From Good to Razor-Sharp: Mastering Sharpening in RawTherapee

When photographing general subjects like architecture, street scenes, and landscapes, I typically shoot in both JPEG and RAW formats. However, for the past year, when it comes to birds or wildlife, I’ve switched exclusively to RAW. All three of my OM System cameras—the OM-1 Mark II, E-M1X, and E-M1 MKIII—are set to shoot in RAW only. The same goes for my E-M5 Mark III, which I love pairing with the Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4-6.3 lens. It’s an excellent lightweight and compact combination for wildlife photography.

I prefer RAW because it gives me far greater control over the final result, especially in terms of exposure, sharpness, and noise reduction. Using RawTherapee, I can fine-tune these aspects to achieve the best possible outcome. In fact, I’ve previously written a tutorial on sharpness and noise reduction in RawTherapee, and this photo provides the perfect opportunity to revisit those techniques, especially in the context of bird and wildlife photography.

For most images, I stick to the standard sharpening method, “Unsharp Mask,” which works well in nearly all cases—you’d hardly notice a difference if another method were used. But for extreme magnifications like this one, I aim for optimal sharpness. In these instances, I switch to “RL Deconvolution.” When combined with RawTherapee’s “Focus Mask” feature, which functions like a focus-peaking effect, I can push the sharpness even further. Below, you’ll find a comparison between the standard sharpening method and the RL Deconvolution technique.

Standaard Unsharp Mask:

Settings : Radius 1.50 – Amount 300 – Sharpen only Edges – other set to default

RL Deconvolution

Settings : Radius 1.50 – Iterations 75 – other set to default

Below is a side-by-side image comparison, click one of the images to enlarge en compare. I think it’s clear that RL Deconvolution in RawTherapee can make a significant difference in sharpness.

You’ll also find links to the article featuring this photo, along with others that have been edited in a more traditional way. Additionally, there’s a link to a detailed workflow in RawTherapee, focusing on sharpening and noise reduction.