Warning: tried free AI upscaler vs paid one on 40 family photos from 1997 and the cheap one won
Last Friday I scanned 40 photos from my parents' trip to Rome in 1997 at 300 dpi and ran half through a free AI upscaler and half through a $12/month one. The free tool actually kept the grain on old film and didn't turn faces into wax, while the paid one smoothed everyone into mannequins. I ran the same shot of my mom at the Trevi Fountain through both and only the free version kept her freckles. Now I'm wondering if I just got lucky with this batch. Anyone else find a cheap or free model that beat the big paid ones for photo restoration?