Midjourney, the popular AI image generator, has introduced new 2x and 4x upscaling features to provide more detail for created images. Users can now upscale any existing V5 or Niji images after generation.
The upscalers use AI to increase the image resolution while retaining the original artistic style. The 2x upscaler doubles the image dimensions, while the 4x quadruples it for even finer detail.
Come check out our new 2x and 4x upscalers now live on Midjourney. We're taking GPUs to their limits to let you explore at 16 megapixels and beyond. It's a sight to behold and it's only the beginning.
— Midjourney (@midjourney) October 19, 2023
For newly generated images, to use the upscalers, simply click the Upscale 2x or Upscale 4x buttons. The AI will then process the image to increase resolution and detail. Upscaling is subtle, keeping the original artistic style intact.
To use the new upscalers on images that were previously generated, use the /show [jobid] command in Discord.
(left)Default output, (right) 4x Upscaled image. Notice the drop in sharpness with the upscaled version.
In our testing, the upscalers produced impressive results, adding incredible resolution to images. However, we did notice some reduction in sharpness as the image gains resolution.
Note that the 4x upscaler requires approximately 3x more GPU processing time than the 2x version. Additionally, due to limited availability of GPUs, Midjourney says that the upscalers will only work in "Fast GPU" mode initially.
As always, the best way to learn is to experiment with the options on your favorite images for prints or digital art. However, consider the tradeoff of potentially losing some sharpness for the gain in resolution and detail. For the best quality final images, you may want to balance the upscaling with additional tuning prompts to maintain crispness.