Remove lens smear

[rk225]

By mistake my lens got smeared, so is there a way to remove lens smear that has appeared in the photos. I am using PSP X7.

[Jean-Luc]

Difficult to give a solution without to SEE the defect.
Could you post the photo or part of it?
I proposed a solution, months ago, for a similar problem (finger blurring the lens), on the Corel Facebook page.

[rk225]

I am not able to upload the file. It keeps saying file is too big. First time when I uploaded the discussion board said only file less than 2 MB can be uploaded. I reduced it to 1.36 MB, and then it says max size should be 500 KB. Is there a way to upload the file? Do you have the steps that one can follow to remove smear? Also, can smear be removed from raw format images?
Thanks.

[flagpole]

Google drive
Mega
One drive
Drop box

And a million other places will let you share files of any size you like.

There is no remove smear button. It needs to be done using a combination of techniques and you need to let us see the original file.

[Jean-Luc]

I am not able to upload the file. It keeps saying file is too big. First time when I uploaded the discussion board said only file less than 2 MB can be uploaded. I reduced it to 1.36 MB, and then it says max size should be 500 KB. Is there a way to upload the file? Do you have the steps that one can follow to remove smear? Also, can smear be removed from raw format images?
Thanks.

You may crop the image. We don't need to see the complete image. A cropped area showing the defect is a workaround.

[rk225]

Ok folks here is the link to the files in dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/sh/du9mwwt4kj5l ... 2dbqa?dl=0. I uploaded both the raw and jpg files.

[brucet]

The issue with 'reconstructing' the smear will be lack of data. Any detail under/behind the smear will be missing. So how does software reconstruct it if it can't see what is there? I fear all you can do is 'invent' some detail to make look a bit less obvious. Clone in some detail and maybe use the sharpen brush to get that area a bit of punch.

regards

[flagpole]

Ok so this is very rough literally 30 seconds whilst i'm doing something else.

But that doesn't actually look like a smear to me, it looks like condensation or other spunk on the lens.

Either way the effect of these things tends to be to blur the picture and the contrast. So as a rough guide how to fix it...
Select the areas with the problem. Feather the selection to like 100-200px.
Increase the contrast in the selection. Until it looks about right.
Increase the sharpness using the unsharp mask.
bob's your uncle.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!ApL9dCBd8XDuiQGH-GfGlM_DWV6D
A long way from perfect, but you get the idea.

[rk225]

The lens was fine after I cleaned the smear. Anyway thanks for the effort. It seems to be too cumbersome. I may have to ditch the smeared photos I think.

[Jean-Luc]

My try to correct :
http://ovh.to/jk8QBZ
(sorry, right area is too much retouched)

The defect is local and is not equally distributed. The correction is to be made manually. I duplicated the image and applied the corrections (contrast enhancement, white balance, vibration) on the bottom layer. I removed part of the top layer with the Erase tool.

[photodrawken]

I think I've come up with an interesting interpretation:

As I tweaked and adjusted and tweaked some more, I became fascinated by the dappled lighting on the middle ground hills; the play of haze, clouds and light revealing and concealing parts of the scene; and the fields, trees and buildings tumbling down the hills.

So, in addition to correcting for the grease smear on the lens, I made those interplays the raison d'etre of the image. I also tried for a nice contrast between the greys and the sunlit line of trees in the foreground.

I have no idea why the OP took this photo, but there's some intriguing stuff to work with in it....

[rk225]

The photo is of Hawaii volcanic mountain range as viewed from Kailua Kona, Big Island, Hawaii. Unfortunately lens smear spoiled many pictures. You guys have done tremendous job fixing it. Thanks.