Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

Chapter 28 ■ Image Rescalers 321
Description
Genuine Fractals lets you make images many times bigger without noticeable loss of
quality. By analyzing the image prior to scaling it, Genuine Fractals can make sure that
the color values of newly created pixels are appropriate to the image. In early versions
of the software, you had first to save your files in the .STN (“sting”) format, but now
files opened in Photoshop can be scaled in a single step. The improved sharpness and
overall quality of the “rezzed up” image achieved by using fractal techniques is demonstrable,
especially for natural forms.
Genuine Fractals generates a scalable, resolution independent format to which any image
may be converted. It lets you scale your images by up to 1,000 percent. The vendor suggests
a number of other ways in which it can be used. For example, you can save time
and money if you scan images at a lower resolution, and then scale them later with the
fractal software. You can also save storage space by up to 50 percent if you use the
Visually Lossless encoding option.
Those who work in a strict CMYK color workflow will need Genuine Fractals Print
Pro, which adds support for scaling CMYK images as well as RGB and grayscale.
However, if you are using inkjet printers and work in sRGB, Adobe RGB, or the Pro
Photo color workspaces, the Standard edition is completely adequate to your needs.
Comments
However much you magnify a true fractal pattern, it always seems to have the same
shape. It was therefore only a matter of time before someone harnessed this mathematical
phenomenon and hitched it to the cause of enlarging photographs. Genuine Fractals
has a colorful history, having been developed by Altamira, sold to LizardTech, developed
up to version 4.0 in 2005, and then sold again by LizardTech’s parent company
Celartem to onOne. When it first appeared, some reviewers were so enthusiastic about
it they were accused of bias, but this was not the case. Genuine Fractals is a genuinely
effective product, a massive step beyond traditional bicubic interpolation.
Version: Genuine Fractals 5
Plugs into: Photoshop CS2 9.0.2 and CS3 and Photoshop Elements 4 or later
OS: Windows XP SP2 and Vista; Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later
RAM: 512MB
Supported file formats: Those of host program
Price level: Approx. $160, Pro version $300
Address: onOne Software, 15350 SW Sequoia Pkwy., Suite 190, Portland, OR 97224, United
States
www.ononesoftware.com