(Watch the video for an introduction to Gigapixel)
If you have seen my posts about Topaz and their new AI suite of post-production software for photographers, you have also probably seen how much I love Gigapixel AI. For bird and wildlife photographers, it’s a must-have. No matter how much lens you have (and I have 1200mm EFL) there are times when you just cannot get as close as you would like. Sometimes it’s because there are physical barriers to getting closer and sometimes it’s just a safety issue, either yours or the subject’s safety.
In those cases, I have learned to trust Gigapixel AI. My personal approach is that I consider my frame to be roughly half of normal size. This gives a field of view that is 2X whatever my current camera/lens combo is. Cutting the 20MP sensor I use in my Olympus cameras in half to roughly 10MP. This is more than enough data for Gigapixel AI.
I then make my exposure and drag the file onto Gigapixel AI. The program allows 2x, 4x or 6x enlargement. Most of my work is done at 2x and the quality is so good that you literally cannot tell the difference between a Gigapixeled image and one that hasn’t gone through Gigapixel. About 20% of the time I stretch to 4x and it’s nearly as good. In a pinch I would go 6x but I don’t consider that a best practice.
The images I am getting with the help of this product are blowing my mind. And that is why I am excited to share some news.
If you don’t already own Gigapixel AI check it out. You can save 15% off the retail price by using this link and entering the code METHODS.
You can try before you buy so don’t take my word for it. Download the software and put it to the test. I am sure you will come to the same conclusion I have. It’s a game changer.
P.S. I forgot to mention that when I run images through Gigapixel AI, not only does the software properly (and seamlessly) up-size the image, but it seems to add just a little detail and smooth out noise at the same time.
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5 Responses
I bought Gigapixel a while ago, but haven’t used it nearly as much as the other Topaz AI suite of tools. I noticed that while Gigapixel did a great job on still life, it had uneven results on human faces. For example, lighting irregularities or creases on people’s faces seemed to be magnified or distorted after upsizing. That kind of turned me off from the tool. But I should try it some more with the latest version.
Hi Carl I never tried it in the past. I am only familiar with the current version but I note there is an opportunity to address the face issues.
I have used it for large prints but haven’t thought about implementing it in my regular workflow. I’ll now try this order: Denoise AI, Sharpen AI and then run Gigapixel.
Thanks!
Recently started a 30 day trial on the program. The four times upsize on a Canon G7 Mkii file of a flower was very impressive -colour balance was retained, detail looked accurate and realistic. I then did an old 3Mp shot of half body portrait shot and it did a good job generally but did generate some odd details on the skin around. It was dark toned photo and seemed to be trying to extract detail from the shadows that wasn’t really there. Will be checking out some photos – when it works it really is impressive.