Enlargement software comparison

[dbphotos]

I am looking at both Genuine Fractals (http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2) and Alien Skin BlowUp (http://www.alienskin.com/blowup/index.html) for some very big enlargments. Has anyone had experience with either of these and what are your thoughts as far as pros and cons?

Of the information I've received from another forum it's kind of like the Nikon vs. Canon debate and it's all in personal preference, but I'm curious if anyone here has any experience with either of these.

Thanks!

[jeffkohn]

My suggestion is to save your money. Geniuine Fractals is overrated and overpriced, it's a dinosaur of a product that had its start back in the days when Photoshop's own interpolation routines were extremely primitive. IMHO the results GF produces have a very digital look, which I do not like at all. It tries to preserve edges without increasing noise or pixelation. The result is often an image with overly clean/sharp edges, but completely lacking in texture/detail. You can even see this in the sample on their product page. To me it looks terrible.

If you really want to spend money on up-rezzing software, SAR Image Processor probably has the best routines and is much cheaper. It's not the most user-friendly software though. Honestly, even the standard routines in products like Photoshop are good enough if used correctly, that I don't see a need to purchase up-rezzing software.

My preferred approach for large prints is to up-rez past the target print size using Bicubic Smoother, apply a bit of print sharpening, and then down-rez to target print size using Bicubic Sharper. This workflow technique was originally described in the following Outback Photo article: http://www.outbackphoto.com/workflow/wf_60/essay.html

Another trick I use on large prints is to add some grain to the image. This helps hide the lack of fine detail/texture and gives the print a more film-like appearance, making it look both sharper and more detailed. It may seem counter-intuitive, but it works.

[dbphotos]

Thanks Jeff. I think I've ruled out GF and have downloaded a trial of BlowUp. I'll try the process you listed against the BlowUp software and play with it for a while.