A I Gigapixel - new from Topaz. Opinions?

Topaz has a new image resizer called A.I. Gigapixel.
They say it's the best thing since pickled beets.

Anybody with experience out there? Opinions?

Sounds like it still takes hours just to do one image. However the results, at least the marketing results, seem to be pretty good.

This article is an interesting read.
https://topazlabs.com/​a-i-gigapixel-story/

Then this...
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/topaz-ai-gigapixel-review/

I suspect where I would use this most would be to go back to my old 8 and 10Mpx images and resize them up to today's resolutions. Looks interesting for sure, thanks for sharing!

I have been following this on other threads. Some have stated there is too much smoothing. I'm not sure about the practical application for me. I'm not printing billboards. I'd want is more cropping ability but I'm not sure I'll get crisp images like I do now pushing crops. There is a threshold and if you cross it the image starts to lose clarity.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18688203
...at least the marketing results, seem to be pretty good.

I hear ya' But that's what I'm trying to avoid. Any image enlargement app is going to compare itself to PS and to others then proclaim themselves superior. Marketing departments may spend lots of time searching for the perfect example/image that shows their app's best side.

I'm looking for real world users. I gave up believing and even listening to marketing departments long ago. One can assume marketing people are full of crap... because they usually are. Their job description is pretty straightforward: sell the app and say/do whatever it takes to do so.

But that's not the way the real world works. Hence my desire for real world people and real world opinions.

digital paradise wrote in post #18688221
I have been following this on other threads. Some have stated there is too much smoothing. I'm not sure about the practical application for me. I'm not printing billboards. I'd want is more cropping ability but I'm not sure I'll get crisp images like I do now pushing crops. There is a threshold and if you cross it the image starts to lose clarity.

If there is too much smoothing that would make sense. If an image is pixelated from too much enlarging, smoothing is the best way to reduce it.

Thanks. Something to search on.

I, too, am not looking for creating billboards. But I do have lots of good images from back in the old 20D and 30D days, and some current from the SX600 that could use some improving, which is why I'm taking a serious look at the app. Thanks.

Picture North Carolina wrote in post #18688393
If there is too much smoothing that would make sense. If an image is pixelated from too much enlarging, smoothing is the best way to reduce it.

Thanks. Something to search on.

I, too, am not looking for creating billboards. But I do have lots of good images from back in the old 20D and 30D days, and some current from the SX600 that could use some improving, which is why I'm taking a serious look at the app. Thanks.

I'm sure there are needs and a marker for it. I need clarity. Now if I was Magnum PI oh yeah I started a thread on Topaz AI Clear. More suited to what I'm looking for.

I read this, and thought based on the idea of enlarging some of my older crops to be able to print, Id give it a try.

Years ago I used Genuine Fractals or just plain old PS for enlargements.

I found the original full size output tiff image, un cropped, that was eventually cropped to make this jpeg;

IMAGE LINK: https://jakehegnauer.z​enfolio.com/p62647257/​e554b8826

Well, 20 minutes later, no change, the app is still not responding but the CPU cores are still humming. I'll give it more time this time, but it's not looking good.

P.S. this is on my work PC, it's an old Dell 4 core AMD with AMD video on the motherboard. Not very powerful. But it was my editing workstation for a few years and it did fine.

At some point I'll try it on my actual editing workstation at home.

- EDIT giving up after 40 minutes.

Jake,

Thanks for posting and taking the time to test. Please do post about experiences on your editing machine.

If it's worth anything, Topaz does make a big deal and place a lot of importance on the video capabilities of a machine. Sorry, don't have that link in front of me.

The machine I was thinking about has a nvidia 1050 which is a pretty good little card, but even that is under ideal / recommended specs and I was apprehensive about that.

I'll see if I can find the video info stuff.

Edit:

Here you go.
https://help.topazlabs​.com …-us/articles/3600128117​91
Note that Topaz really does place importance upon and warns about long processing times depending upon video capabilities.

Hmmm, never thought about it but if this app works as well as they say, even thumbnail-sized images you have posted in online galleries are in danger of being ripped and printed at decent sizes. Bummer.

I tried a quick test with a 1200 x 960 pixel .jpg to 400%, it took only a few minutes on my HP Z420 workstation, specs are 8 core Xeon E5-2680 CPU, 32GB Ram and an Nvidia GTX 750 graphics card.

starting image.

Canonuser123 wrote in post #18688668
Nvidia GTX 760 graphics card.

... and that 760 is a bare minimum requirement. Interesting.

Second try with a raw file light PS sharpening 100% crop

Picture North Carolina wrote in post #18688672
... and that 760 is a bare minimum requirement. Interesting.

I checked again it is a GTX-750 and not a 760, if the Bitcoin miners would stop buying all the faster graphics cards I will upgrade to a 1060.

I did my second test and I am actually quite happy with the resized photo results, I would not normally resize 400% but I might do 200% with cropped images where I am lens challenged.

Well, I was intrigued, so after a couple of hours of reading specs, reviews and checking my PCs innards with their "no go" graphics card list, I downloaded the trial. I dropped in 3 different smaller photos separately. I first tried 200%. It took about 30 seconds to render. I did not see a comparative difference before and after. So, I tried 400%. About 25 seconds in, the program shut down. I repeated all photos at 250, 300 and 400%. Same result.

I sent an e-mail to Topaz support, and they promptly got back to me. My graphics card (NVIDIA Geforce GTX 745) is not sufficient. So, AI Gigapixel is one program I will not be buying. If I were a gamer, I might have been ready for the program. I am not, so I was not. Bummer, the potential was there.