I’ve constructed a simple image with three objects: a top, a flat plate for the top to stand on, and an Earth. The rendered image (F12) looks great: sharp details, good lighting, good color balance. However, when I save the image to file, the details are not as sharp. It looks like a 5 pixel blur has been added.
In particular, a screenshot of the render window shows the boundary between the top and front of the plate is sharp (2 pixel transition). In the saved image (I’ve tried JPG, PNG, BMP), the same boundary is a smooth transition (at least 5 pixels wide).
I’ve made sure that motion blur is off and I’ve tried OSA on and off. Are there other settings that can affect output image quality? I think I’ve noticed this effect before, but I’ve never really investigated it.
I rendered it on my PC and they look exactly the same… i havent made any changes to the file…
render on the left and saved .png on the right
What version of blender are You using ?
also if u want nice sharp renders i’d suggest using Mitchell-Netravali (Mitch) filter for anti-aliasing (my personal favourite ) and if that’s not enough sharpen in post-production…
I’m using v 2.43 Build 2-16-2007 on a Win XP laptop.
I believe I may have found the cause of the issue. I’ve been using Microsoft Office Picture Manager for quick looks at images. It appears to interpolate pixel values on large zoom. If I load the same image into a paint program like Corel Photo-Paint, I see sharp edges. Hmmm, Microsoft strikes again.
Thanks, too, Isidore. I just saw your post while I was writing this one.
Kroni, is the Mitchell-Netravali filter available in standard Blender? If so, where is the filter choice set?
) and if that’s not enough sharpen in post-production…
