I was able to get my hands on an original uncompressed (TIFF) file of a photo of a group of skaters at COI (a 1300X1950 7MB image file). I just got this new professional image interpolation program, so I was messing around with it yesterday. (So what is interpolation, you ask? It is the digital enlargement of an image, done typically by stretching pixels and "filling in" blank spaces to avoid the often jagged appearance of digitally enlarged images. That's it in a nutshell, I'm not going to get into technical detail.)
So what I did is I wanted to see if I could get that file larger without having to ask for a higher-resolution sample. I got pretty stunning results, and I want to share my results with you. NOTE: THESE PICTURES ARE UP ONLY FOR A LIMITED TIME
I messed around with SEVERAL other photos as well. I just happened to have this one, and thought it would make things a little more interesting since I'm posting on a skating forum
(Note that I converted all the files to JPEG to make it easier to view online. However, this compromised the quality of the original images a little bit, so just keep that in mind.)
ETA: REMOVED ORIGINAL LINKS, AS SITE SERVER WENT DOWN. HOWEVER, SCROLL DOWN FOR SOME NEW SAMPLES.
I would love to know what you guys think. I've been working with other images, too. In general, a few rules of thumb that I've discovered:
1) The bigger the (original) image, the more effective the interpolation is. So yes, unfortunately this means that this program CANNOT be used to enlarge small images (effectively) on the internet.
However, I've gotten acceptable results enlarging medium quality images. This is what I've discovered so far:
- Absolute minimum resolution necessary to double size of image with minimal loss of quality (assuming all rules of thumb are followed): 800X600
- Absolute minimum resolution necessary to quadruple size of image with minimal loss of quality (assuming all rules of thumb are followed): 2560X1920 (I have quadrupled a 2048X1536 image with very good results, though)
I've gotten a 5MP image up to 78.6MP (that's 10,240X7680) using this method. And it looks pretty good!
2) The image MUST be sharp and in focus for the interpolation to be really effective. If it's not, when enlarged, you tend to lose a lot more detail.
3) Your digital camera must capture a decent amount of detail for the best result. This is where a digital SLR would shine. Now, My Canon Powershot SD550 isn't necessarily the best at this, but nevertheless I can enlarge a decently-exposed picture from it from 7MP (its native resolution) to 28MP with minimal loss of quality.
4) A bigger file size (no matter what the dimensions of the image may be) tends to work in your favor. A bigger file size generally means there's more detail in the image (and it's not as compressed). TIFF files do wonders here- I get better results enlarging TIFF files than JPEG files (usually because interpolation tends to emphasize JPEG artifacts).
Alright. I may be back with more soon...
ETA: CHECK BELOW FOR MORE SAMPLES!!!
So what I did is I wanted to see if I could get that file larger without having to ask for a higher-resolution sample. I got pretty stunning results, and I want to share my results with you. NOTE: THESE PICTURES ARE UP ONLY FOR A LIMITED TIME
I messed around with SEVERAL other photos as well. I just happened to have this one, and thought it would make things a little more interesting since I'm posting on a skating forum
(Note that I converted all the files to JPEG to make it easier to view online. However, this compromised the quality of the original images a little bit, so just keep that in mind.)
ETA: REMOVED ORIGINAL LINKS, AS SITE SERVER WENT DOWN. HOWEVER, SCROLL DOWN FOR SOME NEW SAMPLES.
I would love to know what you guys think. I've been working with other images, too. In general, a few rules of thumb that I've discovered:
1) The bigger the (original) image, the more effective the interpolation is. So yes, unfortunately this means that this program CANNOT be used to enlarge small images (effectively) on the internet.
However, I've gotten acceptable results enlarging medium quality images. This is what I've discovered so far:- Absolute minimum resolution necessary to double size of image with minimal loss of quality (assuming all rules of thumb are followed): 800X600
- Absolute minimum resolution necessary to quadruple size of image with minimal loss of quality (assuming all rules of thumb are followed): 2560X1920 (I have quadrupled a 2048X1536 image with very good results, though)
I've gotten a 5MP image up to 78.6MP (that's 10,240X7680) using this method. And it looks pretty good!
2) The image MUST be sharp and in focus for the interpolation to be really effective. If it's not, when enlarged, you tend to lose a lot more detail.
3) Your digital camera must capture a decent amount of detail for the best result. This is where a digital SLR would shine. Now, My Canon Powershot SD550 isn't necessarily the best at this, but nevertheless I can enlarge a decently-exposed picture from it from 7MP (its native resolution) to 28MP with minimal loss of quality.
4) A bigger file size (no matter what the dimensions of the image may be) tends to work in your favor. A bigger file size generally means there's more detail in the image (and it's not as compressed). TIFF files do wonders here- I get better results enlarging TIFF files than JPEG files (usually because interpolation tends to emphasize JPEG artifacts).
Alright. I may be back with more soon...
ETA: CHECK BELOW FOR MORE SAMPLES!!!
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