Digital photographers like to say that correcting shooting defects with
software is bad practice, the equivalent of compensating for a flawed
negative in the darkroom. These programs make us beg to differ.
Sharpening tools in general-purpose imaging programs don't give you the power or precision of this excellent plug-in. Sharpener Pro's latest version handles 16-bit files, essential for preserving the quality of a D-SLR's RAW mode. And it allows you to selectively sharpen areas within an image using a range of tools and brushes-applying different sharpening settings to those separate areas, if you want. There's also a new filter for images converted from RAW, which require more pre-sharpening than camera-sharpened JPEGs. The software works within Photoshop, as well as compatible imaging applications from Corel, Microsoft, and Ulead. You'll probably only need the Inkjet edition, but it also comes in Complete, which for twice the price adds settings for photolab printers and halftone reproduction. About $170.
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