EOS-1 class digital SLRs have additional image quality settings including sharpness,
contrast, saturation and color tone, which can be applied to all images. In the case of
RAW files, these settings can be overridden in post-processing. However, it is very
important to understand that sharpness settings in particular can have a significant
effect on the appearance of in-camera JPEGs, i.e., images that are shot as JPEGs in the
camera as opposed to RAW files that have been converted to JPEGs in your computer.
Before getting into a detailed discussion of sharpening in-camera or on a computer, it’s
important to realize that pictures taken on overcast days or taken indoors with only
natural light look softer than pictures taken on sunny days or indoors with direct flash.
Why? Because overcast day/indoor natural light pictures have less contrast than the
sunny day/direct flash pictures, and pictures with less contrast look softer than
pictures with more contrast. Knowing that, the contrast of a somewhat softer image can
be boosted in-camera or in an image-editing program, giving the appearance of a
sharper picture.
