Sometimes we need more megapixels than our camera can give us. Olympus has had a high resolution mode which gives you either about a 50Mpix or 80Mpix images.
Handheld or tripod high-resolution images?
The newest Olympus cameras like E-M1 MKIII and E-M1X has both versions of the high-resolution shot. E-M5 MKII has the tripod version. Also, E-M5 MKII was the first Olympus camera that had a high-resolution mode. Other cameras that have high res shots are, E-M1 MKII and E-M5 MKIII.
The resolution is about 50Mpix for the handheld hight res shot and 80Mpix for the tripod version. The handheld high res shot takes advantage of the camera movement. The resulting images have 8160 pixels on the longer side. The tripod image has 10360 pixels. These numbers are from cameras that have a 20Mpix sensor.
Is Gigapixel AI an alternative?
Topaz Labs has made a lot of interesting software that uses AI. One that I have used is DeNoise AI. It is a very good noise reduction software. I have tried also the Gigapixel AI which will upscale images. I was curious to find out if Gigapixel AI can match the quality of Olympus high res shot.
In the video below I will talk about the differences and if the quality is better or worse.
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Getting accurate color in photography is sometimes very crucial. Of course, in every day shooting it might not that important. Macro, landscape, and portrait photography might genres where color accuracy is important.
You want the skin tones and colors of products to be perfect. In the linked video I will give you four tips about colors and how to get them right.
Color Checker
X-Rite Color Checker Passport 2
Using a color checker and calibrating your camera is actually quite easy. What you need is a Color Checker. I have used X-Rite Color Checker Passport 2 and Passport Video. With these two cards, I can be sure that my colors are correct. the way they actually are.
The workflow
The workflow is quite easy. You just include the Color Checker in the first photograph. The most important thing is to have the same light as you will have on your photograph. This way you will get the best results. The instructions on how to proceed from that can found from the video.
Luminar AI is a new image editing software from Skylum. You might be familiar with Luminar 4.3 and Aurora HDR 2020. Luminar AI is a brand new software and it is not an upgrade to Luminar 4.3. Luminar 4 will be supported until the end of 2021 and after that, it won’t get any updates, but of course, the software works after that if the computer supports it.
Alternative to the traditional way of editing images.
Richard Harrington from Skylum said in its webinar that Luminar Ai is an alternative to traditional editing. They said that they are focusing on the results and not the process. They have built the code from scratch and it is not based on the same 35-year approach that other image editing software is based on.
Luminar AI uses AI to analyze your image and it will give you suggestions. Accent AI is the AI that analyzes the image. The material that they showed on the webinar said that many controls like shadow/highlight, contrast, curves, etc. are reduced to one slider. AI is the key here. This will make it easier to start editing. Richard Harrington from Skylum said that for many the problem is where to start. With Luminar AI it will be easier.
I think this is an interesting new approach. to image editing. Skylum is very ambitious about this they said that they want to be a global leader in computational photography. I like that kind of attitude. They call the suggestion that AI has made a template. Of course, that template can be adjusted and saved.
Skin AI helps with portraits.
Screenshot from Luminar AI and its Skin AI. Image: Skylum
The feature to help to retouch portraits is called Skin AI. It will totally replace frequency separation. That is a time saver. Saving time is one key thing that Skylum is aiming for with it is Luminar AI.
Works as standalone software and as a plug-in.
Good thing is that Luminar AI will work as a plug-in for Lightroom. A t least for me that is very important. The Library in Lightroom is the database of my images. Luminar AI does not have some kind of database functionalities as Lightroom has. If you want to use Luminar AI as standalone software, it will work fine. It works from Lightroom 6 and up as a plug-in. The oldest Photoshop version it works with is CS5.
Specifications for your computer
For macOS, you need at least i5, 8GM RAM (16GB is recommended), macOS10.13.6 or higher. It will also support OS Big Sur when it is launched. In PC you need to have Windows 10. Win7 and 8.1 are not supported. The processor needs to be at least i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 or better. Also, you need Open GL3.3. or later compatible graphics cards. (disclaimer: This info is copied from the presentation material Skylum presented in their webinar on the 31.8.2020.)
How does AI work?
The success of Luminar AI will be based on its ability to give the right suggestion for the edit. We all tend to like a bit different thing and hopefully, Luminar AI is good enough to learn from the user. I think that would be great. Otherwise, it might be that we all are going in the same direction with the look of our images.
Skylum claims that its AI will recognize different elements in the photograph and make suggestions based on that information. It will recognize skies, water, faces, etc. Those who have used Luminar 4 and its Sky Replacement tools know that its recognition works pretty well. If Luminar Ai is an improved version I have no doubts about its capabilities.
image: Skylum
You can override the AI.
You have three options, choose the option that AI suggested, customize it, or edit from scratch. I think that is a good approach that it is not fully automated.
Lens correction is possible
I found that one of the biggest downsides in Luminar 4 was the lack of lens corrections. I am glad that that will be available in Luminar AI. It is an essential tool because. all lenses have a bit of distortion and CA.
Pre-order and Availability
You can pre-order Luminar AI from this link. Pre-order is possible for the first 30.000 early birds. It will have a special price. As an early bird, you will also be invited to the Luminar AI Insider program. It is a private community and you will get special deals, tutorials, etc. that others won’t get.
If you have doubts, do not. You will a 30-day money-back guarantee from the day the software actually ships. So no risk getting Luminar Ai now.
The price for early birds is US$69,- for new customers. If you already have Luminar 4, Aurora2019, or Aurora HDR the price is US$59,-. After the 30.000 is sold the price will go up.
