One of the many computational features of my OM-3 is its capability to produce 50mp images from its 20mp sensor using 'Hand Held Hi-Res Shot' mode where it automatically combines, in camera, multiple images it makes by sensor shifting at the single press of the shutter release. Magic!

The benefits of Hand Held Hi-Res Shot is that it boosts the image resolution to 50mp (as already stated) which in turn increases the clarity and sharpness of my pictures, enhances their colours, has less noise in the image, and better dynamic range.

Hi-Res also gives me higher image quality for large prints (A3+ aka Super A3 and above) and the higher resolution produces bigger file sizes (more data) allowing me extra latitude when cropping as well.

It is great for use on relative static subjects like landscapes with less movement in them i.e. no fast moving elements. It's not, however, for shooting fast moving targets like running animals or birds in flight or racing cars on a circuit say.

It works very effectively on scenes that exhibit high dynamic range too, which is a boon. Finally you need to be aware that there are a few seconds delay between shots while the processor combines the (12 or so) images together into the final 50mp composite picture so you won't be running the camera at high frame rates, quite the opposite.

I did take the opportunity to print a couple of the 50mp Hi-Res test images shown above on A3+ glossy photo paper on my Canon A3+ Pro Color Photo printer and the results were gorgeous. Hardly surprising as these image files are capable of giving quality detailed prints at sizes beyond A3+, easily to up to A2 or further.

Finally, if you really want to go for it, you can set Hi-Res Shot to 80mp mode which takes you at least to an A1 print size. The only catch is that this can't be done hand held thus the camera must be mounted on a tripod. Maybe I'll give this a go sometime though I really don't have any real world use for such high mega pixel images and they eat up too much storage space.?

So why am I talking about print sizes? Well, if you want to see where your extra mega pixels might make a visible difference it's when you start to make really big prints viewed relatively close up. Well maybe! When we talk about the quality of a print it is usually judged around an image printed at 300 DPI then mounted flat on a wall and viewed at a 'normal viewing distance' the rule of thumb for which is a distance equivalent to 1.5 to 2 x the diagonal of the print.

For myself, once you have good quality source file from at least a 20mp imaging chip taken at its native ISO with a high quality Pro lens then it's only when you reach an A3+ print things that I begin to see differences in the detail you can get from higher pixel counts, all else being equal. Certainly, I can see a difference in the detail in an A3+ print between those from a 20mp image and those from a 50mp image taken on my OM-3 - more detail definitely, better colours, better dynamic range and less noise maybe - when I look very close up -  but at the normal viewing distance it's very much harder to discern. 

The better resolution of the 50mp image is supported, however, by the fact that I can crop the it much more and retain detail if I want to and still get a high quality final print. So where does leave me? Well these days I rarely print images at A3+, certainly never any bigger, and rarely print anything at all if truth be told. On the rare occasions I do it will most probably be a 6x4 (printer inks are very expensive). So why would I want to use Hand Held Hi Res Shot to create 50mp images? 

Well, whilst the extra mega pixels may be of less interest to me, there is one area in particular where I find HHHRS useful and that is in scenes that exhibit high dynamic range with intense highlights and shadows – for example a sunset over a shadowy valley. This is where it's abilities to produce images with improved colours, better dynamic range (1.5 stops in the shadows) with less noise come into their own. So there you have it 'Hand Held Hi-Res Shot', sometimes useful.

There again I have used Topaz Gigapixel in post to up-res a cropped image from a 20mp original if I wanted a really detailed picture on the very, very odd occasion I needed an A3+ print of it, to great effect which saves all that messing about in camera to get a 50mp Hi-Res shot in the first place or indeed if I had not been able to do so at all at the time. This also means I could make even bigger detailed prints (who ever knows why?) if called upon from the any 20mp base image or even bigger again from a 50 or an 80mp Hi-res Shot image. At this point we are into high quality giant size prints all from super capable, compact, highly portable MFT equipment. Food for thought!