Quality of resized pics could be better

[masterben]

I've noticed that when I resize a picture to a smaller dimension (downsize it), there is no noticeable difference between Paint.Net and Photoshop. Both programs have high quality output.

However, if I resize a picture to a bigger dimension than the original (and constrain proportions), there is a noticeable difference in picture quality when you compare Paint.Net and Photoshop.

I wonder if this is really so, or maybe I should make some adjustments in the Paint.net options. Right now I have "Best quality" chosen in the settings for picture resize.

Here is a little example of what I mean. Pay attention to the clarity and sharpness of the details, such as the man's hair and beard after the resize.

I love using Paint.Net as it is free and so much lighter on the resources than Photoshop... but I'd really like to have this resize in a bit better quality, such as in Photoshop.

[nitenurse79]

To my eyes, there is very little difference between them, you could always reduce the noise very slightly when making an enlargement, that is something I prefer to do. I'm sure there are not many image editor programs that would enlarge a picture with no loss of quality, especially with jpegs

The more I use and play around with Paint.NET, the more tempted I am to uninstal Photoshop CS5, The plugins available in PdN are not only far better and very well written, but the menu and layout is more user friendly. To make a simple adjustment in PS is always a case of "now where is that feature" But in PdN, there is the - Effects > Advanced > Script lab that I use for searching for an effect.

[Rick Brewster]

If I remember correctly, this is because Photoshop applies a sharpen filter as part of an upscale unless you tell it not to. It's not a matter of "quality," it's simply subjective cheating.

So, just resize in Paint.NET and then use Effects->Photo->Sharpen, probably with a value of 1.

[nitenurse79]

So, just resize in Paint.NET and then use Effects->Photo->Sharpen, probably with a value of 1.

I never thought of that, thanks I always reduce noise slightly to iron out any rough spots. I will try this

[barbieq25]

I am with you NN - Rick's suggestion is one that I must try & thanks masterben for asking the question

[nitenurse79]

I am with you NN - Rick's suggestion is one that I must try & thanks masterben for asking the question

It is now on my to do list (along with many more) - to reduce noise or not to reduce noise, that is the question -

[delpart]

The fact Mr Brewster is capable of retaining this esoteria is why I'm a big fan of the simplicity that PDN strives for. (Or some other sentence in English that expresses my like of both Rick's cross-platform knowledge and PDN's effort to not bloat out like a Macy float.) 'Tis a neat option/feature in PS, but hardly required.

Also good to know that there is a great chance some of the crisp factor I'd seen from the art department was due to auto filtering and other such "cheats." Tool's a tool, but this makes more sense to leave it natural.

And ditto for asking that question mate. Very insightful.

[masterben]

If I remember correctly, this is because Photoshop applies a sharpen filter as part of an upscale unless you tell it not to. It's not a matter of "quality," it's simply subjective cheating.

So, just resize in Paint.NET and then use Effects->Photo->Sharpen, probably with a value of 1.

I suspected it's because Photoshop applies some kind of sharpen filter but I wasn't sure.

It does look somewhat better with that additional sharpening, I must admit.

Thanks.

[Stormjack]

So, just resize in Paint.NET and then use Effects->Photo->Sharpen, probably with a value of 1.

This helped me out. I needed to sharpen an image that was downsized. Being a new paint.net user, I really appreciate the forums and the product. Thanks!

[Rick Brewster]

It does look somewhat better with that additional sharpening, I must admit.

Yup, and that's a completely valid opinion to have. On some images it works fantastically well, but not on others (on pixel art it would drive you nuts). It's not appropriate for Paint.NET itself to always auto-sharpen when resizing, and it's super easy to apply a sharpen afterward, so ... it doesn't.

I called it a "cheat" but it also falls into the bucket of cheats which are very practical and useful. I'm not talking down about Adobe's design decision. I believe their Resize dialog box does let you tell it to not sharpen.

This helped me out.

Glad it helped.

[emilos]

Maybe in Paint.NET's resize dialog box there should be an option of sharpening the picture? I often resize and sharpen many pictures in a row so I'd find it really useful. Or maybe is there any staigthforward way to accomplish such task on many pictures at once?

Edited April 15, 2012 by emilos

[avada]

On 1/8/2012 at 8:19 PM, Rick Brewster said:

If I remember correctly, this is because Photoshop applies a sharpen filter as part of an upscale unless you tell it not to. It's not a matter of "quality," it's simply subjective cheating.

So, just resize in Paint.NET and then use Effects->Photo->Sharpen, probably with a value of 1.

 

By the way. Which resizing method does paint.net use when selecting "best quality"?

[toe_head2001]

18 minutes ago, avada said:

By the way. Which resizing method does paint.net use when selecting "best quality"?

 

When 'Best Quality' is selected, a * footnote is shown at the bottom of the dialog.

 

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