# Spot removal tool: Feathering value reverts to zero on older images.



## jerry12953 (Nov 13, 2013)

I'm not sure if this problem began with LR v5 or 5.2 but I've only just noticed it.

There is now a feathering slider in the Spot Removal tool. At first I thought "great" but there's a drawback, isn't there?.

When I open an image edited in a previous version of LR, originally with a pre-set or automatic feathering value, that value reverts to zero. The image looks like it has been cloned REALLY badly! I surely can't have been the only user to notice this. Any suggestions, beyond processing them all again?


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## clee01l (Nov 13, 2013)

LR introduced a new feather adjustment in LR 5.0/5.2.  Before it was a hard wired non zero value.  Images applying spot removal in prior versions of LR Came across the catalog conversion with the new feathering value set to zero ( a bad choice on Adobes part).  In LR5.3RC I believe this has been defaulted to some non zero value.


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## Jim Wilde (Nov 13, 2013)

Yes, this feature that was introduced in 5.2 came with that "bug". The good news is that it's fixed in the 5.3 Release Candidate (the feather slider will be set to 75 I think), so you can either install the RC or if you prefer to wait for the final release just leave those spots alone if you can and the issue will be resolved when you update to 5.3.


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## Selwin (Nov 14, 2013)

It's funny in a way that when I recently wrote (in another topic) that I didn't have any issues in LR 5.2, I now realize I only processed new images. The problems I read about are mainly about importing edits to older images from previous versions of LR.

It looks a bit like the Adobe engineers were focusing mostly on the new features and not so much on backward compatibility. Setting zero as default for this feather for existing photos I find very silly. Should have been addressed in debugging before the 5.2 release.


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## AndreasM (Nov 14, 2013)

I'm a bit confused. If the feather option didn't exist in older versions before Lr 5.0/5.2, setting feather to zero for pictures that were developed before the introduction of this feature is - to my mind - not silly, but the ONLY correct way.
Isn't this thinking also the reason for the Process Versions (2003/2010/2012), which ensure that improvements aren't applied automatically to older pictures, because in certain situations an "improvement" could have a undesirable effects.


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## Jim Wilde (Nov 14, 2013)

I think the problem is that when applying any kind of spot removal in LR4 it is automatically feathered, i.e. there isn't the hard edge you'd get if there was no feather. But when the feather control was introduced in LR5, any pre-existing spots had the slider automatically set to zero which thus changed all those pre-existing spots to a (usually undesirable) hard edge.

So taking your analogy of the Process Versions, i.e. leaving things as they were when upgrading a catalog, the correct action should have been to use the same (hidden from the user) feather value as applied in LR4 (i.e. 75) to the pre-existing spots when introducing the new feather control. This error has been corrected in the LR5.3 RC.


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## AndreasM (Nov 14, 2013)

In this case I agree. And I have to confess that my post was triggered by the fact that I overread  the "non" in clee01l's statement "Before it (feather) was a hard wired _*non*_ zero value."

Still - I would have thought that in "healing mode" (which I think is used most of the time) feathering isn't that important for a smooth transition because the content of the healing spot is adjusted anyway to blend in. But in cloning mode it could make a big difference.


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## Selwin (Nov 14, 2013)

Quite frankly, I never had anything more to wish for while using the spot removal tool. So I'd be interested to hear from you in which circumstances an adjustable feather can be helpful.


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## jerry12953 (Nov 14, 2013)

Ah, hello! Quite a few replies I see.......

It is a relief to see that this problem will be resolved in LR 5.3. Will the preset feathering value really return to what it was pre- LR5.2? In which case I/we can breathe a huge sigh of relief........

It seems amazing to me that this "bug" somehow managed to make it through the beta version and then the RC of LR5.2.

Is it safe to use the RC immediately and will I need to take any further action when the real thing is released?

I'm grateful for your advice, folks.


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## AndreasM (Nov 14, 2013)

Selwin said:


> Quite frankly, I never had anything more to wish for while using the spot removal tool. So I'd be interested to hear from you in which circumstances an adjustable feather can be helpful.



Is that question directed at me? Because I'm not aware that I have said that an adjustable feather is especially helpful. At least not on purpose.




Anyway - I was thinking that my first post was rubbish anyway (as usual), because I had misunderstood a previous post.

But now - after I did a test with Lr 4.4.1 - it seems to me that my misunderstanding was actually "correct".

When I use the spot removal brush in Lr 4.4.1 in *clone* mode, there is a fixed amount of feather.

When I'm in *heal* mode and as long as I move the source area around it looks exactly like in clone mode (feather, but no adjustment of color and brightness of the destination area);
but as soon as I release the mouse button the destination area is matched to it's surrounding color- and brightness-wise, *BUT the feathering is gone!!!*

Which would mean - in heal mode - a feather of zero in Lr 5/5.2 for old pictures would be correct, indeed.


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## Jim Wilde (Nov 14, 2013)

Yes, I think you're right. Checking again via a 4.4>5.2>5.3 process, the result is that a Heal spot stays the same throughout the process, it's only the Clone spot that goes Feathered>Non-Feathered>Feathered again.

The resulting feather values in 5.3 are 75 for the Clone spot, and 0 for the Heal spot.

Nice catch.


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## Selwin (Nov 14, 2013)

Hallo Andreas,

My question was aimed at everybody, not just you. And thanks for your reasearch!


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## jerry12953 (Nov 14, 2013)

I'd not really previously understood what the difference was between Heal and Clone so this has been quite instructive.

Can we be sure that in v5.3 the feathering amount will revert to what it was pre v5.2, then?

And, by the way, it's interesting to see myself described as a junior member when I've just recently got my bus pass.


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## Victoria Bampton (Nov 15, 2013)

As long as you haven't edited the spots in 5.2, they should fix themselves when you switch to Develop (or export them)


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## jerry12953 (Nov 15, 2013)

Victoria Bampton said:


> As long as you haven't edited the spots in 5.2, they should fix themselves when you switch to Develop (or export them)



Thanks.






Waits.................  (for 5.3 to be released)



Drums fingers on desk............




Still waiting................


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## Jim Wilde (Nov 15, 2013)

Why not use the 5.3 Release Candidate? I'm using it, and it's perfectly stable on my system.


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## jerry12953 (Nov 15, 2013)

I wasn't sure if that was wise. When actual 5.3 appears does one then download that as well?


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## Jim Wilde (Nov 15, 2013)

I don't know about "wise", but it probably is "safe". The thing is, if there's something of value to you individually in a Release Candidate (such as a fix for an annoying bug), then it's worth considering. OTOH, if there's nothing at all of value to you, then there's probably no point in installing the RC, waiting for the final release would make more sense.

Only you know the answer to that question.

If you do install the 5.3RC you'll probably need to uninstall it before downloading and installing the final release.


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## jerry12953 (Nov 15, 2013)

Thanks.

I'll have to weigh up the pro's and con's.


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## clee01l (Nov 15, 2013)

jerry12953 said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I'll have to weigh up the pro's and con's.


There are AFAIK, no downsides to using the RC at this point.  There are some different bugs and there are some old bugs. Your catalog is not altered so it can be used by any LR5.x version.  I predict the 5.3RC test cycle will be short. You can take advantage of the features and bug fixes that you need now rather than later.   You are free to reinstall LR 5.2 at anytime.


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