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Anybody try Topaz AI?


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No affiliation here, just another photographer goofball. 

Ads for it keep popping up on Facebook and Instagram. They want $199 for it. ScreenShot2023-05-25at2_26_03PM.thumb.png.5aeb4c5234589d82cc628b78fa2e2b4b.png

Their demo process is that you can use the program all you want but you can't save the images until you pay for the program. 

Fair enough.

While they show the entire image before processing, there is a smaller square that you can move so it knows what is most important. 

When it processes the image, the full image is not available. I did a screen shot of an image I took that has problems. 

I didn't do any color correction yet, it needs it badly. We were on a huge, bright green lawn on an overcast day with green trees all around us. 

My model has very fair skin and she literally turned green. At the same time, this image is not sharp. Left is before, right is after. I made no adjustments on the processes, I think you can and should correct the intensity of some of the processes for best results. Still, it did a remarkable job in my opinion, especially considering the relatively short time it took and the fact that I could just go do something else while it churned away. Attached, thoughts?

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I have only tried Topaz Labs Denoise AI, not the full thing. Denoise AI works remarkably well. Here's an article I wrote about Topaz Denoise AI for Photofocus in case that helps.

 

In your example, the detail, which was out of focus before, looks remarkably good.

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54 minutes ago, KenElevenShadows said:

I have only tried Topaz Labs Denoise AI, not the full thing. Denoise AI works remarkably well. Here's an article I wrote about Topaz Denoise AI for Photofocus in case that helps.

 

In your example, the detail, which was out of focus before, looks remarkably good.

I think Topaz AI incorporates Denoise AI. I have to be careful with noise reduction with this model, she has some freckles that are part of her charm. 

I think I went to far on my first attempt but yes, I am amazed at how well it turned an out of focus image into something that could be used. 

It's better to just get sharp images in the first place, I wasn't at my best that day but at least I can get some good stuff after the fact!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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3 hours ago, KenElevenShadows said:

Yeah, definitely keep the freckles!

 

And yes, I think Topaz AI incorporates Denoise AI.

I just discovered it is Topaz Photo AI and it has all 3 previous Topaz products integrated into a single interface. 

Which sort of explains the $199 price. 

To be honest, I found I can make any image a horizontal, just flip a vertical image 90 degrees. Then you can apply Topaz to whatever degree your image needs.

My primary computer screen is 27" diagonally so I adjust the Topaz interface to fill the screen as much as possible and then on a Mac - Command, Shift, 3 is a screen shot. 

The resolution is high enough for posting on Model Mayhem or Instagram. For now, that's enough. I may buy it eventually but I rarely print images so I don't need it yet. 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Yes, three different Topaz products bundled together. I have to say that I am rather lucky that I get a few programs gratis for reviewing them. Topaz Denoise AI is one of them. But I genuinely think it is very good.

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14 minutes ago, KenElevenShadows said:

Yes, three different Topaz products bundled together. I have to say that I am rather lucky that I get a few programs gratis for reviewing them. Topaz Denoise AI is one of them. But I genuinely think it is very good.

Yes, it's much better than the current Photoshop plugin. 

Adobe is taking their time to introduce AI into Photoshop but I'm guessing when they do it will be very good. They have the budget and the market. 

Facebook is flooded with a variety of AI plugins or programs, Topaz worked very well for me in trial runs and I plan on buying it when the money comes in. 

I'm using Photoshop Elements 2021 and it even has a subtle bit of AI called Select Subject. It could be improved but it's saved me a lot of time already and overall it does a clean job of selecting the subject. 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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The Photoshop plugin, probably. The new Lightroom Denoise AI, on the other hand, is amazing. I am sure they will introduce this into Photoshop (or Adobe Camera RAW) soon. They just introduced the Remove Tool into Photoshop. It was in Photoshop Beta before. I couldn't get it to work then, but it works now.

 

Lightroom has Select Subject, so I suspect that Adobe is using the same tech for Elements. I keep hearing that Elements is quite good, by the way, but have never used it.

 

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3 hours ago, KenElevenShadows said:

The Photoshop plugin, probably. The new Lightroom Denoise AI, on the other hand, is amazing. I am sure they will introduce this into Photoshop (or Adobe Camera RAW) soon. They just introduced the Remove Tool into Photoshop. It was in Photoshop Beta before. I couldn't get it to work then, but it works now.

 

Lightroom has Select Subject, so I suspect that Adobe is using the same tech for Elements. I keep hearing that Elements is quite good, by the way, but have never used it.

 

Since I started using Photoshop in version 1.07 (1992 at a community college), I've seen huge growth and Photoshop Elements 2021 is much better than most previous versions of Photoshop (certainly MUCH better than all pre-layers versions). I bought it with Premiere Elements as a 2 CD bundle for around $90 on sale. 

I'll probably get a couple more years out of it so it beats the subscription price. Who knows what they'll have then?

 

Also, I bit the bullet and bought Topaz Photo AI, which automatically becomes a plugin for Elements as well as a stand-alone. I've never compared the de-noise in Lightroom but Topaz is miles ahead of Elements in that respect and the remove blur function is incredible as well. Camera shake, subject movement or out-of-focus, if none of them are severe they literally vanish. 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Great, I'm glad Topaz is working out. 

 

One of my night photographer friends has been using Elements for a long time, and he seems to really like it. He does full moon low-ISO stuff, so he doesn't need super-great denoising because the images are typically clean already except maybe during the super hot summer months, and even then they're not that bad compared to high-ISO night photos.

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21 minutes ago, KenElevenShadows said:

Great, I'm glad Topaz is working out. 

 

One of my night photographer friends has been using Elements for a long time, and he seems to really like it. He does full moon low-ISO stuff, so he doesn't need super-great denoising because the images are typically clean already except maybe during the super hot summer months, and even then they're not that bad compared to high-ISO night photos.

Thanks, I gave it a good trial before jumping in but it's good code. I like the results and so much easier than trying to do it old school. THIS sort of thing is what AI will be really useful for tp creatives. 

 

I've always enjoyed particulate distortion. I disturbed the head of the Photography department at college by asking if it would work if I processed Kodak 3200 ISO B&W film in straight Dektol with violent agitation. He thought I was nuts. The grain was beautiful, more "organic" looking than digital noise. 

There were other ways of getting it done too, Tri-X could be made very grainy and prettier in some ways, not that TMax grain structure. 

 

I am astonished at how good my 6d is at 3200 ISO compared to the T2i I owned that was only a little older. Smaller sensor but it's a huge difference. I could get really messed up looking photos on the T2i at 3200. I haven't pushed the 6d beyond it's limits yet, I need to do that. 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/28/2023 at 5:25 PM, KenElevenShadows said:

 

It is and is seems better than Topaz Denoise at first comparison. I do use Topaz AI Sharpen and it is pretty great.  

-Mike Martin

 

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Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook

The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network

 

The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for.

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I feel like Topaz Denoise AI and Lightroom Denoise are two different kinds of good, depending on the situation and what kind of photo. However, since Denoise in Lightroom is built in to LR, if you are already using that, it makes it easier + the controls are quite easy to use as well.

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Mike, do you or anyone have any interesting before/after with Topaz Sharpen that you would like to share?

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