For some time I've had a "thing" about AI image processing tools... I just don't trust them. In my view, whilst the results
can be amazing, what they give you is content
replacement rather than
enhancement. Instead of using noise reduction, sharpening, scaling and other pixel-for-pixel processing techniques to get the best out of
what's already there, they'll analyse the scene and
actively replace chunks of it based on what they "
think" the content should be. Now, if the end result looks good, there's a perfectly reasonable argument that says "
why should that matter?" - and to some extent, in some situations, I'd agree... but I have a hard time getting my head around the fact that the end result isn't an enhanced version of what the sensor captured, but a facsimile - a whole new rendering. That just doesn't feel right to me.
A few weeks back I bought the Topaz AI suite of DeNoise, Sharpen and Gigapixel at a very reduced deal price - and I have to say, they're useful to have in my post-processing toolbox. With careful use - and, often, some manual editing after the fact - they can work wonders... but sometimes even the most careful use can result in unwanted artefacts or unusual results.
Why do I mention this? Well, it's been said in these forums that tools like Gigapixel AI offer a viable alternative to upgrading from a lower resolution camera to a higher one... and I just don't believe that's the case. That said, I'm very glad to have bought the Topaz AI suite, and I will (already
do, in fact) use it for a variety of purposes - but AI has a long way to go, IMHO.
I know a lot of you folks don't like Tony & Chelsea Northrup, but this video is worth watching if you're curious about AI resizing tools and have 15 minutes to spare. If you'd rather skip to the chase, the TL;DR is that Tony likes Topaz Gigapixel AI best out of the three tools he's tested - but at 10:47 he demonstrates some of the issues he's run up against, and this shows - with exaggerated examples, perhaps - precisely why I don't yet trust AI image processing software...
Last edited by BigMackCam; 06-14-2022 at 12:53 PM.