Canon R5 Mk ii In-Camera (Dumb) Upscaling Versus R5’s Pixel Shift (Part 2) – KGOnTech

In my last article, Canon R5 Mk ii Drops Pixel Shift High Res. Is Canon Missing the AI Big Picture? I showed how IBIS High Resolution was useful in improving resolution and reducing moiré/aliasing. Having received my R5 mk. ii (R5m2), I set up a simple resolution and moiré test to compare the R5m2 with its “AI” In-Camera Upscaling to the original R5 with IBIS High Res (IBIS HR).

Having now used Canon’s in-camera upscaling, it was worse than I thought. The upscaling ONLY works on JPEG and HEIF files and, thus, has thrown away the information from the RAW pixel sensors. It won’t even work with RAW files. Losing the info from the RAW file makes the feature even worse. I will be comparing the R5m2’s in-camera upscaling versus Adobe Photoshop’s “Super Resolution” from the RAW file of the same picture.

I have had some feedback that people think I am just worried about resolution and my particular use in testing AR and VR headsets. However, I think it goes to a bigger issue of what a camera can do to create better images. IBIS Pixel Shift (Canon term: IBIS High Res) creates more real information, whereas “AI” upscaling generates fake information that may look eye-pleasing but can also worsen artifacts. I have some background in image processing, having led the technical development of the TMS320C80 Multimedia Video Processor (MVP) from 1989 through 1996. I think about “information theory” from having designed graphics and image processors for about two decades at TI.

Leave a Comment