From time to time, some photographer friends and some “normal” friends (i.e. non-photographers) will send me pictures and ask that I make them bigger. Apparently, I do a good job. Well here’s my secret:
I’ve been using PhotoZoom Pro since version 1.0, back when it had the catchy name of “S-Spline Pro”. The software works as advertised. Unfortunately, I don’t get paid to say that, I’m just a happy user.
PhotoZoom Pro 3 [as of 12/2012, it’s up to PhotoZoom Pro 5] isn’t particularly cheap but BenVista just released a new “lighter” version called PhotoZoom Classic 3. This uses the same technology as the Pro version but it has slightly fewer features and costs less than half the price.
But I have a zillion-megapixel camera. Why do I need to up-sample?
If you can fill the frame with your subject all the time then you may not need this software. But if you need to resample after a huge crop, this software can do the job. If you need to up-size low-resolution pictures sent in from your readers or customers, then this software will be useful.
I’ve cropped images from 36 MB (12-megapixel Nikon D2X) down to less than 1/6 of the frame and then resized them back up to 36 MB with PhotoZoom Pro. Editors were none-the-wiser!
Certainly, after any large up-sampling, the final image is never as perfect as the original. But it’s garbage in, garbage out. If you start with a small, poorly-exposed, out-of-focus image, then you’ll end up with a big, poorly-exposed, out-of-focus image. This software, like all other interpolation applications, makes the photograph bigger not better. Although, sometimes bigger is better.
