GENUINE FRACTALS: What's that?
Written: Dec 08 '06 (Updated Dec 08 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Genuine concept, visible improvements, good interface, professional focus
Cons: Somewhat expensive at MSRP, often just subtile improvements, single thread only
The Bottom Line: If you're planning to print big, this software is a good addition to your toolbox. Mostly for professionals and enthusiasts.
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| theuerkorn's Full Review: ONOne Genuine Fractals 4 for PC, Mac (GFR-40010) |
Most might remember fractals by the colorful abstract pictures, computer geeks were fascinated with in the 80s and 90s. At the time an expression of increased computing power for desktops, it kind of went back into the underground of math scientists since instant Mandelbrot may have infinite variations but truly not much different (from an artist point of view). With Genuine Fractals, the math is finally put to good use for photographers -- though this time very much in disguise.
Important: The manufacturer currently offers a special for $79.95 (download) at www.ononesoftware.com (that's nearly 50%). The offer expires on December 31st of 2006.
IN A NUTSHELL
By using fractal algorithms, scaling up pictures allows to predict missing details. The thought is simple, just imagine an array of pixels like a three dimensional surface with color and intensity describing it's position in space. With these points known, clever application of fractal math allows to "predict" pixels in between. The added pixels pretty much increase the size of the picture while slightly improving the level of detail (or at least maintaining it without the typical blur introduced by interpolation.
The main difference to the normal scaling in Adobe Photoshop CS2, Corel PhotoPaint, Canon DPP or DxO Optics Pro v4.1 is that those apply simpler algorithms (bicubic instead of fractals) and detail is typically not enhanced but blurred. (The main reason why digital zoom in digital cameras is overall useless.) The output is typically much faster, but the result is without exception of lesser quality than shooting at true optical resolution.
Despite the visible improvements, Genuine Fractals 4.1 cannot do magic either. Say a detail is too small to be recorded and basically merges with the neighbors into one pixel, it should be obvious that it's simply lost and no software ever will recover it. However, have a faint witness of the feature (blurred difference in color/brightness), and the software certainly has a shot at enhancing it some more. OnOne Software claims up to 800% up-sizing while maintaining details and edge sharpness. This certainly depends on the incoming picture detail, but in my case helps to easily lift elevate my 8 MPx camera to print sizes above 8"x11" (with 300 dpi). Cropping and rescaling suddenly has much more flexibility. (Note that the best results are achieved at roughly 500%, and the extra resolutions is a workaround with a combination of methods to be executed by the user.)
The achievable results are a far cry from Utopia seen in "high-tech" thrillers where standard surveillance video is enhanced to be able to read someone's newspaper. Yet, at the current state of the art it's still a subtile but nice improvement over the typical bi-cubic up sampling. Typical home users may not reap much benefit from the $80 expense (especially if you don't use any of the photo editors mentioned). Upscaling becomes less important with increased pixel counts in the latest cameras. However, professionals and enthusiasts will enjoy the new level of detail provided by genuine fractals.
DETAILS
Documentation: [***--] - The downloadable version covers the slightly older v4.0 and changes to 4.1 are covered by a readme file. This is annoying as some limitations taught in the manual were actually lifted by the update (i.e. need to save as .STN files has been removed by going to the plug in format). Overall, the basics are covered well enough, but don't expect details, tutorials or guidelines.
Interface: [****-] - As a pure Adobe Photoshop plug in, Genuine Fractals cannot be used as a stand-alone program and requires the presence of Photoshop CS or CS2. Yet, it opens its own dialog window with dedicated preview and controls. The window feels a little quirky when resizing. Despite its very technical nature the numeric controls are only a few easy enough to understand. There is nothing to tweak the algorithm and that's only a "problem" for perfectionists will have to deal with.
Usability: [***--] - Since Genuine Fractals cannot be applied to objects or selections, it pretty much always require to flatten and export a copy of your picture and then process the copy (if you don't want to loose the original content). Further, the plug in is strictly applicable to single pictures and requires Photoshop's scripting to batch multiple pictures. This is no major problem, but would be nice to be able to work with multiple files and make selective changes. Overall, however, the software is easy enough to use and intuitive to make the marginal user guide (manual) a moot point.
Performance: [****-] - Based on complex math algorithms, a fast CPU is pretty much mandatory to use this program in a workable manner. Preview is very quick, though mostly since it's not a 100% preview as seen in DxO Optics Pro v4.1 (slightly different application). Finalizing your work (apply) is a different story. Despite my system's dual core AMD X2 4200+, converting an 8 Mpx picture (72 dpi) to an admittedly huge 142 MPx picture (300 dpi) took almost eight minutes while Photoshop's "bicubic sharper" was done with the same task in roughly 25 seconds (same system). Since Genuine Fractals 4.1 is strictly single threaded, the second core sat idle during the process. That's somewhat expected since the fractals only work on one picture at a time, a factor that also helps out with the system memory. Despite the huge achievable picture size, sticking to a single thread keeps memory needs under control. That sure doesn't anybody who is proud owner of a quad core PC with 8 GByte of RAM (should you be so lucky), but for mere mortals a good compromise.
Quality: [****-] - First let's point out that OnOne's advertisement is slightly deceptive when comparing its results with the "bicubic smoother", since in reality one would pick "bicubic sharper" in order to retain detail. That aside, the results from Genuine Fractals are visibly better than bicubic sharper upscale followed by Smart Sharpening in Adobe Photoshop CS2. It's harder to distinguish from RAW upscaling in DxO Optics Pro v4.1 up to 300%, but also gains a microscopic advantage at higher levels. Speaking of which, most home users may not be sensitive enough for the differences and should try the downloadable demo first. For best results make sure to use pictures with the least noise possible and good exposure (histogram). (DxO Optics Pro v4.1 is an excellent first step on the way to great pictures.)
Application: [****-] - In my use, the Genuine Fractals 4.1 plug in helps to battle typical issues when cropping prevents maximum resolution to be printed in my typical 8x11 maximum (driven by my printer). This helps to overcome magnification issues (since all I have is a 480 mm equivalent and sometimes that just doesn't get you "close" enough). Using printing labs, be aware that this upscaling allows to easily exceed the maximum file size for online services (and most downscale the picture for their process anyway). It doesn't help to battle out-of-focus problems, but generally gives pictures a big boost by upscaling with fractals and then downscaling to the print resolution (300dpi) to sharpen details. Works often like a charm - without the typical sharpen halos. The one use taught by OnOne is to use the special .STN format for compact storage and then use Genuine Fractals to return to print resolution. With the rapid drop in storage pricing, that's far less important to me though.
Value: [****-] - At the regular price of $160, Genuine Fractals cannot be considered a bargain and is reserved for enthusiasts and professionals only. With the year-end special of $80 it's much more agreeable and worth the money. After all, it does allow to postpone that DSLR upgrade a little longer (since now 8 MPx easily match 10 MPx when needed). The upgrade to the Print Pro version is advisable only if your main focus is high quality prints since it applies to CMYK. The main issue is that it's a plug in and requires a relatively expensive host application. It does not work with other picture editors like PhotoPaint that would allow to cut cost. Further, it doesn't read RAW files either and for best results that may all end up in a relatively expensive system.
© 2006, theuerkorn
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Software
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Digital Cameras
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- Canon Powershot SD900
Recommended:
Yes
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