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Swill

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Zoom w/ Limited Pixelation & GIF Creation
« on: July 24, 2014, 10:19:42 AM »
I've got two quick questions

1.  Is there any photo viewing or editing software that allows the user to zoom in on photos with less pixelation or blurring than most photo viewing programs have?

2.  Is there a way to create GIFs from videos without having Photoshop?  Alternatively, what in your opinion is the easiest method for creating GIFs?

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Palomine

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Re: Zoom w/ Limited Pixelation & GIF Creation
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2014, 10:56:44 AM »
Other users will provide specific answers w/apps, etc... but:

1) Zooming: you can't get something from nothing. When you zoom in on an image (say one of lower resolution than you'd like) you are simply scaling the image content up (enlarging it): if you zoom 200%, basically imagine that each original pixel is turned into four pixels right next to each other: a little block of pixels exactly twice as wide and twice as wide as the original single pixel. That's a simplistic explanation of what's happening, and of course, most image programs will apply filtering tools to help "blend" all the enlarged blocks of pixels together for a smoother result, and ome programs will also run sharpening and/or edge detection filters as well to try to improve the look of the zoomed image. Despite this, whether applied in software on a PC/device or in-camera (for cameras that utilize digital zoom) no digital zoom will actually show anything that wasn't there in the original low-rez image: it can't magically come up with a single detail not present in the original.

It's not like when you use an optical zoom on a camera... when you do that you are changing the focal length of the lens and "pushing in" on the actual image content (within the chosen total image resolution that you're camera is shooting at) before the image is captured to a file. In that case, you can get more detail: as much detail as the limitations of your lens and image sensor in your camera will allow.

2) Making GIFs: many tools other than Photoshop do this, ranging from small, single-purpose programs to large, Photoshop competitors. I've even seen browser plug-ins for Firefox and Chrome that will create/save GIFs from video sources on web pages. I can't recommend one in particular because I almost never do it, but I'm sure others can... in fact, given the ongoing interest in making GIFs, it'd be great if someone someday put together a how-to tutorial showing the steps w/Photoshop (of course) and with a couple good free alternatives.

By the way, when you ask about software, it's always a good idea to mention what OS you're using... I assume that you're using Windows since Windows users just figure everyone else does too. ;) If so, any feedback about GIF tools you get from Mac or Linux users that involve programs only available on those platforms won't be of any help to you (if you're Windows). So let folks know what OS you're using. :)
« Last Edit: July 24, 2014, 11:06:20 AM by Palomine »