Scenes Where Pixel Shift Is Effective

When You Want High Quality Images with the Same Size as Single Frame Shooting

Pixel shift is effective even when a large image is not needed. "Oversampling," in which higher-resolution data is taken and then resized to a smaller size, can generate a high-definition and high-quality image at a high resolution while having the same image size as single frame shooting. The file size of the generated image is not significantly different from that of an image of the same image size without oversampling and is recommended from an archive perspective.

• If 32 pictures are merged to make a generated image and oversampled to be the same image size with the merged image of 4 or 8 pictures, the resulting image will produce a higher image quality than those counterparts.

© Taylor Gray

When You Shoot Subjects that Cause Moiré

Moiré occurs due to the relationship between the fineness (frequency) of a subject’s structure, its colors, and the performance of the camera. It is difficult to eliminate moiré from pictures after shooting, so it is important to prevent it during shooting. Pixel shift is effective when shooting subjects with repeated fine structures, such as textiles, building roofs, or tile walls.

• Regardless of the [Number of shots] setting (4, 8, 16, or 32 pictures), moiré may be less noticeable compared to single frame shooting.

When You Need a Deeper Depth of Field or a Wider Angle of View

Pixel shift is effective when you want to increase the area in focus or to include a wider area in the picture. It can generate images with approximately four times the resolution of a single frame shot. Therefore, it is possible to shoot away from the subject while maintaining the equivalent resolution of a single frame shot. A longer distance from the subject may lead to lower magnification and a change in perspective, but can also provide a deeper depth of field and a wider angle of view.

Single frame, 70mm, f/8, 1/2 s

Merged pixel shift image shot at a focal length of 70 mm, aperture of f/5.6, and shutter speed of ¹/₄ s

As shown above, pixel shift provides a better image quality and a deeper depth of field than a single frame shot, even with a wider angle of view, a larger aperture value, and faster shutter speed achieved. This allows you to take pictures with extra space and with a wider aperture than usual. It also reduces the time and effort required for post-processing depth composition.