).
I would REALLY like to hear from you Nikon users who may have some tips. I know that this camera is capable of much more than I'm currently getting out of it. Thanks for your time.
Tony

Answer 1

Shooting RAW will not provide an initially sharper image, but will provide much better dynamic range and bypass all in-camera processing. This gives you more latitude in what you can do with your post processing and also eliminates the degradation of continually saving changes in JPEG, which compresses each time you save. I normally save in TIFF or PDF before I create a final JPEG image. Still, using USM as a first and last step, or just a last step, is the easiest way I've found of sharpening your image. My Canon Rebel XT uses stronger AA filters in the camera resulting in even softer images than your Nikon. This is done to avoid moire in the images. I almost always use USM to correct for this.
With many DSLR cameras, the out of camera images are much softer than you'd get out of a point and shoot. Generally, less processing is done in the camera as you get into the "prosumer" level of cameras. You are expected to sharpen out of the camera. The Canon, and to a lesser degree Nikon, message boards are filled with new users complaining about the softness of their images. Remember that less in-camera processing creates fewer artifacts that you'll have to deal with later. Another point is that the lens on a DSLR is critical in how sharp your image can be. Depth of field and camera shake are other factors that you must take into account. There's a lot going on here.
USM itself can be used to accentuate contrast by applying low amount/high radius/low threshold, or any range of sharpening through higher amount/low radius and 0 or higher threshold depending on how soft you want the subject to appear.
With all this, I frequently still shoot in JPEG when I expect to do little processing because of the subject and/or conditions. Also, if I'm shooting a lot of pictures, I do tend to get lazy and want to minimize my workflow. Shame on me. ;-)