Adobe isn’t the first software manufacturer to bring us AI-powered upscaling, but being able to increase the resolution of raw files suddenly makes the Sony a7S III arguably the best-value hybrid camera on the market, giving you a massive 48 megapixels. Is it too good to be true?
The a7S III is Sony’s latest mirrorless full frame hybrid geared towards shooting video, and one of the compromises made to give the camera its fantastic 4K features is that the sensor is a rather puny 12 megapixels. For many, trying to choose between the a7S III and the a7R IV is a bit of a challenge, as although the raw files coming out of the a7S III are great, they’re pretty tiny for a camera in 2021, and it’s a significant trade-off for anyone who is looking for one camera to suit every job.
Once Adobe’s new Super Resolution comes to Lightroom (it’s presently only been introduced to Adobe Camera Raw), it’s possible that some of those concerns will disappear as, in the event that you need to shoot some decent res stills, you can simply pick your favorites and create a DNG file — complete with any existing edits carried across from the original — that’s four times the resolution in a matter of seconds.
Obviously, this will need some more testing to really understand where the limitations of Super Resolution kick in, but it seems that the a7S III just became a much more viable option for hybrid shooters looking for one camera to do everything.
Be sure to check out the experience of Fstoppers' Alex Coleman by reading his latest article.
Have you tried Gigapixel AI or Adobe’s Super Resolution? Do your results match those of Chris Brockhurst in this video? Let us know your experiences in the comments below.
Sony A1 still exists
And the iPhone ProMax with 48MP ProRaw files looks pretty good too
How does a new Photoshop trick only apply to the S III? Is it as good as any other camera with pixel shift?
Because it's one one the best mirrorless video cameras you can get? Honestly no one is really using pixel shift since it's so limiting. The S III is only 12mp so most regular photographers are not going to jump to it. Using the term hybrid implies that maybe it's now more useful with adobe super res. All of Canon's and Nikon's mirrorless options are 20mp or more so super res isn't really needed. Although not all of them are as good in the video department.
Is this feature going to sell people on this camera as the article implies? Not really but it does show that it shouldn't be ruled out in the photography department. You also have push those affiliate links. People need to eat yo.
In the end, articles being article..ing
You made a great point. I was tricked into thinking Sony made a firmware update. I would guess anyone with an A7S III already has a A7R series for clearly better resolution. I would disagree about nobody using pixel shift.
Medium format and it's already ridiculous resolution had it for ages because it's just so darn perfect for still life. No worry of getting in too tight and no more cloning in PS. I think it certainly has it's place for the right application just like how any A7S is not the best Sony camera for most people.
I think we need to be clear that while this new feature is great, it is not the same thing as a natively high resolution sensor.
The OLPF is also pretty strong on that camera. The Panasonic S1/S5 are better deserving of a "best hybrid" title - they actually have a lot of video features the Sony is missing (shutter angle, DCI, dual native ISO, 5.9/6K, etc etc) plus twice the spatial resolution for stills. And they're cheaper.
Topaz's Gigapixel AI is even better than Adobe's Super Resolution. I did a side-by-side comparison and the Adobe version always had pronounced artifacts. Plus, Gigapixel AI can go farther than 2X resolution. Below are two samples. The face started as a high-resolution TIF and the architecture shot began as a high-resolution JPG. Be sure to click to enlarge them!
Dan, you really need to start with the raw file for Super Resolution to properly do it's thing. With a TIFF or JPEG all CameraRAW does is apply an "Enhance Details 2.0" resize to the file, which already existed in Photoshop prior to this update.
From my tests, I too found Gigapixel AI to be more effective at upscaling TIFF/JPEG files vs Super Resolution (aka Enhance Details). Only downside I can find apart from the horrendous processing times, is that despite the controls in Gigapixel, both the levels of sharpening and noise reduction introduced to the new upscale is pretty aggressive in my opinion. Photoshop spits out a noisier file for sure, and annoyingly with plenty of color and choma noise. Yet, I often prefer that to the smudgy over-sharpened + noise free files from Gigapixel.
Still, it's great to have both of these tools at our disposal. Looking forward to seeing how both Adobe and Topaz improve on this tech over the coming years.
Thanks for the raw tip when using Adobe! I actually process my raw files using Capture One. I will try it with a raw file as well. That said, I know Gigapixel does not do well with raw files. So, we have tools for both raw and tif/jpg files. Adobe for RAW files and Gigapixel for TIFs and JPGs!
Also the R6 is looking more attractive from a Photographer's standpoint. If you're primarily a photographer but do some video also then what a great choice the Canon R6 would be.
Yes but output-wise it now covers just about all the options a pro photographer would need and with some crop ability. Previously with 12Mp you would be pushing the limits for some print advertising.
With all the super high MP cameras, 12 mp sounds like something from a toy camera nowadays. 12Mp gets you about a 14X9 (300 mp) print if you are a pixel peeper. Way more than enough for the majority of users. You can go much larger with every inch of viewing distance from the print. I think many forget that most, even professionals, do not need super-high MPs to serve their clients. Please remember, the professional photography world was doing quite fine with a Canon 5D (mark i) for many years. The A7iii is also great stills camera if video is your main purpose.
For sport i fed it a IQ4 150 raw file... turns out that the file is too big... hahahaha
Have been using the A7s since '14 and clarity in a poster size print or on metal no problem. I have also the A7rii and can not really tell in a raw and jpegs are super. Now with the A7s iii and clarity is better with new sensor. Have used Gigapixel since it came out along with Denoise, the main advantage is you edit your raw image in Lr, that's right RAW! Then send it directly to Gigapixel (not a edited tiff) or you can send tiff but can get back any file type you want. Go up to 600% but a key difference is the AI gets updated almost daily!!! Also the things you can do is select the dimensions and a crop selection then either width or height pixel length. I have taken a landscape milky way and converted to a portrait view that was tilted up causing straight lines to bend inward and after correction got a narrower width look. Able in Gigapixel AI to crop in but able to select width and height pixel lengths to make a portrait image, yes stars are elongated but able to do it. There are 4 different modes, x increase, length, width, crop and then NR and blur. I have used Denoise for years due to astro shooting with the A7s but I have a trunk full of older images in poster size after using Gigapixel. Today with better lenses 1224 2.8 with sharper stars in corners and the A7s iii able to shoot at 640 to control highlights but get shadows/darks detail makes for some great night poster size prints, I give as gifts (not a pro).
If slow update your computer's video card!!!
Thanks to software kids images are getting better!
One other thing, A Sony "S" in the beginning was for low light, yes everyone jumped on the video, and was the only model to do 5 images at +/- 3 ev in the age of bracketing and HDR. Please a little more on stills, I see that 12MP is just as sharp as my A7Rii. to me it is the lens and the f/#. The sharpest f/# is two stop above wide open not the magic f/8 or f/11. The resolution game of most pixels is maybe linked to the film days with grain amount but ASA 25 was for Portraits. The A7Siii paired with the 1224 f/2.8 is the sharpest, clearest and cleanest of the Milky Way the whole of it is clear from horizon to horizon even with sky glow and amongst clouds. The a7Siii needs credit also for stills.