Topaz A. I. Gigapixel

Playing with Topaz A. I. GigaPixel

In the previous post, I showed this photo that was generated by taking a small photo, enlarging it using Topaz A. I. GigaPixel, and then cropping it to what you see. 

4X enlargement (cropped) and output full size (1156 by 1315 pixels – click for larger size)

I was sufficiently impressed that I wanted to try it on a few other photos. 

Understand, some of Topaz Labs A. I. programs do amazing stuff but they don’t always work the way I want them to . . . and other times, they work much better than I thought possible. 

As a reminder, the above crop came from this photo which was itself a crop of a larger photo.

Generally, when you enlarge a photo you quickly hit a limit . . . a data limit; basically, there’s not enough data to fill in the additional area created by the enlargement.

Enlarging algorithms rely on various means to “fill in” the missing data, mostly by guessing at what goes between two pixels which used to be adjacent but are now separated by “new” pixels.  

Topaz makes some bold claims about GigaPixel . . . read on to see if I agree with them. 

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Photography Stuff – Part Four: let’s talk zoom

This is primarily about photography. Also, many photos are full-size and will load slow. Did you read that? It’s a warning that it could load slow. So, don’t tell me about it; I already know. If you’re not interested about photography, watch this video and then go look elsewhere for something that interests you more. 

Clicking on an image below will open the image in a new window. Depending on the image, they might be large. If your cursor shows a (+) sign after the image opens, you can click to see the image at its maximum resolution.

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Topaz A. I. Gigapixel

Note: due to the nature of this post (comparing large files) it may load slow. Go get a coffee or something after reading this; it’ll give the images a chance to load (unless you have a fast internet; in that case, read on).

A few days ago I received an e-mail from Topaz announcing their newest stand-alone program, Topaz A. I. Gigapixels.

I’m normally receptive to anything Topaz offers because I like their free upgrade policy and I find a lot of what they offer useful and therefore, I want to support the company. 

But . . . $99? For one program? A program that does only one thing? I mean, all it does is enlarge photos.

I almost blew the e-mail away but then curiosity — and trust in the company — got the better of me. So, I downloaded the free trial. And, I used it. And I had to write about it.

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