Best way to upgrade photos

[Miles23536615hn0c]

I've done this previously, many steps & changes of file type, wasn't particularly happy with end result either, photos looked doctored, pixelated etc. Also tried online AI resizing, better than expected but I'm hoping to make something really special. A good developer used to be able to work miracles with film after all!

Required: Hi-Res 2000x800px 'action' (or at least large groups interacting) pictures for website slideshow, obviously must be really sharp, crisp, depth of field etc, etc

Issue: Lost Portable HDD where originals stored, now only have those which we uploaded to Facebook so small file sizes.

Aim; turn 128kb jpg attached into better than 709kb 32 Bikes png, can it be done please?

[kglad]

<moved from cc desktop>

[Miles23536615hn0c]

Apologies, I did run a search for it but nothing showed 

[kglad]

no problem, though i'm not sure the photoshop forum is the best location for, what i think. will be, bad news.

[Trevor.Dennis]

I don't know what you've done to get the nasty result in your 32 Bikes image, because the quality just awful.  The original is not especially sharp, and best focus is on the bikes in the foreground, meaning the people in the background are a bit soft, but I used the default Preserve Details 2 to increase the low res file to 2000 pixels wide.  I added a tiny bit of high pass sharpening, the quality is a lot better than your example.  

If you have a lot of these files to upres, then File > Scripts > Image Processor  which automatically work through a folder full.  You'd have to create an action, but it would only have a few steps so easy to do.

[Trevor.Dennis]

I thought I'd try the Neural Filter > Super Zoom.  Note this is the first I have used it, so I have no experience on what settings work best.

I set it to 3X which is slightly over the 2000 pixel width, but that was too big for the forum's image upload limit, so I had to reduce it to 2000 pixels wide.  You'll need to click to expand the upresed images, but it's clear (to me) that Preserve Details 2 did a better job than the Neural filter.

Give it go, and perhaps use more sharpening. If anyone else has used Super Zoom, I'd be interested in how you got on? 

[Miles23536615hn0c]

To be honest I gave it a central focus & soft elsewhere to hide how bad it was altogether Lol

I've one mate who says it's impossible to bring the source material I have up to anything half decent, determined to prove him wrong! You mentioned the preserve details function, last time that was fine until reaching around 1,500px but couldn't handle 2,000. Main issue I find are all the alternative settings with these programs, remember the days when had a little wand icon? Software took it to as good as could reasonably get & then could tinker with it a little afterwards? That mate I mentioned he has dozens of presets as you said, these are all over the place though some washed out & overexposed as this one, many quite the opposite so I don't believe one preset would cover it.

Think I'll try putting them all through online AI to standardise & get all as good as can be, leaving the fine tuning to this suite