Topaz products

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Ron G

Ron G

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I purchased the entire suite of Topaz software a few years ago. Initially, I was underwhelmed by the results. I've finally come to realize that it's not getting any better and to keep it functioning, I have to keep paying fees. I've decided that is not worth the marginal value it provides and I'm going to delete it. I'm posting this as a caution to other users who are considering Topaz products.
 
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I’ve owned Topaz Software Products for about 10 years. The newest Studio 2, Sharpen AI and DeNoise AI are part of my current processing work flow and there’s no fees associated with the Software I own. Though I’m not pleased with their marketing changes that include Software Update Fees and I’ll continue to use the Software and evaluate upgrades as I see the need.
 
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Snapshot2020 said:
I’ve owned Topaz Software Products for about 10 years. The newest Studio 2, Sharpen AI and DeNoise AI are part of my current processing work flow and there’s no fees associated with the Software I own. Though I’m not pleased with their marketing changes that include Software Update Fees and I’ll continue to use the Software and evaluate upgrades as I see the need.
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Same here
 
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Ron G said:
I purchased the entire suite of Topaz software a few years ago. Initially, I was underwhelmed by the results. I've finally come to realize that it's not getting any better and to keep it functioning, I have to keep paying fees. I've decided that is not worth the marginal value it provides and I'm going to delete it. I'm posting this as a caution to other users who are considering Topaz products.
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Question, if you purchased the Software a few years ago you own it. Why are you paying fees? You should only pay for Software Updates to their newest released Software Programs. For example Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI and ReMask AI have Software Updates / Upgrades and those updates you have to purchase. Just confused as to why you would delete Software that you own as purchased a few years ago.
 
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DougC said:
To each his own...a lot of us here are quite happy with Topaz.
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I routinely use Denoise to remove noise in batch mode & it does a pretty good job.The attached images are a proof of that .With even ISO of 2200 the output is pretty clean.If required then i use Photoshop.I also use Gigapxel for images that i plan to frame
HMP_2642commonTailorBirdOrchards04Feb2021.jpg
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HMP_2642commonTailorBirdOrchards04Feb2021-denoise.jpg
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I have several Topaz products and I believe they have a pretty fair upgrade policy. You receive a year of upgrades when you purchase the product and then you can add a year of upgrades for $49 per product at any time, even after owning the product for several years. If the program is working just fine for you after a year you still receive the maintenance and fixes but you won't receive upgrades with product enhancements. If you own more than one product you can purchase a $99 yearly upgrade for all products. You can look at this as a modified subscription plan but you don't have to maintain your subscription to continue to use the product, you only have to maintain the subscription if you want to remain current.

I don't use all of the Topaz products regularly but DeNoise AI is an important application for what I do so I consider it well worth the cost while others may not. I have always liked the fact that Topaz offers a 30 day trial period to give you a chance to work with their products long enough to know if they are worth the cost.
 
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Mmm... :unsure: Topaz puts out some amazing products, they're a solid company. The one product I own & can definitely recommend is DeNoise - it has significant advantages over Lightroom's standard noise reduction. Between shooting far away things with a 24mp full frame camera, and astro... it's a no-brainer to have DeNoise in my digital toolbox. My personal experience.
 
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Venkatesh VT said:
I routinely use Denoise to remove noise in batch mode & it does a pretty good job.The attached images are a proof of that .With even ISO of 2200 the output is pretty clean.If required then i use Photoshop.I also use Gigapxel for images that i plan to frame View attachment 14113View attachment 14114
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I use Denoise and like it. I have Denoise AI and don't like it. When I use Denoise I get results just like above and I use none of the other sliders. Just reduce noise. I experimented a long time with this and this is what works for me. I also have Sharpen AI and after a lot of testing I feel I get better sharpening results by either using Smart Sharpen or Hi Pass.
 
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I am a relatively new Topaz owner. I thought that when the year's up, I will have to start paying if I want upgrades. So I was shocked to read in the OP that I have to pay just to keep using it. So thanks for the all the replies that confirm what I thought was the case: the tools will continue to work without paying, and I only have to pay if I want upgrades.

It's not a subscription product as "keep it functioning" implies.

And paying for upgrades is not new — it's what all of the Adobe products did before the current subscription model.

Chris
 
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I thought that I would give Denoise AI a try. Where do folks use Denoise AI in their workflow. Do you do your basic adjustments before or after running the plugin?
 
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EarthImages said:
I thought that I would give Denoise AI a try. Where do folks use Denoise AI in their workflow. Do you do your basic adjustments before or after running the plugin?
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I use both DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI after basic adjustments. I'm sure there are others that use those programs maybe before Basic Adjustments depending on their Workflow.
 
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I think many folk would recommend it be way early in the process, probably before main adjustments (ACR/Develop or the non-Adobe equivalents). But I don't do that — I wait after the main adjustments.

However, I do it before sharpening. That's a hard rule for me — do not sharpen noise.

What I haven't decided: sometimes, if I feel that I need to use NIK/DXO Viveza after ACR, I DeNoise after that (on the newly Viveza-created layer). This is probably because I want to save the ACR layer as untouched in case I need to go back to that point in the workflow. So if I decided to move DeNoise to before Viveza, I would have another layer. (dup the ACR layer, DeNoise it, then feed it to Viveza which will create another layer). Does anyone have input on that sequence (would DeNoise before Viveza make sense)?

Chris
 
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Paying for upgrades is nothing new in the software world, but if you aren't all that happy with the product, I can see just letting it lapse. I use Sparpnen AI and DeNoise almost every day, and think they are very much worth the money. Maybe Lightroom and /or Photoshop will catch up to them at some point, but for now I anticipate sticking with them and paying the upgrade fee.
 
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Just out of curiosity.
Say, you own already one Topaz product and try the upgrade to see what it does.
I would like for example a version of AI Sharpen that doesn't crash if I'm not careful - a bug IMHO.
If I don't like it, it still crashes, can I go back to the former version (the one I already own)?
 
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EricBowles said:
It does make you think when the cost of upgrading every year or so is almost as much as the entire Adobe Photographer's Plan. It's largely like another subscription program.
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I never upgraded and am happy with the version that I got.It does the job adequately.I think earlier Topaz had free upgrades every year and then went for yearly upgrades.I am sure they may revert to free life time uogrades to get new custoners since their existing policy may not be paying divedends
 
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