Really nice images, I am experimenting with upscaling some crops of wildlife images, don’t normally need to crop but it’s interesting to experiment
Have got decent results with a program called Upscayl
Not trying huge upscaling just crops from an R5 image and then upscaling by a factor of 2 have found that the original image has to be good quality and the upscaling process adds sharpening so I have to reduce the sharpening in the original Raw conversion
They still look decent when viewed on a large 4K TV screen
Imagemaster wrote:
Upscaling probably results in as much loss of detail as cropping.
Upscaling does not lose appreciable detail — it must reveals the limits to the original detail of the image by magnifying it. (If you take a non-upscaled print and an upscaled print and position them so that they occupy equal angles of your visual field, you won’t see any difference in the amount of detail.)
Not saying that upscaling is the same as getting the shot right in the first place, or would make decent equipment unnecessary, was just interested in what you could do
I shoot full frame on decent lenses and always try not to crop
Found that if the original image was good quality I was able to view a cropped and upscaled image on a large screen and it still looked decent
gdanmitchell wrote:
Hint: cropping isn’t the same thing as upscaling.
What's the difference between upscaling an "uncropped" image to achieve a given size vs. upscaling a "cropped" image to achieve a given size.
If I want xxx PPI > DPI for a size of YY x ZZ ... and I don't have the pixels to achieve that, I have basic choices to either use the pixels I have and accept a lower PPI (diff limits of applicability), or take the pixels I have and upscale them ... which means use a math algorithm to fill in the "stretched" blanks, so the continuity seems intact (i.e. not pixelated). That, or accept a smaller print size to achieve the desired PPI > DPI.
Either way ... the matter of working with limited resolution and artificially increasing the file dimension seems to be the same process whether you're going original to uber-large, or going cropped to normal. Magnification + fill in the gaps remains the same process for both, as it pertains to PPI > DPI for size / viewing distance relationships. So, yeah, they are kinda the same thing ... as you complete the process.
At the very least, the are very close cousins, even if you choose to not perceive them as identical twins. Just depends if you are adding in (or not) the upscale process to get to your final size (from cropped or uncropped). In either case, you cannot create more detail. You can just fill in the gaps. The optical projection is responsible for the detail. The pixels are just how small are you slicing / dicing the pepperoni.
Imagemaster wrote:
Upscaling probably results in as much loss of detail as cropping.
+1 Probably ... since it is really the same thing.
Although, I'd mention that the actual contained detail really isn't changed (i.e. loss) ... it's only stretched over a different area (still, similar process / effect for both), etc. for a different rate of transition, which can appear as a perceived reduction in acutance. Again, magnification plays the same role in both (and, yes intertwined with viewing distance, etc.).
gdanmitchell wrote:
Does it make you feel all tingly and alive inside to play this game? ;-)
Dan, your antagonism toward fellow members is not becoming to the gold standard of FM (imo). Please take inventory of how well you are representing FM with your antagonsim of fellow members.
If you want to discuss the technical merits of the topic, and present a different perspective that opposes others ... sure, share your .02 on the matter. But, the antagonistic rhetoric isn't helpful (imo), and is sophomoric at best, and well beneath the level of regard that once accompanied your name. As the seasoned veteran of FM as you are, I'd hope you'd be more considerate to your fellow members than you have been of late.
Think about it ... just wondering if you can find the high(er) road, going forward.
HTH
Fred, feel free to delete / edit my post, as you deem appropriate.
have found that the original image has to be good quality and the upscaling process adds sharpening so I have to reduce the sharpening in the original Raw conversion 
