The introduction of Photoshop nearly 30 years ago changed the world of photography entirely with its infinite number of possibilities. The ever increasing capabilities have influenced fashion and beauty trends on a global scale with each new iteration and the newest updates of the program are in line with today’s trends; they are more akin to refinements and allow the user to achieve more authentic results.

One of the most recent enhancements is ‘Preserve Details 2.0’ when resampling images. The newest algorithm is part of Photoshop CC 2018 and uses Adobe’s deep learning technology to sample the image more intelligently than its predecessor. Michael Woloszynowicz of Vibrant Shot set out to see if Preserve Details 2.0 algorithm is truly better than the original.

Michael used one of his images that was captured with a Phase One to compare the two algorithms with the following examples:

  1. Reduce the original image by 50% and then double its size (increase by 200%) to get to the original size.
  2. Double the size of the original image and compare it to the original.
Top: Original Image. Bottom: Original Preserve Details resampling.

The original algorithm produces results that are reminiscent of the ‘High Pass’ filter; contrast was added in areas that are out of focus and the overall image appears over sharpened.

Top: Original Image. Bottom: Preserve Details 2.0 resampling.

Preserve Details 2.0, on the other hand, tries to factor in the details of the image within the sampling process to create a final product that is nearly indistinguishable from the original.

In both tests, the upgraded version produces results that are minimally noticeable when zoomed in at 100%, however, Michael did find that the algorithm only works as intended when going up and actually recommends using the Bi-Cubic interpolation when downsizing an image. Even so, Photoshop CC 2018 with Preserve Details 2.0 is definitely worth the update if upsampling is a major part of your workflow.

[REWIND: QUALITY COLOR GRADING & COLOR CORRECTION IN PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL]

Check out the following video to see an in-depth comparison between the two algorithms and also be sure to check out and subscribe to the Vibrant Shot YouTube channel for more content.