Discussion:
Smart Sharpen Slowdown
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dbritch
2007-02-17 04:57:59 UTC
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Overall, I like CS3. However, I see a few problems. First, the printing
system has some issues that have already been discussed. Second, though, is
the performance of Smart Sharpen. It was somewhat slow in CS2, and I've seen
some folks suggest that it is faster in CS3. This leads me to suspect
something odd about my configuration. I watched it attempt to sharpen an image
from my Canon 5D immediately prior to posting this note. After about 4 minutes
of work, the progress bar had made it to nearly 1/4 of the way across. I
switched my focus to this Firefox, and in a few seconds (less than 40) it was
done.

I ran it again, and had a similar experience. In 4:28, the progress bar moved
about 1/4 of the distance, and then in about 10 seconds move the rest of the
way.

This seems odd for two reasons - both that it takes 4:40 to run the filter,
and that nearly all the time is represented by the first 1/4 of the progress
bar.

I'm running Windows XP Pro SP2, on an AMD64 X2 3800, with 2GB of memory. I'm
using a Raptor for my system drive, and my PS scratch is on a dedicated Seagate
Barracuda. The Preferences Performance dialog indicates 1717MB of free RAM,
and PS is configured to use up tp 1287 (75%). History is set to 20 states, and
6 Cache Levels.

Am I doing something wrong? Should Smart Sharpen *really* take 4:40 to
sharpen a 12.8Mpixel file?

Thanks,

David
dbritch
2007-02-23 04:06:06 UTC
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I guess there is not an easy answer to the performance issue. I guess that's
OK, though - the image quality of the smart sharpen is unusable, anyway. It
generates artifacts that are reminiscent of the crystal-like artifacts I've
seen with noise reduction software, when the parameters are not set well.

Since smart sharpen is a critical part of my usual workflow, this is a
non-starter for me. I'll probably uninstall CS3. That's too bad. Adobe has
indicated that the problem with the artifacts is fixed, but that they won't
release any updates prior to the commercial release. In my opinion, that is
not a good decision - part of the reason for a beta release is to allow quick
turnaround of bug and feature fixes, without some of the QA overhead involved
in a full release - but they didn't ask me, and I'm sure that they believe they
made a good decision.

David
Ramón G Castañeda
2007-02-23 17:17:26 UTC
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Post by dbritch
part of the reason for a beta release is to allow quick
turnaround of bug and feature fixes
You can bet that Adobe uses later builds for their various internal beta
testing programs, some of which involve independent, experienced users who
do not work for Adobe.

The one that will NOT be updated is the PUBLIC beta, the one available to
the general public.
dbritch
2007-04-16 23:10:23 UTC
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This performance issue is still present in the production release of CS3.

I just opened an image using ACR, and ran Smart Sharpen. The Smart Sharpen
took about 4.5 minutes. The new Smart Sharpen is not workable as an
interactive tool, and my computer is not terribly slow.

Is this a problem with my configuration, or is Smart Sharpen no longer
intended for interactive use?

Thanks,

David
Ramón G Castañeda
2007-04-16 23:18:26 UTC
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Post by dbritch
sing ACR, and ran Smart Sharpen. The Smart Sharpen
took about 4.5 minutes. The new Smart Sharpen is not workable as an
interactive tool, and my computer is not terribly slow.
What OS? What machine?
dbritch
2007-04-17 00:11:13 UTC
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Sorry - I was continuing the thread. Same machine and OS as before:

I'm running Windows XP Pro SP2 (32-bit), on an AMD64 X2 3800, with 2GB of
memory. I'm using a Raptor for my system drive, and my PS scratch is on a
dedicated Seagate Barracuda. The Preferences Performance dialog indicates
1717MB of free RAM, and PS is configured to use up tp 1287 (75%). History is
set to 20 states, and 6 Cache Levels. I have my image files on two
filesystems. Each is 2 Barracudas, striped together. Typically, I keep raw
files on one, and process to TIF or PSD on the other.

I was using CS3 beta when I tested and reported this before, but now I'm using
the commercially released version of CS3, that I downloaded today.
Ramón G Castañeda
2007-04-17 01:37:50 UTC
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Just as an explanation, those of us who seek solace and relief from the
godawful ConFusion/ColdFusion/FrozenFusion software on which these
disgustingly slow forums by using a newsreader do not see any threads at
all, just isolated posts. That's why I had to ask.

I see no such speed issues with Smart Filters on my Mac. :-/

dbritch
2007-04-17 00:12:49 UTC
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Oh - and most of my image files are 12.7Mpixel files from a Canon 5D.

dbr
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