Genuine Fractals 5.0 - Gain & Threshold
One of the most exciting new features in Genuine Fractals 5.0 is the exposure of two controls that let you fine tune your scaling results: Gain & Threshold. But what are they and what do they do? Read on to find out...
In general, the Genuine Fractals algorithm has been improved to provide higher quality scaling results. Additionally, there are also two new algorithm variables that may be adjusted by the user. They are currently labeled B&W Gain and Threshold. The default settings are 3 and 25 respectively. Using the deault settings will provide results equivalent to Genuine Fractals 4.1. Adjusting these variables (on an image by image basis) can provide improved detail in non edge regions as well as control edge sharpness. Below is a description of each control and recommendations of how to use them.
B&W Gain: This controls the amount of detail in flat, non-edge areas of an image. If your image contains lots of minute detail that does not have defined edges (many organic patterns like leaves, rock, bark; or man made pattens like fabric) it may be good to increase the Gain to a setting of 4 or 5. Settings beyond 5 will often introduce a bumpy noise pattern which is undesirable unless your original image was from scanned film. Settings lower than the default setting of 3 are useful for images with large areas of continuous tone that have no appreciable detail (sand, snow, sky) but have hard edged foreground subjects such as landscape images, architecture or portraiture.
Threshold: This controls the amount of hard edge detail that is enhanced. The default setting is 25. Decreasing the threshold will focus the algorithms only on edge information. This may be useful for portraiture or for reducing noise in your image. Settings higher than 25 will increase the amount of small detail in flatter areas of the image. Settings as high as 100 are useful for highly detailed images such as hair or feathers. Higher threshold settings will also make Genuine Fractals process faster.
So there you have it. A quick overview of these two new settings. Enjoy the beta!