There’s no doubt that to many people, the photos they take throughout their life are totally priceless and not something which you can put a value on. But this can also cause a great deal of heartache because in today’s digital world it’s quite easy to lose your photos because your digital camera or smartphone goes wrong and has to be replaced or factory reset, memory cards are also prone to corruption so you might have to run photo recovery tools to try and get them back.

1. Free Image Sharpening Software
2. Best Free Photo Sharpening Software
3. Photo Image Sharpening Software
4. Photo Sharpening Software Reviews

Losing your photos is one thing, taking the photo and later finding out it’s blurry or out of focus is quite another and very frustrating. Many things can cause this such as movement or shaking of the camera during the shot or simply setting the wrong focus and the camera thinks the objects in the shot are closer or further away than they should be. Most people would immediately delete these types of photos because they think the images are useless and cannot be fixed.

Free tool to sharpen image online, drop image in tool and set the sharpen percentage to improve the apparant sharpness, then preview the sharpened image and download if expected sharpness is attained.

Thankfully that need not be the case and there are some tools around that claim to be able to refocus your blurred photos and bring them back to something like what the original would look like. Here we look at 7 free and paid image deblurring tools that may just save your treasured photos. The software was tested on Windows 7 but should also work on 8/8.1/Vista and possibly XP.

1. Focus Magic

Focus Magic is quite a well known shareware refocusing program and offers a number of filters to enhance or even degraded your image if you want. The filters are focus, fix motion blur, defocus, increase resolution and despeckle. The shareware version costs $65 for a lifetime registration, the trial does not watermark the output pictures but limits you to 10 conversions, after which you need to register.

This one doesn’t have many options to play with, simply select the filter to use, load the image and click on an area that is blurred. A red box appears and inside will be the result of the filtering, if it doesn’t look good enough, adjust the distance/blur width or the direction/amount. As you only get 10 refocused images in the trial, make sure to move the red box around all areas of the picture that matter before clicking the traffic light to process and save. A cheat to get yourself another 10 conversions is running Focus Magic in sandbox software such as Sandboxie.

Visit Focus Magic Website

2. SmartDeblur 1.27 Free Version

SmartDeblur comes in two flavors, this is the now discontinued version 1 from 2012 which has been made open source, version 2 is shareware. This version is able to process three types of image blurring, which are out of focus, motion and Gaussian blur. A useful bonus is SmartDeblur 1.27 is also portable so you just need to extract it to the folder of your choice. Note we had a few crashes during testing so the program isn’t 100% stable.

Another good thing about this program is the changes are previewed live in the window, so after you run it and open an image, simply select the Defect type and start moving the sliders to try and find the best settings to get the sharpness back to the photo. This is also the downside of SmartDeblur free because it can take a lot of time to get the slider settings just right and your image is as sharp and artifact free as possible. Once you have the right settings wait a few seconds for the full final render of the finished result and save the new image.

Download SmartDeblur 1.27 Free

3. SmartDeblur 2 Shareware Version

This is the successor to the free version of SmartDeblur and is shareware that costs $49 for the Home version or $98 for the Pro version. What’s new is the updated user interface, a more advanced kernel editor and a ringing suppression feature. One thing to note is you won’t be able to make use of the results in the trial because watermarks are placed all over the image.

The updated program has also brought an auto detect mode that tries to decide what some of the best settings are for the best result, which is good because the free version relies more on your own trial and error with the sliders. You can also click on the image and create an area of analysis or just click Analyze Blur and let the whole image be scanned. The Blur Model editor is quite advanced and you will need to read through the documentation to get a better idea how it works.

Download SmartDeblur 2

4. DeblurMyImage

Compared to the other shareware applications here, DeblurMyImage is a more reasonable €14.99, so if you’re fine with buying a shareware application to unblur your photos, this would be one of the first to try. The main restriction in the demo version is you cannot save the images, although making the image as large as possible and then using Print Screen might give you a big enough final image.

Usage is quite easy, install the program (32-bit and 64-bit options available), open the photo and click the icon near the top left for out of focus or motion correction. Then click the Preview box to show a live update on the picture and experiment with the slider and drop down boxes to look for the best quality result. Click Ok to apply it to the whole image and see the final result. Note that to remove motion blur you have to hold Ctrl and click points on the image to mark the direction of the blur.

Visit DeblurMyImage Website

5. Unshake

There are a few things that go against Unshake, even though it’s free. Firstly it’s based on Java which means you will need Java installed and it isn’t particularly fast when waiting for the resulting image to be produced, it’s also quite old dating back to 2006. The plus point about being Java based of course means Unshake runs on any operating system that supports it.

Unpack the zip and run Unshake from the Launch.bat file. After loading the image to process a few drop down menus offer normal/severe blur selection and how much detail quality to apply to the image, the default of Estimate quality will let the program decide. Finally select the strength of deblurring from the slider and click the DeBlur button. The problem with Unshake is the amount of time you have to wait for the image to process, which will be considerable for large images, and after every minor setting change you have to wait again before you can see if it worked.

Download Unshake

6. RobustMotionDeblur

This program comes from Chinese University of Hong Kong and is actually a trial version but where you buy the full version and how much it costs is a mystery. The trial restricts you to a maximum output image size of 800×800 pixels but it doesn’t watermark so if you only want to sharpen some smaller images, this will work fine. RobustMotionDeblur is portable so no installation is needed.

After loading an image a wizard pops up but it only asks how bad you think the blur is and whether you want to apply the deblur to the whole image. A few tweaking options are available like adjusting smoothness, ringing, noise and the blur size. A nice touch is each render is tabbed so you can see what the last edit looked like and the settings used. RobustMotionDeblur actually has two versions, the normal one and an enhanced version that will render the results faster if you have an nVidia CUDA enabled graphics adapter.

Download RobustMotionDeblur

7. Blurity

Blurity is another shareware focusing and de-blurring tool, this one normally costs a rather high $99 (currently on offer for $79), a Pro version is in the works with a rather eye watering price of $249.

The program is pretty easy to use if you want it to be, open an image, click on an area of blur and then press the Process button. You may need to move the square around the picture to find the best spot. Alter the blur severity slider or open Advanced options and adjust the other sliders for more precise control. The processed image is heavily watermarked so you can’t save it but should be able to see if Blurity can offer good enough results before you consider parting with the large amount of money it costs.

Download Blurity

Final Note:

The most important thing to note is no program really does a 100% perfect job because it’s inevitable you will lose some image quality in the sharpening process, many images are therefore not going to be of good printable quality. It’s also worth noting that the more blurred or out of focus the image is, the worse the final result will be, so a very slightly blurred photo will give a more satisfactory final image in just about all the tool above.

If we had to pick one, SmartDeblur free actually gave what we thought were just about the clearest and sharpest results for both out of focus and motion blurred photos, even better on average than it’s shareware counterpart. Being free, it’s a no brainer to try SmartDeblur 1.27 first as you have absolutely nothing to lose and might save yourself money by not paying for shareware that could end up doing no better. Results will vary from image to image though, so it’s still worth at least trying the shareware tools in case one hits the sweet spot and produces some great results.

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I have a old photo which is blured and out of focus so how can i fixed it.

Reply

Nice
Is there a way to correct blurred videos too

Reply

Yes keep your hands from shaking when you take videos

Reply

Thanks for this compilation, very much appreciated.

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thanks for all the suggestions and to this blog site. may u have more tool tips to come.

Reply

cool…

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Hey ray!
i like you!!!!
so thanks

Reply

All tools are good enough but i’d rather stick with a freeware. xD

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That blur (and smoothen)stuff is an essential part of every good foto-edit-program!But use the function brightness & contrast too! First darken it a bit,and than screw up the contrast so to reach a better contast between the characters and the background,(do this more as one time to tryout) and than use the sharpen tool.
Very useful if you scan text on coloured paper.
Also try out more or less saturation.
Succes. Graphic- and Photodesigner Fred.

Reply

thanks mate!

Reply

Hi,
Thanks Raymond for another great post.

Reply

Nice programs, Ray.

Reply

When it comes to digital photo editing, one of the most important steps of this process revolves around image resizing. Resizing photos can be beneficial from multiple perspectives.

First of all, the size of your images has a direct impact on the performance of your website and blog. Large files will affect in a negative way the loading speed of your pages and hence provide an unpleasant user experience. Reducing the size of your files will speed up the loading time of your pages, which will make visitors stay longer on your website.

At the same time this operation will help you free up significant disk space and it will make your photos significantly easier to share with others.

If you want to learn how to resize images on Mac with ease, then this article is definitely for you. Below we’ve compiled a list of 10 apps that enable you to accomplish your task quickly and effectively.

Preview

The built-in Preview app can be a good place to start if you want to optimize your images. This native program is not a basic photo viewer. On the contrary, it can help you improve your photographs in several ways, including to batch resize them.

Before starting, make sure that all your pictures are stored in the same folder. Next select all of them and open them in the Preview app. In the newly-opened window, go to Edit in the menu bar and Select All. Now, with all the images selected, go to Tools in the same menu bar and then Adjust Size. The app gives you the option to select one of the preset resolutions or to manually type in the preferred size for Width or Height. Once you’ve entered the desired values, all that’s left to do is to save your files.

Besides resizing, the Preview app lets you perform other optimization-related operations, such as converting to another image format, rotating or flipping groups of images.

BatchPhoto

BatchPhoto is an easy-to-use app to resize images in bulk on Mac. What makes it so easy? Well, all you have to do is follow a simple, three-step wizard: add your photos, apply the desired edits and select your output format and folder.

The app allows you to change the size of your photos by entering the desired dimensions for width and height expressed in either pixels or percentages and offers a preview tab so you can see how your shrunken image will look. Additionally you can find an advanced resizing filter, that enables you to change the DPI of your images or specify the desired document size in inches.

BatchPhoto focuses on improving users’ productivity and that’s why it comes with the option of saving your settings as profiles and loading them later, in another session. Another productivity booster is the Folder Watch, particularly useful if you’re working constantly with new images and need to reduce their size. This feature makes your job so much easier, because it monitors certain folders for newly-added images and automatically applies a set of edits which you previously defined.

If you need to further optimize your photos, BatchPhoto offers plenty of options. You can convert, auto crop and rotate, watermark, date stamp or rename multiple pictures at once. The app also provides options to retouch your images by adjusting the brightness, contrast or saturation or by sharpening them. Additionally you can apply special effects to your pictures, like sepia and black and white and add borders and frames.

PhotoSize

If you don’t feel the need to install another app on your Mac, PhotoSize is the right solution. This is a free online tool which you can use to resize more images at the same time. The process is quite simple and structured in three steps: add your images, apply the Resize filter and last choose your image format and destination folder.

The Resize filter gives you the possibility to choose from a wide range of presets, including Full HD quality, or to manually enter the desired values for width and height. PhotoSize lets you upload and export to some of the most popular image formats like JPEG, TIFF, PNG, PSD or GIF. In addition to resizing and converting, you can also crop, rotate or retouch your photos in bulk.

PhotoBulk

PhotoBulk is a Mac app which you can efficiently put to use to reduce the size of your images. The app comes with a simply-designed interface, split in two main columns: on the left side is where you select the desired operation, while on the right side you can make the necessary adjustments. A live preview is available, as well as the possibility to save your settings as presets to streamline your work.

With PhotoBulk you benefit from multiple resizing options. You can choose from preset dimensions, enter the new dimensions in the box or perhaps resize by percentage. If you wish to save disk space, you can also optimize the file size of your JPEG or PNG files without altering the resolution or quality. The app places at your disposal options to add a watermark to your photos, as well as rename and convert them.

JPEGmini

If you need to considerably reduce the size of your files from let’s say 10 GB to 5 GB, without losing quality, JPEGmini is the tool to try. How can it do that, you may wonder. Well, the tool has been conceived to compress file size by removing any unnecessary binary information from your photos when you export them.

'You can't sign in because your account was disabled for security reasons'. Disabled an app on mac. If you use, you need a trusted device or trusted phone number to and unlock your account. If you have a, you can also use it to help you regain access to your account.If you see a message that says your account has been disabled in the App Store and iTunes Store, for help.If your Apple ID is locked for security reasons, you might see one of these alerts:. “This Apple ID has been disabled for security reasons”.

JPEGmini is focused on automation, so it doesn’t leave room for the user to take control. All you have to do is drag and drop your images and allow the optimization process to begin. The only thing you can choose is whether to overwrite the original pictures or export the processed ones in another folder. You can also change the resolution of your photos, by selecting from a couple of predefined templates for width and height.

It’s important to specify that the tool works only on JPEG’s, which means you can’t add RAW, PNG or TIFF files. JPEGmini is available as a standalone app, but also comes as a plugin for Lightroom and Photoshop.

Resize Sense

Resize Sense is a simple and straightforward photo resizer for Mac. It’s designed to help users simplify their work by adjusting images in bulk to the right size for social networks, email or various graphic design projects.

The app offers numerous alternatives to resize your photos: by selecting fixed dimensions, to fit to width and/or height, by the longest or shortest edge, by setting the maximum file size or by only cropping, which lets you crop and straighten your images using a predefined aspect ratio. Resize Sense allows you to build your own presets and easily apply them later to a new batch of images.

Further options include flipping, rotating and renaming pictures, as well as editing the IPTC and EXIF metadata.

Tweak Photos

Tweak Photos is a batch editing app that offers plenty of features to optimize and enhance your images. The app is simple to use thanks to the intuitive layout and breaks it all down in easy-to-follow steps: add photos, apply the desired effects and select your Save options.

Free Image Sharpening Software

With Tweak Photos you can easily resize your photos in pixels or percentages and auto-correct the orientation based on the EXIF metadata. The app also allows you to crop, rotate and watermark your pictures, as well as enhance them by reducing the noise or adjusting things like brightness and contrast. To improve your workflow you can save your settings for later use.

Movavi Photo Manager

Movavi Photo Manager is not your classic Mac image resizer. As the name indicates it, this app’s main purpose is to help you properly sort and organize your images, but this doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with useful photo editing capabilities. On the contrary, it places at your disposal a decent amount of features to optimize and enhance your pictures. Of course, batch resizing is one of them.

If you need to make your images smaller, Movavi Photo Manager offers two alternatives. The first option is to simply type in the new dimensions for the width and height in pixels, percents, centimetres or inches. At the same time you can select from the multiple preset sizes, that range from 640 x 480 to 3200 x 2400. It’s worth mentioning that the program will automatically overwrite your original photos, so it’s best to create copies before making any changes to them.

Best Free Photo Sharpening Software

Sizerox

If you’re looking for a simple app to reduce photo size on your Mac, Sizerox is definitely worth a look. This app may not have the sleekest design and may not offer the same multitude of editing options as other ones, but it makes up for it through ease of use and its batch ability.

You can change the image size by percentage, ratio, fixed width and height, longest slide and more, the options are numerous. Additionally you can perform other edits, such as rotate, crop or rename. You can also protect your photos by adding a customizable text or logo watermark.

Photo Image Sharpening Software

Photo Sharpening Software Reviews

Image Resizer

Image Resizer is our final proposal for reducing the size of your pictures on Mac. This app is pretty basic and doesn’t offer too many options, but it gets the job done efficiently when it comes to changing photo size. You have the possibility to resize images by custom width and height, rotate, crop and flip them, as well as convert them to different formats.