Perfect Resize by OnOne

Monday, October 24, 2011

Perfect Resize 7

by

OnOne

   

     Perfect Resize 7 is a software program that is supposed to allow you to enlarge and increase your image and file size without any (degradation) of quality.  What this simply means is that you can try and make the size of the image larger without having any loss of quality or detail  from the original smaller image.

    I decided to try this software from OnOne to see how it would perform. I know already from experience that you can only enlarge an image so much, and that if the image is small and does not have good details, you simply cannot expect the results to be any better.

The Logo

The Perfect Resize 7 Folder

The Plug-in Files (From the Plug-in Folder)

I tried to install the plug-in into Photoshop CS5, but that didn't work, so I had to work with the freestanding program!

Here's the original size of this file.

When taking a photo, digital cameras use a small pixel/inch ratio 

with a corresponding large sized-image.

I think this is because it's faster for the image to be captured by the camera.

Later on, in Photoshop, you can always change the pixels/inch as I did below.

The Original Size that I decided to Work From

It's 4" x 6" @ 300 pixels/inch

In metric it's 10 cm x 15 cm @ 300 pixels/inch

I reduced the size form the original in order to see how big I might be able to enlarge the image and still produce an acceptable-sized image.

Just remember, that I didn't make any prints, so I'm judging all images from my I-Mac monitor.

Here is the window of Perfect Resize 7 showing you the actual starting size.

Here is the new size that I want to enlarge the original

Once you click "OK" in the working window, a rectangle will fill up form left to right, showing you how much time is left in the process.

When you are asked to save the image, you're asked for what quality do you want.

For printing,  the 100value is best, while for the Net, a lower value of 75 will do.

The Original Small-Sized Image Enlarged in Photoshop.

It was originally 6" x 4" @ 300 pixels/inch or

in metric 15 cm x 10 cm @ 300pixels/inch

A Portion of the  167.64 cm (16 inches) x 111.76 (10.6 inches) @ 300 pixels/inch

A Portion of the Enlargement Done in Perfect Resize 7

The 2 image enlargements are quite similar.

I assumed this would happen, as the file size had "enough meat on the bone" 

to be able to enlarge the size. In other words, the starting file size had enough information to be able to maintain the finer detail of these toys.

I then decided (below) to prove my hypothesis that:

If you don't have enough of a file size both in terms of size and pixels/inch, you will not be able to get a good enough result.

This is a large-sized image for reference purposes.

it's 6.36" (15 cm) x 4.3" (10 cm) @ 300 pixels/inch.

Here is the same image with the actual data from the program window.

Here is a screen-capture image from a listing that I have currently on E-Bay.

The file size is small.

Here is the same photo with the data window in Perfect Resize 7

Here is the final image enlarged to 6.4" x 6.6" (15 cm x 17.5 cm) @ 300 pixels/inch. 

Notice how the fine detail is being lost.

The program cannot simply add extra pixels and get a good result.

The quality of a print made from this file would not be acceptable!

I decided to "play around" with some of the sliders in the menu on the right side.

"Playing around" did in fact improve the sharpness of the image.

Please refer to the "unaltered image" below.

This is the screen-capture image enlarged to 300 pixels/inch.

There is a noticeable improvement using the sliders on the menu window.

However, the quality is still not acceptable for printing.

This proved my original hypothesis that a low-quality image or a small-sized image

 (both in size and pixels/inch) can only be taken so far in terms of the improvement. 

There's an old expression in photography that says:

"garbage in = garbage out".

Translated, that meant that if you had a poor-quality negative or slide to begin with, you get a poor-quality enlargement. In the DE (digital era), the same holds true. If you have a poor-quality digital image capture, then you cannot expect to get a good-quality result.

Bottom Line:

1. If your subject is not moving use a tripod!

2.  If you're doing portraits without a tripod, then use a faster shutter speed with an adequate f-stop (lens opening). If need be, then set the ISO higher (e.g. from 200 to ISO) to gain 2 faster shutter speeds.

3. Take plenty of photos. It doesn't cost anything.

It's not like the film era when each exposure would cost between .50 cents - 2.00 depending upon the nature of the film and the size of the film format.

4. Try to come as close as possible to fill your image area as big as possible with your scene or person.

To Be Continued....

I will expand on this program to use the adjustments as they were meant to be after I learn them and find the time!

As always, thanks for dropping by.