>> Can anyone recommend an interpolation program suitable for mac users. I need to re-size Nikon D1 files and Im not sure which one to go for....... <<
Simon - take your pick by tossing a coin, they are all pretty much the same. Although marketing hype would often have you believe that magic can be performed, often results are far from compelling for many users when they explore all the options. How they all get there is a different story - some use proprietary file formats while others do not. I recently tested all the competing products yet again - this time not with output though. Of all the many interpolation methods, Photoshop bicubic still seems to be very similar to the others - including Sync, Lanczos, B Spline etc. Even VFZ or vector format for zooming did not impress, although I thought it may as it seemed a more commercial attempt at taking on the GF approach. If you resize images of paintings, then perhaps you have more success than most other image content with some new methods out there and or with some Photoshop filtering thrown in. Grain, noise and image content make a big difference. Often digicam images resize better than scanned film. Natural images resize better than lineart or CG art. One can choose to bicubic resample with one step, 133% or 166% steps or 110% incremental steps as in the initial free Fred Miranda action which you can make yourself or look for the original free action on the web or for other folks versions of the concept, and now there is the commercial action from Fred which I do not know the steps (I presume there are perhaps LAB or USM or high bit steps). Photoshop Bicubic has a built in sharpen halo, some content may be better off with or without this halo or with different amounts/strength etc. Some software out there can control the amount of sharpen used in a bicubic transform. Resizing lineart or screen caps or other CG art often has different requirements to natural images and even increments or coarser interpolations may be used. There are two different categories for the basic results. Most interpolation methods provide a soft pixel type look, which is the main category of result. Then there is the GF and S-Spline (PC) output result - which looks more like a artistic render/painting type effect on edges and on some tones. With some Photoshop work, you might be able to replicate the painted look and perhaps smooth out and define some edges if you really want to. <g> GF is really good for insane enlargements - for the regular resize situations it does not seem that appealing. Resizing is a topic that is often hard to scientifically quantify and it often comes down to opinions - if you like one method over another then by all means use it, others may have different experience based on their input and output conditions and requirements. All of the methods can be tested or compared with free downloads, in the end it is up to each user to decide what interpolation method is best for any given situation. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/PSTV_links.html#R Regards, Stephen Marsh. =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
