Lumix G9 High Resolution Mode

[dunfly]

This actually came up in another post but it was in passing and didn't generate any comments. Panasonic claims this boosts sensor resolution to 80 mp although the sensor itself is just 20 mp. I have "boosted" resolution before by taking a quick series of almost identical frames and blending them. In theory this would boost resolution, but I have had mixed results. The Lumixc seems to do this in camera by shifting the pixels slightly while shooting several frames. Has anyone had any experience with this and, if so, how well does it work? If it works, is it likely that others will follow suit?

 

[Bollygum]

It works, sort off. Many cameras do have it, but it is of very limited value. The downsides are:
a) It only works if your subject is still for long enough to take 4 frames. So usually a tripod and a totally still subject
b) It can only give you the extra detail if the lens can. Very few micro 4/3 lenses can resolve to 80MP. Most can't resolve very well to 20MP.

It may be useful on occasions, but I doubt it.

 

[BrentC]

It works, sort off. Many cameras do have it, but it is of very limited value. The downsides are:
a) It only works if your subject is still for long enough to take 4 frames. So usually a tripod and a totally still subject
b) It can only give you the extra detail if the lens can. Very few micro 4/3 lenses can resolve to 80MP. Most can't resolve very well to 20MP.

It may be useful on occasions, but I doubt it.

I disagree totally.

First of all MFT lenses can out resolve the current 20mp sensors. In fact most should be able to resolve up to 50mp. More than likely Olympus will have a 24mp sensor in their next camera. Panasonic is shooting for 33mp in time for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. But that is I think more wishful thinking and won't see that happening. Either way there is no issue with the mft lenses.

As for Hi-Res the lens don't need to resolve 80mp. Hi-Res is made up of 8 20mp pixel-shifted images.

I can't speak for Hi-Res on Panny but can on Oly but they should be similar. On Oly a Hi_res image can match the best FF camera in resolution and DR.

Sony and Pentax also offer Hi-Res modes.

Hi-Res is great for landscape and macro. Needs to be used on a tripod, can't use handheld (at least not yet). The Oly handles a bit of motion not too bad but obviously better with static objects. One thing it does a great job with is waterfalls. Instead of using long exposure to get the silky smooth water you can use Hi-Res with short exposure to get the same effect.

Hi_Res is very useful and works really well. Obviously if you use the Oly Pro lenses or the higher-end Panny's, resolution and IQ will be much better than the lower end lenses but even the lower end lenses can do Hi-Res.

Go on flickr and search "EM1 Hi-Res" or "G9 Hi-Res" to see examples.

 

[BrentC]

This actually came up in another post but it was in passing and didn't generate any comments. Panasonic claims this boosts sensor resolution to 80 mp although the sensor itself is just 20 mp. I have "boosted" resolution before by taking a quick series of almost identical frames and blending them. In theory this would boost resolution, but I have had mixed results. The Lumixc seems to do this in camera by shifting the pixels slightly while shooting several frames. Has anyone had any experience with this and, if so, how well does it work? If it works, is it likely that others will follow suit?

This is different from what you are doing. You are just merging images together to get a sharper more detailed image. Your images are still 20mp. Hi-Res you get a 80mp image. Huge difference in IQ and DR.

 

[Bollygum]

I disagree totally.

First of all MFT lenses can out resolve the current 20mp sensors. In fact most should be able to resolve up to 50mp. More than likely Olympus will have a 24mp sensor in their next camera. Panasonic is shooting for 33mp in time for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. But that is I think more wishful thinking and won't see that happening. Either way there is no issue with the mft lenses.

As for Hi-Res the lens don't need to resolve 80mp. Hi-Res is made up of 8 20mp pixel-shifted images.

I can't speak for Hi-Res on Panny but can on Oly but they should be similar. On Oly a Hi_res image can match the best FF camera in resolution and DR.

Sony and Pentax also offer Hi-Res modes.

Hi-Res is great for landscape and macro. Needs to be used on a tripod, can't use handheld (at least not yet). The Oly handles a bit of motion not too bad but obviously better with static objects. One thing it does a great job with is waterfalls. Instead of using long exposure to get the silky smooth water you can use Hi-Res with short exposure to get the same effect.

Hi_Res is very useful and works really well. Obviously if you use the Oly Pro lenses or the higher-end Panny's, resolution and IQ will be much better than the lower end lenses but even the lower end lenses can do Hi-Res.

Go on flickr and search "EM1 Hi-Res" or "G9 Hi-Res" to see examples.

I also started with the misconception that "the lens don't need to resolve 80mp. Hi-Res is made up of 8 20mp pixel-shifted images." If you think about it, that can't be true. How can a camera resolve what the lens can't? If you project a 20mp image onto a screen, no amount of electronic wizardry can make that into an 80mp image.
That leaves the issue of whether those lenses can actually resolve 80mp. I think you'll find that the reason cameras max out on particular resolutions, eg full frame 40mp, micro 4/3 20mp, etc, is that the current lenses can't resolve beyond that. As lenses aren't digital devices there is a great variation in what they can resolve. For example, fstop, center or edge of the frame, lens design, etc, etc. There will be settings and regions where the lenses do very well and conversely, where they do very badly. The manufacturers have settled on about 20mp as being the best they can do at present. The high res mode will occasionally produce areas of good resolution, but who wants occasional results? If the lenses are that good, why not produce a sensor that is natively that good? After all smart phones use chips with much higher densities.

I have the Sony A7R3 and they have pixel shift mode. I have tried it, and it rarely produces results which make it worthwhile. Part of this is to do with the Sony implementation, but mostly with the lenses. Lenses will be an even bigger problem with Oly as they have a much smaller sensor size.

I don't really expect you to agree with all this, but do have a think about how the sensor
can resolve something that isn't there. It is a crucial part in understanding the merits of these features.