interpolation/expanding resolution in C1 V6

[billy]

I posted this in the Capture One section but didnt get any answers; In Adobe CS5 Camera Raw you can interpolate a canon 5d2 file to 25mp. Can you do this in C1 Pro? I see that in the process tool you can change from 100% to whatever you want, like 125%, do people do this? Is this how I would interpolate in V6 or is there another tool/area?

[Guy Mancuso]

Yes I do use it sometimes when I need to print or go bigger with my P40+ files. Many thoughts on this but my belief is I rather uprez at the Raw processing stage than in CS5. Does this hold water for a better file. Scientifically i do not know if it is true or not but I prefer to work this way at least comfortably at 125 percent which I have never seen any difference on screen or in print. Guy's call is it is safe at least at the 125 percent mark as I have not seen any degradation doing it. If I need more than output than I always have CS5 to go more. Nice thing is I am already starting out with a big file at 40 mpx so stretching it is a little easier on the file.

[EricWHiss]

Can you test it for yourself?  I've done it to 200% and it works pretty well with files from Phase backs, and okay with files from other cameras however dedicated resizing applications like Photozoom (formerly S-spline) can do a better job.  A lot depends on what kind of details the original file has.  Only way to really know is to test.

[Guy Mancuso]

Exactly and there certainly a difference between a 5DII file than a bigger MF file to the size your after. Depends how big you really want to go and push it. As Eric said it is worth testing your cam. files to what output you really need.

[billy]

geeze there's always one ........ I was asking for expert advice NOT snobby replies. I was hoping one of the phase dealers would reply as they know the software better than I do. You should go and re-read my posting, I thought there might be a hidden tool I didnt know about.

Can you test it for yourself?  I've done it to 200% and it works pretty well with files from Phase backs, and okay with files from other cameras however dedicated resizing applications like Photozoom (formerly S-spline) can do a better job.  A lot depends on what kind of details the original file has.  Only way to really know is to test.

[amsp]

I usually crop and output my 5d MkII files to 30x40cm 16bit TIFS, they look fine to me. But I haven't done any comparisons or such, I'll leave that to the pixel peepers.

[gazwas]

geeze there's always one ........ I was asking for expert advice NOT snobby replies.

Chill billy!  

Eric's comment is sound advise, not a snobby reply.

Your doing the uprez correctly in C1 via the percentage method. It would be good if C1 had some fancy interpolation tool built in like the above mentioned programs have but I think its just standard stuff but with the advantage your working on a RAW file. I read at some point that CS5 had some new algorithms added to improve this function but as Eric suggested, testing is the best method with your camera and subject colour/detail/contrast differences etc.

[billy]

sounded snobby to me, whatever.

can any of the phase dealers reply to my original question please?

[RobertJ]

Well here's my snobby reply:

Photozoom PRO 4 with "S-Spline Max" is sexy as hell.  I really love this program.

Download a non-expiring trial for free, and play around with it. http://www.benvista.com/downloads

Select "S-Spline Max", turn OFF Unsharp Masking, and in "Fine-tuning", set "Sharpness" to 100 (as a starting point), and everything else to zero. 

Then mess around with DPI and image sizes in inches and/or pixels.

You can output the image, which will be watermarked in the trial.  Give it a go.

[Doug Peterson]

The short answer: that is the 'tool', there is no where else to adjust image size than where you determine the output size at the time of processing.

The long answer:

There are no "fixed pixels" while you work/edit/adjust on images in Capture One. The pixels are only created in a "fixed" manner upon processing them into a TIFF or JPG. For this reason the quality of enlarging the file up to around 200% (twice the stated size) is often best done at the processing stage in Capture One vs. processing it at 100% and enlarging elsewhere.

However, Capture One is not an "Image Enlarging" software. These programs are not looking to extract the most detail, they are instead looking to best trick the eye into feeling good about the way an image looks when blown up significantly past it's native size. They do a great job of it, and because it's a subjective thing (do you prefer smoother gradations that look better further away or the introduction of noise to produce false-detail that can hold up under closer viewing) and also depends on the subject matter (does the image contain a lot of fine texture or more straight/prominent lines) there are perfectly justifiable opinions that X, Y, or Z programs (blow up, s-spline, GF etc etc) is the "best" software for this purpose.

So generally speaking my suggestion is if 200% of the original resolution is enough then stick with a C1 only workflow. If more than 200% of the original resolution is required, or if this is an enormously important print that justifies spending a lot more time for a slight bit more quality, then you'll need to look into an "Image Enlarging" software.

If using a dedicated image enlarger I strongly suggest reducing or disabling sharpening at the raw processing stage.

For the record I've found the 200% processing from C1 is significantly more refined the 200% processing from Adobe Camera Raw or LR. So if someone has only tried upscaling from LR or ACR I'd encourage them not to assume that all raw processors are equal when upscaling.

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
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