What it does

Topaz Gigapixel is an image enlargement application from Topaz Labs. It takes small, soft or heavily compressed pictures and rebuilds them at a larger size, with the stated aim of staying faithful to the original instead of inventing unrelated detail. The app includes separate enhancement models for different jobs: general photos, files that are already high resolution, tiny or compressed images, scanned material with text and shapes, digital art, damaged or out-of-focus pictures, and portraits. Newer models named Wonder and Standard Max are highlighted on the page, with Wonder described as upscaling, sharpening and denoising in one step. Rendering can run on your own machine, which keeps files local, or in the vendor's cloud to take load off your hardware. The site says both are unlimited on its plans. It runs as a standalone app for Mac and Windows, or as a plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom Classic. Gigapixel is sold on its own and as part of the Topaz Studio bundle, which also covers the company's video, photo, mobile and web apps.

Capabilities

Several enhancement models for general photos, low-resolution files, scans, digital art and damaged images
Face Recovery model aimed at portraits
Wonder model that upscales, sharpens and denoises in one click
Local rendering that keeps files on your computer, plus cloud rendering
Standalone app or plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom Classic

When to use it

Enlarging small photos for large prints
Restoring old, scanned or heavily compressed images
Sharpening portraits where faces look soft or distorted
Adding upscaling to an existing Photoshop or Lightroom Classic workflow