Size the preview copy to what the stage actually paints

The copy was fixed at 1600px, so a hidpi screen was already stretching it at
1:1 and every wheel notch made it worse. The stage now reports the size it is
painting at — the contain-fit times the pixel ratio times the zoom — and the
app re-cuts the source copy to match, quantised and capped at 3200px, which is
the largest copy the grade can still afford. The wheel keeps its instant
transform; the sharper copy lands once the gesture stops.

docker/frontend/src/App.tsx

@@ -33,9 +33,13 @@ const PREVIEW_MAX = 1600;
 // A committed crop keeps only a fraction of the photo, so the 1600px copy
 // leaves too few pixels behind and the result reads as blocky once the stage
 // scales it up. While a crop is live the source is re-derived larger, inverted
-// by that fraction, and capped here so the decode stays bounded.
+// by that fraction. The same ceiling bounds a zoomed-in stage, and 3200px is
-const CROP_PREVIEW_MAX = 3200;
+// what the decode can afford: past it a wheel gesture stops keeping up.
+const PREVIEW_HARD_MAX = 3200;
 const CROP_PREVIEW_MIN_FRAC = 0.05;
+// Zoom asks for a bigger copy; quantised so a smooth gesture does not re-cut it
+// on every notch.
+const PREVIEW_QUANTUM = 512;
 const PREVIEW_DEBOUNCE_MS = 120;
 
 const FRAMES: { id: FrameId; label: MsgKey }[] = [
@@ -169,6 +173,13 @@ export function Workspace() {
 
   // Crop has three states: none, framed-but-uncommitted (the frame is draggable
   // and the whole photo is shown), and applied (the crop alone is rendered).
+  // What the stage says it is painting at; PREVIEW_MAX until it reports.
+  const [zoomNeedPx, setZoomNeedPx] = useState(PREVIEW_MAX);
+  const onStageZoom = useCallback((longDevicePx: number) => {
+    setZoomNeedPx(
+      Math.max(PREVIEW_MAX, Math.min(PREVIEW_HARD_MAX, Math.ceil(longDevicePx / PREVIEW_QUANTUM) * PREVIEW_QUANTUM))
+    );
+  }, []);
   const cropEditing = crop !== 'none' && !cropApplied;
   const cropLive = crop !== 'none' && cropApplied;
   const cropWH = crop !== 'none' && crop !== 'free' ? CROP_W_H[crop] : null;
@@ -187,12 +198,15 @@ export function Workspace() {
     const long = Math.max(d?.w ?? 0, d?.h ?? 0);
     return long > 0 ? f / long : Math.min(cropRect.w, cropRect.h);
   })();
-  const previewMax = cropLive
+  const previewMax = Math.min(
-    ? Math.min(
+    PREVIEW_HARD_MAX,
-        CROP_PREVIEW_MAX,
+    Math.max(
-        Math.max(PREVIEW_MAX, Math.round(PREVIEW_MAX / Math.max(cropLongFrac, CROP_PREVIEW_MIN_FRAC)))
+      zoomNeedPx,
-      )
+      cropLive
-    : PREVIEW_MAX;
+        ? Math.max(PREVIEW_MAX, Math.round(PREVIEW_MAX / Math.max(cropLongFrac, CROP_PREVIEW_MIN_FRAC)))
+        : PREVIEW_MAX
+    )
+  );
 
   // --- undo -----------------------------------------------------------------
   // The stack holds whole looks. remember() reads a ref written during render,
@@ -375,8 +389,10 @@ export function Workspace() {
         if (prev) URL.revokeObjectURL(prev.url);
         return { bytes, name, url: URL.createObjectURL(blob) };
       });
-      // The new photo's copy is the 1600px one; a live crop then upgrades it.
+      // The new photo's copy is the 1600px one; a live crop or a zoomed stage
+      // then upgrades it.
       previewMaxRef.current = PREVIEW_MAX;
+      setZoomNeedPx(PREVIEW_MAX);
       previewJobRef.current++;
       setPreviewBytes(preview);
       setGps(found);
@@ -1155,6 +1171,7 @@ export function Workspace() {
           cropRect={cropRect}
           cropWH={cropWH}
           onCropRectChange={setCropRect}
+          onStageZoom={onStageZoom}
         />
       </div>
 

docker/frontend/src/ui/ImageStage.tsx

@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@ import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { useI18n } from '../i18n/I18nProvider';
 import { MIN_CROP_FRAC, type CropRect } from '../../shared/types';
 
-// One wheel notch, and how far the photo may be pulled open. Past 1 the render
+// One wheel notch, and how far the photo may be pulled open.
-// is the 1600px copy, so deep zoom is soft by design — it is for reading
-// framing, not for judging grain.
 const ZOOM_STEP = 1.15;
 const ZOOM_MAX = 8;
+// How long the wheel has to rest before the stage asks for a sharper copy.
+const ZOOM_SETTLE_MS = 160;
 
 // The centre column: drop target, preview canvas, and the PEEK comparison.
 // Dragging a photo anywhere on the page works, not just on the frame — the
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ export function ImageStage({
   cropRect,
   cropWH = null,
   onCropRectChange,
+  onStageZoom,
 }: {
   previewUrl: string | null;
   originalUrl: string | null;
@@ -37,6 +38,10 @@ export function ImageStage({
   // Wanted pixel aspect (w/h) for a fixed ratio, null for FREE.
   cropWH?: number | null;
   onCropRectChange?: (r: CropRect) => void;
+  // Longest side, in device pixels, the stage is actually painting the photo
+  // at — the app re-cuts its preview copy to match. Scaled to contain the
+  // photo and multiplied by the zoom and the screen's pixel ratio.
+  onStageZoom?: (longDevicePx: number) => void;
 }) {
   const { t } = useI18n();
   const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
@@ -201,6 +206,20 @@ export function ImageStage({
     return () => window.removeEventListener('resize', onResize);
   }, [clampPan]);
 
+  // Report the size the stage is painting at so the app can re-cut the preview
+  // copy to match — otherwise a retina screen already stretches it at 1:1 and
+  // zooming only makes that worse. Debounced: the wheel keeps its instant
+  // transform and the sharper copy lands once the gesture stops.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!onStageZoom) return;
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      const b = baseRect();
+      if (!b) return;
+      onStageZoom(Math.round(Math.max(b.w, b.h) * (window.devicePixelRatio || 1) * viewRef.current.s));
+    }, ZOOM_SETTLE_MS);
+    return () => clearTimeout(timer);
+  }, [onStageZoom, baseRect, view.s, previewUrl, cropEditing]);
+
   const startPan = (e: React.PointerEvent<HTMLImageElement>) => {
     if (cropEditing || viewRef.current.s <= 1 || e.button !== 0) return;
     e.preventDefault();