[BruceBanner]

Hey peeps,

Recently I have been 're-experimenting' with PS and my results have been less than stella, but I'm starting to think the fault lies not with the user or the camera but with the software I have been using to try and process the images.

It's a little odd because I am sure a few months back I was using PS and LR and processing just fine, but of late when viewing the PS RAW file with Faststone Image Viewer and then also in LR the image definitely suffers from a major 'pixelated' look, obviously noted when cropping heavily in (3:1 etc).
This was not something I saw when I first owned the K-1, but then LR and FastStone have underwent a few updates, and I have also upgraded the firmware of the K-1 as well.

The scenario is K-1 tripodded, a variety of lens used, ES on, Timer on (therefore SR off) and the issue is still quite apparent. Even dead still immovable objects are suffering, it doesn't seem to matter if MC is on or off, it's a little disheartening as I didn't seem to have this issue before (please see here for past PS examples where the issue is not observable).

I read somewhere that Silky Pix is perhaps the intended software to use with the K-1 and PS images, before I go hunting for the disc that *I think* was bundled with my K-1, from the Silky Pix website, is there a specific version of Silky Pix I should be downloading/aiming for that directly tackles PS images?

Let's have a look;

Here's the original of a shot I took yesterday, it's a 24mm f 5.6 focused on the mail box (I think my focus may be a tad off);


The file was just 'Autotoned' (that is I kinda tweaked only Exposure, shadows, contrast and highlights, no sharpening or clarity etc), then the file was exported as Jpg with no limits to quality (just like my other flickr exports).

This next shot is the crop, estimated to being 3:1 (LR crops are a PIA as you can't specify!);


(I recommend you download this one and zoom in to around 300% or more).

This next shot shows what I'm seeing in LR at a 3:1 zoom, hopefully yu can see what I mean with the blue circles and the pixel effect (which is not as apparent in the softer JPG LR export);



Currently I am not sure what to think. Does my K-1 need a service? Is the software screwing things up and lying to me? Is this purely user error (but then I really didn't seem to struggle before in my previous examples...).

The K-1 has been well loved, no bumps or drops or anything to make me think it's gone screwy...

Cheers for looking,

Bruce

[D1N0]

Because there is no de-mosaicking going on in PS-mode you are seeing actual pixels. perfectly normal. Images aren't supposed to be viewed at 3:1 You blow up the pixels. It is inherent and not a fault.

[Paul the Sunman]

What do you expect at 3:1?! You have each sensor pixel covering 3x3 pixels on your screen. Of course it's going to look pixelated.

[BruceBanner]

Ok, so I thought this might be the response, but in the past I have went into as much pixel peeping (that is kinda the whole point of Pixel Shifting) as that with my prior set of PS images, and there is NO pixelation occurring. This really seems to be a newer occurrence happening. It might just be user error, slight reverberations in the tripod after a 2 second timer etc, but I have many many PS shots that are showing this effect whereas in the past they don't. Have a look at the aforementioned album and compare, go and pixel peep at crazy zooms, I think you'll find them far clearer and 'pixel artifact' clear.

I actually just installed the free bundled Silky Pix software called Digital Camera Utility 5, and tried having a look, and is actually way worse in rendering the DNG file and highlights what I think is the issue more clearly. I shall screen shot what I mean in a bit (dinners on the table).

[D1N0]

Reality is at fault and you are right.

[BruceBanner]

Ok, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with anyone here, I am really genuinely perplexed by my Pixelshift attempts of late where I feel no matter what I do I get a dud version, turning PS off and I get clearer less pixelated and weird artifacts from appearing. Perhaps my next few screen shots can highlight the issue I see on my screens. Please note I am taking yesterdays mailbox attempt as an example, in reality almost every shot I take seems to suffer what you are about to see.

Ok. Let's start with a PS image of the past where upon inspection and before I started to edit I felt was fine and as it was supposed to be (ie clear, sharp with no pixelation). Let's use the Huntsman spider image.

Below I have loaded the raw file into the newly installed Digital Camera Utility 5, I've done this as it seems to highlight further the issue I am seeing when I am editing in LR, it's just for illustration purposes.

Here's the huntsman at 200%;


Now here at 400%;


As you can see, the pixelation doesn't seem very high, it's perhaps lost it's focus and is soft, but sharp pixelated corners?

Ok, next up the mailbox from before;
200%;


and 400%;


I hope that you can see what I see, that on the mailbox itself there is this largish square patchwork effect going on (that clearly the spider pic doesn't suffer from). Now I know this is a different program than before, but if you look at the LR version I gave before, and the LR export (again given above), look closely and you can see that effect going on.

It's like the shot is badly taken from the get go, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. How can I continually mess up a timer delay or remote controlled PS shot when the ES is on and the shutter speed is adequate...

You're welcome to inspect any of my other PS images in that aforementioned album and go pixel peeping, I think you'll find this pixelated patchwork effect is omit from all of them (I would have noticed from the start and not bothered editing). I might also be able to give a non PS image of the mailbox (from the exact same tripod and location), and I think it'll show that the non PS version is of far higher quality.


EDIT: Maybe it's just the subject matter, that this patchwork effect is more easily seen in different scenarios. I loaded the mailbox picture into Photoshop this time (instead of LR) and the patchwork effect was far less visible than in LR and obviously DC5.

I just did some testing here at home with PS on with MC on and OFF as well as a non PS image and the PS images came out fine...

Perhaps this is a scenario issue I'm getting or lens specific even...

[dbs]

G'Day Bruce

The 400% letterbox ,the pattern looks like brush strokes .So I guess it looks alright.

Dave

[BruceBanner]

Lol wow, everyones trolling me :'(

Maybe it's my 1080p monitors? Perhaps this is not seen on 4k?

[08amczb]

The image viewer uses some interpolation for enlargeing. All interpolations has some artifact/performance issue, the program designers only choose wath is important for them when enlarging an image.

[photoptimist]

There are a number of reasons you might see artifacts like these in some over-magnified images but not others:

1) differences in the sharpness of the lenses (or lens settings) used;
2) differences in the scenes (diffuse lighting of low-contrast objects vs. direct lighting of high-contrast ones);
3) differences in some of the in-camera settings (sharpness, clarity, etc.) that don't change the RAW file but do change what the RAW software does;
4) differences in post-processing for contrast, sharpness, curves, highlight/shadow processing, gamma, etc.; and
5) uncalibrated monitors (this only affects what you see although it can affect how you tweak the image and cause artifacts to show up in what others see).

Looking at the mailbox vs. spider, I'd say #1 and #2 are definitely occurring but others might be happening, too.

[pinholecam]

You should use Raw Therapee for the PS images.

So far, its the best RAW processor for it.
The Pixel Shift Diaries

There the Squirrel Mafia RT thread on pentax forums too.

[Jens Lyn IV]

Something is very fishy here because I am seeing obvious JPEG compression artifacts on what is supposedly raw sensor data. There's macroblocking (the "square patchwork" in your description) all over the image display area of that screenshot. I don't know how, but that "DNG" file clearly went through heavy-handed JPEG compression at some point.

Edit: the original, full-size JPEG export looks much better at high magnification that what I'm seeing in your screenshot.

[BruceBanner]

You should use Raw Therapee for the PS images.

So far, its the best RAW processor for it.
The Pixel Shift Diaries

There the Squirrel Mafia RT thread on pentax forums too.

Thanks for the link, I also read about how dpreview mentioned PP in Silky Pix is recommended as a first step before then heading off to LR (especially with MC On shots), definitely more than meets the eye when it comes to this feature of Pentax.

Something is very fishy here because I am seeing obvious JPEG compression artifacts on what is supposedly raw sensor data. There's macroblocking (the "square patchwork" in your description) all over the image display area of that screenshot. I don't know how, but that "DNG" file clearly went through heavy-handed JPEG compression at some point.

Edit: the original, full-size JPEG export looks much better at high magnification that what I'm seeing in your screenshot.

Yeh and I think thats perhaps what 08amczb is getting at, it's an issue with the software more so than the image file itself.

That exact same raw DNG file, in CD5 (Camera Digital 5), the 400% one that you quoted back to me, I've had that also examined in LR, and I am still seeing that patchwork/macroblocking as you called it effect going on, though it is not as easily seen, and once again I tried examining the file in Photoshop and it by far rendered the image the cleanest with the macroblocking far harder to see.

The image viewer uses some interpolation for enlargeing. All interpolations has some artifact/performance issue, the program designers only choose wath is important for them when enlarging an image.

[leekil]

If you view at more than 100%, you will get the block/pixelated effect. This is *always* the case. If you think it didn't happen before, you are mistaken. (Or maybe you are the one trolling, not everyone else trolling you?) Pixelshift increases clarity, but it doesn't increase resolution "Above 100%".

[D1N0]

It's just that resolution isn't 100% on a single bayer image because of de-mosaicking interpolation.