PhotoAcute Studio is a leading edge tool for enhancing the quality of digital photographs.

PhotoAcute Studio processes sets of photographs taken in continuous mode to produce high-resolution, low-noise pictures. It increases image resolution, removes noise without losing image details, corrects image geometry and chromatic aberrations and expands the dynamic range.

Some PhotoAcute Studio features are tuned for particular camera models to achieve the best results. Using these features depends on the availability of the profile for the given camera.

PhotoAcute Studio produces a combined image from a sequence of continuous photographs, thus acquiring more graphic information than is available from any one photograph. Using sophisticated proprietary algorithms, it combines the individual frames to produce one large- sized and high-quality image. This kind of technique is usually called "super-resolution processing".

Unlike digital zooming and image sharpening, the photographs produced by PhotoAcute Studio do really have higher spatial resolution.

Small, thin and far-away objects, traceries, textures and inscriptions become recognizable.

PhotoAcute Studio super-resolution algorithms are tuned for particular camera/lens models to achieve maximum quality.

source photograph (one of a set): camera resolution was not enough to capture the brickwork pattern	strong sharpening does not reveal more details	super-resolution applied to the whole set of photographs: the pattern is much more apparent, as if it was captured by a camera with higher resolution	sharpening applied to the result of superresolution processing - for comparison with the sharpened original

Usage: Super-resolution processing is performed when the Combined 2x output with superresolution mode is selected in the processing options dialog. Super-resolution processing requires the availability of the profile for the given camera model.

It is highly recommended to use high ISO levels (e.g. 400) for super-resolution processing. Cameras automatically use long exposures when ISO is low, and this leads to handshaking artifacts that can significantly decrease the level of detail of the picture. At the same time, the noise caused by high ISO can be efficiently reduced during super-resolution processing.

More information:
Read more about superresolution
Measuring the increase of image resolution (on PhotoAcute site)

By combining several photographs, PhotoAcute Studio automatically reduces the noise in the photographs.

The main problem of the usual noise reduction techniques is that the more noise is reduced, the more image details are lost. This becomes extremely apparent on the low light scenes (e.g. night photographs or shadowy parts of the scene).

PhotoAcute Studio provides high noise reduction without losing the image details.

source photograph (one of a set)	a photograph processed using the noise reduction utility (one of the leaders on the market)	whole set, as processed by PhotoAcute Studio with NO super-resolution

Usage: Noise reduction is performed automatically.

More information:
Read more about noise and its reduction

PhotoAcute Studio corrects geometric distortion caused by the camera optics. This gives photographs the right perspective and a natural look.

Usage: Geometry correction is turned on/off by ticking the corresponding checkbox in the processing options dialog. This feature requires availability of the profile for the given camera model.

Every lens focuses the light of different wavelengths in different positions. This causes chromatic aberration that is seen as "fringes" of color around the image. PhotoAcute Studio corrects this aberration, minimizing the circle of confusion.

source photograph	color fringes	resulting photograph

Usage: Color fringing correction is turned on/off by ticking the corresponding checkbox in the processing options dialog.

More information:
Read more about chromatic aberrations

By using an advanced weighting technique, PhotoAcute Studio is able to restore shadows and clipped highlights from photographs taken in exposure-bracketing mode. It produces an image that otherwise could only be taken with a camera that had much wider dynamic range.

This feature becomes especially handy for objects photographed on back-lit background (e.g. window, a light snow, direct sunlight), or scenes that have important details in the shadow.

highlights captured, shadows lost	shadows captured, highlights lost	both shadow and highlight details are visible

Usage: Dynamic range expansion is turned on/off by ticking the corresponding checkbox in the processing options dialog.

More information:
Read more about dynamic range

This feature is used to reveal the details in the shadows without overexposing bright areas.

Usage: Brightness equalization is turned on/off by ticking the corresponding checkbox in the processing options dialog.

Focus stacking is a digital image processing technique which combines multiple images taken at different focal distances to give a resulting image with a greater depth of field than any of the individual source images.

The classic way to extend depth of field is to take images using a narrow lens aperture. This solution has two serious disadvantages. Small apertures bring more light diffraction, degrading the image resolution and they reduce the light transmission, forcing the use of longer exposures, which leads to motion blur in the pictures. Also, even using the smallest aperture is sometimes not enough to capture the entire scene sharply.

The alternative way is to take several frames of the same scene with different focal lengths. Each of these images has its own depth of field and they can be merged together, combining focused areas of each image and producing a resulting image with cumulative depth of field.

Using this technique is essential in macro-photography and micro-photography as well as in all situations when the very near and very far objects in the scene have to be captured acutely.

Usage: Choose Focus stacking option in the processing options dialog.

This is the basic use of PhotoAcute Studio.

There are two main parameters of the digital image determining the quality: the spatial resolution and the noise. Using PhotoAcute Studio, you can get pictures with higher resolution and lower noise than your camera allows.

To do this, simply take continuous photographs (4 or more recommended) of the scene, transfer them to PC, load into PhotoAcute Studio and start processing.

Taking pictures in low light conditions (e.g. night photographs) usually requires using long exposures and high sensitivity levels.

While allowing photographing of low light scenes, long exposure leads to handshaking artifacts (the longer the photograph is being taken - the more the camera is displaced), while, a high sensitivity level results in high noise.

To take better photographs in low-light conditions:
1. Set normal exposure and high sensitivity (ISO) level.
2. Take several photographs in continuous mode.
3. Transfer the photographs to PC and process by PhotoAcute Studio.
4. Optionally, brightness equalization feature can be used to increase the brightness

PhotoAcute Studio will automatically combine photographs and remove the noise caused by high ISO. You will get a clear image, as if you took the photograph using a tripod and had a camera with an extremely good matrix.

Some scenes happen to be constantly overlapping with unwanted moving objects. For example, people walking in front of a site.

With PhotoAcute Studio, you can take photograph of such a scene and automatically clear away the unneeded moving objects.

1. Take several photographs in continuous mode (not less than 5).
2. Load the photographs in PhotoAcute Studio.
3. Process the photographs, using "Remove moving objects from the scene" option.

When taking photographs of a scene containing both shadow and highlighted objects (e.g., dark objects on a back-lit background), it is always a problem to capture both shadow and highlight details. Adjusting the camera settings to capture highlight details will result in losing shadow details and vice versa.

PhotoAcute Studio allows you to capture both shadow and highlight details.

1. Take several photographs in exposure bracketing mode.
2. Load the photographs in PhotoAcute Studio.
3. Process the photographs, using "Expand dynamic range" and "Equalize brightness" options.

Note: Importing video frames is not available in the PhotoAcute Studio version for Mac OSX.

Still frames from a video sequence usually have rather low quality comparing to photographs, due to the lower resolution of video cameras, interlacing artifacts, high compression level, etc.

With PhotoAcute Studio, you can retrieve high-quality still frames from several sequential frames lingering on the scene.

Open the video file, select the desired frame range, optionally exclude unneeded frames, and process the frames just the same way as several photographs.

For more details on importing video frames please refer to Importing video frames section.

Switch your camera to continuous mode. Please refer to your camera manual to find out how to do this (note that it may be also called "burst" or "sequence" mode).
Choose a stationary scene and take a series of photographs.

This is usually done using a cable connection to PC or reading the photographs from the memory card by a card reader.
Please refer to your camera manual or consult the camera manufacturer/distributor for more information about transferring the photographs to a PC.

Once transferred to the PC, the photographs can be loaded into PhotoAcute Studio by clicking the Open button and selecting the files, or by dragging and dropping the files from Windows Explorer to the PhotoAcute Studio window.

Click Start button to open the processing options dialog and start the processing.
For the first-time usage you can use the default options. By default, PhotoAcute Studio will apply super resolution and correct image geometry (if the camera profile is available).

Once the processing is successfully completed, PhotoAcute Studio switches to the tiled mode, displaying one of the original images and the resulting image side by side.
When you drag one of the images (by mouse), the other one is moved correspondingly. You can drag a single image without moving the other one by pressing [Ctrl] key while dragging.

Select the resulting photograph in the list and click the Save button.

To load pictures into PhotoAcute Studio, you can either:
• Click the Open button and select files
or
• Drag the image files from Windows Explorer / Mac Finder and drop them to PhotoAcute Studio window.

Sequential images exported from PhotoAcute Mobile 2.x are associated with PhotoAcute Studio and can be opened by double-clicking on them in Windows Explorer.

To remove an image from the list, select it and click the Close button.

RAW Images loading

PhotoAcute Studio supports the Digital Negative (DNG) image format.

In order to read other RAW image formats, you have to install "Adobe DNG Converter" utility (freeware) from Adobe.

You can download this utility from the following link:
DNG_Camera_Raw_4_5.zip (Windows)
DNG_Camera_Raw_4_5.dmg (Mac OSX)

Unpack "Adobe DNG Converter.exe" from the archive and place it in the directory where PhotoAcute Studio is installed.

Click here to read Adobe DNG Converter license agreement

Viewing RAW Images

Previews of RAW data displayed in PhotoAcute Studio are calculated with default parameters. Have no worries about improper white balance or absence of control over image parameters: this is a RAW-in - RAW-out type of processing. You will be able to tweak all parameters of the final result later in your favorite RAW converter.

Selecting the "first image"

When using "Take moving objects from the first image" option it is necessary to specify what image is to be the first in processing.
It is also recommended to specify the first image in other processing modes. As the other images are registered against the first image, you should select the image with most detail visible as the first.
Just place the selection bar over the image before starting the processing. This image will be used as first in processing.

Note: Importing video frames is not available in the PhotoAcute Studio version for Mac OSX.

You can import a sequence of video frames from video files.
Click the Open button or press 'O' and select a video file in the dialog. After choosing the video file, you should select the range of the frames to be imported. This is done by choosing the start position of the selection and the number of frames in it. All the frames in the selection will be imported as separate pictures. You can then exclude any of the frames from processing if needed.

Note: PhotoAcute Studio is capable of loading video files in different formats depending on the set of video codecs installed.

You might need to install additional codecs in order to import video. Two standard Windows video interfaces are supported: VFW and DirectShow (experimental). Codecs for both interfaces are readily available on the Internet. We recommend the setup in the free FFDShow codec pack. It has a support for many popular video compression formats and can be configured to work through the VFW interface (recommended).

The following controls can be used to select frames to be imported:

Upper scale
Use this to select the position in a video file from which import will begin.

Lower scale
Use to select how many frames will be imported.

Buttons
Use dialog buttons as an alternative way to navigate in the video file. The upper buttons are used to change the position of the first frame, while the lower buttons are used to select the number of frames in the selection:

	Move to the beginning of the video file
	Move to the previous key frame
	Move to the previous frame
	Move to the next frame
	Move to the next key frame
	Move to the end of the video file

List of profiles
Select which profile will be used for super-resolution processing.
For interlaced profiles, the frames will be automatically de-interlaced into even and odd fields when loaded.

The Processing options dialog appears each time before the processing starts. You can either click Ok to proceed or change the options.
There are several presets designed for typical situations and purposes of processing. When you select a preset, the options are automatically adjusted (you can then adjust them manually, if needed).

Camera model, lens and focal length

The camera model and the focal length at which the photos were taken are displayed in the top left corner of the dialog. The camera model can be changed manually in Settings. For cameras with interchangeable optics, an additional selection list can appear. It is displayed when the lens type cannot be detected automatically from EXIF data or when a number of lenses have the same focal range.

Messages

Please pay attention to the message area below the progress bar. When attempting to perform an action that cannot be done with the current set of images (e.g. removing moving objects with just 2 photos in the set), the corresponding message will appear in red.

Detailed options description:

Merging options

Lattice density

Mask precision

Moving objects handling and focus stacking

Alignment options

Dynamic range expansion and brightness equalization

Geometry correction

Correction of color fringing (chromatic aberrations)

Auto-crop output

On the right pane, either the currently selected image or all the marked images(in Tiled mode) are displayed.

A thumbnail of the currently selected image is displayed in the bottom of the PhotoAcute Studio window. The red rectangle in the thumbnail designates the area being shown in the right pane. You can drag this rectangle to scroll the image.

Tiled mode

PhotoAcute Studio provides you with an easy and effective method of comparing the result with the original images.
Mark the resulting photograph and one or more original photographs in the photographs list and check the "Tile" box. The source photographs will appear in the View Area along with the resulting photograph. Source photographs are scaled to the size of the resulting photograph.
You can drag the images with the mouse. When you drag one of the images, all images move together so that you can easily compare the matching areas of the images.
Adjust individual images by dragging them and holding the [Ctrl] key pressed ([Shift] key on Mac).
Use the mouse wheel or scale listbox to change scale.

By default, the images are scaled using the fastest yet less accurate algorithm - "nearest neighbor" interpolation.
You can change it by altering the Interpolation option in Settings.

Viewing RAW Images

Previews of RAW data displayed in PhotoAcute Studio are calculated with default parameters. Have no worries about improper white balance or absence of control over image parameters: this is a RAW-in-RAW-out type of processing. You will be able to tweak all parameters of the final result later in your favorite RAW converter.

To save the resulting image, select it in the list and click the SAVE button. A watermark is placed in the saved images in trial mode.

To open the Settings window, click the SETTINGS button.

It is highly recommended to use high ISO levels (e.g. 400) for super-resolution processing. The camera automatically uses long exposures when the ISO is low and this leads to handshaking artifacts that can significantly decrease the level of detail of the image. At the same time, the noise caused by high ISO can be efficiently reduced during super-resolution processing.

There is yet another reason to use a high ISO when performing super-resolution. Most consumer-level and some pro- cameras have built-in sharpening that is turned on at low ISO. This sharpening is very simple and imprecise. Unwanted artifacts (over-sharpening halos) and the loss of some details may appear in the final result.

Images are aligned automatically. This means that you do not have to be rock-solid while taking them.

The following keyboard shortcuts are available:

F1 (? on Mac)	Help page
O	Open images
S	Save selected images
Del (Backspace on Mac)	Remove images from the list
E	Edit Settings
G	Start Processing
T	Toggle Tiled Mode
F	Fit image(s) to window
+	Increase scale
-	Decrease scale

PhotoAcute Studio can be used from the command line.

Command line syntax:

PhotoAcute [parameters] [@ImageListFile] [ImageName.ext] [ImageName.ext] ...

Every parameter is optional. If some of the processing parameters are not specified, the values will be taken from 'Settings'.
Image files specified in the command line will be opened when the program starts.
@ImageListFile - a simple text file with list of image filenames to be opened (one name per line)

Parameters:

-mX	Specify to automatically process images from command line, 'X' can be one of: '0' - output individual aligned images '1' - output 1x result '2' - output 2x result (super-resolution)
-oFilename	Use the output name 'Filename', file type determined by extension. If output is multiple images - name of the subdirectory where to place the results. if this parameter is not specified - result(s) will be saved with default name(s)
-pX	Lattice density (X = 2, 3, 5, 9, or 17)
-rX	Scene processing, 'X' can be one of: '0' - none '1' - remove moving objects '2' - take moving objects from the first image '3' - focus stacking
-eX	Dynamic range processing, 'X' can be one of: '0' - none '1' - expand dynamic range '2' - expand dynamic range and equalize brightness
-fX	Fix color fringing, 'X' can be one of: '0' - do not fix color fringing '1' - fix color fringing
-aX	Alignment mode, 'X' can be one of: '0' - Normal alignment '1' - Alignment for tripod mounted shots '2' - Wide distortions are allowed in alignment '3' - no alignment at all
-kX	Mask precision, 'X' can be one of: '0' - High '1' - Medium '2' - Low
-gX	Lens model specific optical distorsions, 'X' can be one of: '0' - no correction '1' - perform correction
-cX	Invoke auto cropping, 'X' can be one of: '0' - no cropping '1' - perform cropping
-h	Display this help

The trial mode of PhotoAcute Studio allows you to use all the image processing features in full.
The trial mode is time-unlimited.
The only limitation of the trial mode is that a "watermark" is placed on saved images. The watermark does not affect the image histogram, providing the possibility of examining the resulting images before purchasing the software.

To obtain the registration code online, please refer to:
http://www.photoacute.com/studio/order.html

Upon obtaining the registration code, click SETTINGS button, then Registration button. Enter the name and registration code in the Registration window.

The resolution (commonly means spatial resolution) of a camera determines how small are the image details it can capture.
The higher the resolution, the more details the image contains (smaller details are apparent), and the larger the size of the pictures that can be printed.
Read more about image resolution at dpreview.com
Read about effective resolution measurement at imatest.com

Super-resolution is the method of enhancing the resolution of an image or of an optical system.
This can be done by either acquiring more graphic information (e.g. taking and merging several images of the same object) or by reconstructing the details lost due to the faultiness of the optical system (applying knowledge of the optical system's properties).
PhotoAcute Studio uses both ways to achieve the maximum image quality. It also enhances the dynamic range and the tonal range as well as the spatial resolution.
Read more about superresolution at Wikipedia

Image noise is the additional signal generated by the electrical activity in the sensor.
Noise is mostly visible on uniform surfaces (like blue skies) and in shadow areas.
Noise increases with sensitivity (ISO), exposure and temperature.

The main problem of noise reduction is that due to the impossibility of exact division of image data between useful signal and noise, noise reduction leads to the loss of image details. This becomes most apparent in low-lit areas of the image, where details are indistinguishable from noise and the noise reduction removes both the noise and those details.
The noise reduction feature of PhotoAcute Studio is based on combining several photographs of the same scene, and it reduces the noise while leaving the image details.
Read more about the image noise at dpreview.com
Read more about the noise reduction at dpreview.com

Every lens, to a greater or lesser extent, focuses the light of different wavelengths onto different focal planes and magnifies it differently. This causes, correspondingly, so-called "Longitudinal Chromatic Aberrations" and "Lateral Chromatic Aberrations". Chromatic aberrations are visible as the fringes of color at the contrast edges.
Read more about chromatic aberrations at dpreview.com

The dynamic range (or luminosity range) of the scene is the ratio between the largest and the smallest values of luminosity in the scene. The dynamic range of a sensor is the ratio between the largest and the smallest signal it can generate. When the dynamic range of the camera is not enough to capture the dynamic range of the scene, shadow or/and highlight details are lost (clipped).

The exposure determines the amount of light received by the sensor. It is the combination of the duration (shutter speed) and the width (aperture) of diaphragm opening.
Read more about exposure at dpreview.com

ISO indicates the camera's sensitivity to light. The higher the sensitivity, the less light is needed to capture the scene. High ISO allows you to take photographs in low-light conditions and using faster shutter speed to avoid handshaking artifacts. However, since the higher sensitivity is achieved by amplifying the sensor's output, it leads to an increase of the noise.
PhotoAcute Studio greatly suppresses the noise when processing a set of continuous photographs, thus eliminating the problem of high ISO and letting you use it for low-light scenes, thereby capturing and taking sharp photographs with fast shutter speed.
Read more about sensitivity at dpreview.com

Continuous mode (also called burst or sequential mode) is the camera mode whereby the images are taken immediately one after another.
Different cameras provide different speeds for taking continuous photographs (frames per second or "fps") and maximum number of photographs in one sequence.
Some cameras are capable of taking and saving continuous photographs only in JPEG format, while others are capable of taking continuous photographs in RAW.
A number of modern mobile phones support continuous mode.
Read more about continuous mode at dpreview.com

Exposure bracketing is a technique of taking several photographs of the same scene with different exposures.
Bracketing is used when it is difficult to obtain a good image from a single shot, e.g. when the scene has both very dark and very light areas (the dynamic range of the scene is much wider than the dynamic range of the camera).
Photographs taken in exposure bracketing mode can also be combined into one image with both dark and light areas normally exposed (the dynamic range of the image, thereby, becomes wider than the camera can capture).
Read more about exposure bracketing at dpreview.com

Depth of field (DOF) is the distance in front of and beyond the subject that appears to be in focus (sharp).
Focus stacking is a digital image processing technique which combines multiple images taken at different focus distances to give a resulting image with a greater depth of field than any of the individual source images.
Read more about depth of field at dpreview.com
Read more about focus stacking at wikipedia.org

Interpolation is the method used to scale the image to a different size.
Nearest neighbor is the method of interpolation, which simply enlarges each pixel (when upscaling the image) or throws some pixels away (when downscaling the image). This method is very fast, but it produces rough, pixelized images.
Bicubic interpolation computes each pixel color as a weighted average of the nearest 16 pixels. This method provides smoother edges but it is slower than the nearest neighbor method.

Two PhotoAcute Studio features - super-resolution processing and geometry correction are tuned for particular camera/lens models.
To apply these features for processing certain photographs, the application needs information about the properties of the camera model which was used to take these photographs.
This information is stored in the so-called camera profiles. The camera profile is a .dll file, which is placed into PhotoAcute Studio installation folder and loaded automatically at the application startup.
Profiles are available for download at http://www.photoacute.com/studio/download.html

The image data in RAW format contain the image information as it comes from the sensor. Compared to the JPEG format, the RAW format provides more graphic data that can be used for applying sophisticated processing and thus producing high quality pictures.
Read more about RAW at dpreview.com