Posted by Scott Day on October 15, 2010 at 6:21 PM
This may be a dumb question but I need to find out if anyone has experience with image resizing programs such as Genuine Fractals. This image has already been cropped 55%. I would like to crop it a lot more and still be able to make a nice print (say 5 x 7 or slightly larger). Is that even possible?
This was shot with a Canon 7D and cropped to 8MP.
Posted by Doug Gilham on October 15, 2010 at 8:01 PM
If this has already been cropped by 55% and you want to crop more, it's not gonna stand up to printing IMO. I would wait to get a closer shot.
Posted by Richard Ditch on October 15, 2010 at 9:19 PM
I agree with Doug. Extensive cropping is never a substitute to getting a large image when you take the shot.
Even with a high MP sensor cropping will increase the noise in the resulting cropped image, and there's a real limit to image resolution as you use a smaller area of the small sensor in the camera.
Genuine Fractals or any other up-sizing application cannot invent fine detail that doesn't exist in a cropped image.
Posted by David Bostedo on October 15, 2010 at 9:58 PM
Hey Scott - Richard mentioned the really key thing :
Genuine Fractals or any other up-sizing application cannot invent fine detail that doesn't exist in a cropped image.
Since it's such a small part of the image, the bird was only captured by a few pixels, so there is no detail in the feathers or fish, just some rough lines really. Upsizing will create new pixels and preserve the lines, but it can't add any more lines or detail. If you take whatever program you used to shrink this for the web, and use it to upsize, that will be about as good a job as can be done - there simply isn't any more information in the original file.
People that use programs like Genuine Fractals or other fancy upsizing programs are looking for very minor improvements over what other programs can do. The truth is, that most of them, even free ones or those that came with your camera, does a good job. (And in a some cases better than programs like Genuine Fractals.)
Posted by Scott Day on October 16, 2010 at 12:09 AM
Thanks guys, that confirms what I thought. I'll have to get closer or get a longer lens.
Posted by Gary Gulash on October 17, 2010 at 1:00 AM
Hi Scott. I'm not an expert on the technical aspects of digital photography and you have been given the cold, hard facts by Richard and David. However, 5 by 7 is quite a small print. If you cropped this down another 50% to about 4 megapixels (gee, remember a few years ago when sensors were 4 and 6 megapixels) it might look satisfactory, assuming your exposure is good, your technique impeccable and post processing efficient. Just my 2c.
Discussion
5 repliesThis was shot with a Canon 7D and cropped to 8MP.
Even with a high MP sensor cropping will increase the noise in the resulting cropped image, and there's a real limit to image resolution as you use a smaller area of the small sensor in the camera.
Genuine Fractals or any other up-sizing application cannot invent fine detail that doesn't exist in a cropped image.
Since it's such a small part of the image, the bird was only captured by a few pixels, so there is no detail in the feathers or fish, just some rough lines really. Upsizing will create new pixels and preserve the lines, but it can't add any more lines or detail. If you take whatever program you used to shrink this for the web, and use it to upsize, that will be about as good a job as can be done - there simply isn't any more information in the original file.
People that use programs like Genuine Fractals or other fancy upsizing programs are looking for very minor improvements over what other programs can do. The truth is, that most of them, even free ones or those that came with your camera, does a good job. (And in a some cases better than programs like Genuine Fractals.)