Topaz DeNoiseAI and SharpenerAI on the way out!

[Karl Gillard]

I kept getting renewal notices for my Topaz GigapixelAI and PhotoAI, called Topaz, and then remembered my monthly subscription was for Adobe products. While on the phone with Topaz, the young lady informed me that Topaz was discontinuing support or updates for DeNoiseAI and SharpenerAI. The last update was “the last”!

Personally, I rarely use SharpenerAI; never use PhotoAI (takes too long); use GigapixelAI often; but use DeNoiseAI alot and like it.

So, I’ll use it till it no longer performs, but I’m wondering what some of you are using instead of Topaz products.

 

[Cameron T]

They're replacing it all with photoai, which is their all in one tool. I use topaz for denoise.

 

[kkwilcox]

I think DxO PureRaw is a very good for denoise, although it can be slow. They do keep it up to date with new lenses and cameras. In addition Lightroom Classic's Denoise feature has gotten much better recently.

 

[NorthernFocus]

I use DxO PL when serious NR is needed. I find it superior to Topaz. LR is now about on par but takes longer than DxO to process. I used to use Topaz Sharpen AI a good bit but they broke it years ago. I was able to download the last/best version of it which was v2.4. One thing it still does better than any other sharpening tool is correct small amounts of camera shake. They lost me when they rolled everything into one app. Apart from Gigapixel which I still use and actually just updated after skipping a couple of years.

 

[Anjin San]

I use DxO PL when serious NR is needed. I find it superior to Topaz. LR is now about on par but takes longer than DxO to process. I used to use Topaz Sharpen AI a good bit but they broke it years ago. I was able to download the last/best version of it which was v2.4. One thing it still does better than any other sharpening tool is correct small amounts of camera shake. They lost me when they rolled everything into one app. Apart from Gigapixel which I still use and actually just updated after skipping a couple of years.

I’ve found that after import I do an initial cull to the ones I think I might want to edit…on my recent TZ and CR trips that amounted to maybe 100 or so of the 1500 or so I took that day. Drop them all over to DxO 4 in a batch and go have a cocktail and dinner, then exit LrC and come back tomorrow and cull the 100 down to whatever I need for the travel blog and process them. I have PhotoAI as well…but mostly use it later in PP if at all for sharpening or upscaling if needed, DxO does better NR I’ve found for me.

 

[tigger4t]

Unless I need to upgrade my Mac I will continue to use Topaz Denoise as it's fast enough and meets my needs. I have Topaz Sharpen which I rarely use but PhotoAI is much too slow for my workflow and I feel that the results actually look false - buying the latest version has proved to be a waste of money. I tend to upscale images with the Affinity Photo Export re-sampling function although I do have an older version of GigaPixel - I might try the new version to see if it's better.

 

[ajrmd]

Interesting that you bring this up. I'm not a big fan of the direction that Topaz has been headed. The photo AI has some nice features like the masking and object removal though its NR models are limited. For higher ISO models, I find that I can get more realistic results with the older Sharpen AI/Denoise AI combination. Likewise Gigapixel has gone off the rails and has pivoted to AI solutions which aren't all that great IMHO. LR/PS has solid NR/sharpening for those who are interested and if you pay for those programs it's hard to see why you need anything else.

 

[JAJohnson]

I kept getting renewal notices for my Topaz GigapixelAI and PhotoAI, called Topaz, and then remembered my monthly subscription was for Adobe products. While on the phone with Topaz, the young lady informed me that Topaz was discontinuing support or updates for DeNoiseAI and SharpenerAI. The last update was “the last”!

Both Denoise and Sharpen are no longer being enhanced and maintained by Topaz. This has been the case for more than a year. They both have been replaced by PhotoAI.

With ongoing enhancement to Windows and MacOS, eventually Topaz Denoise and Sharpen will no longer work.

 

[Woodyg3]

IMO Topaz was doing it right when they had separate modules instead of an all-in-one application that has been clunky for me and not as good as the originals for what they do. I can still use Sharpen, and will of pics with a tad of motion blur. It can clear that up nicely at times. Otherwise I'm pretty firmly entrenched in Lightroom/Photoshop.

 

[MartyD]

I have been pleased with PhotoAI for what I use it for, the product is much different today than the earlier versions.

 

[TheLRC]

Topaz definitely made waves with the announcement about DeNoiseAI and SharpenerAI updates ending.

One option I often recommend exploring is Topaz Studio 2—it’s free and really shines for creative and artistic edits. I use it and have found it incredibly versatile for adding unique, artistic effects to images. While it doesn’t replace noise reduction tools like DeNoiseAI, it offers a lot of flexibility and a range of effects for a more creative touch.

 

[MrFotoFool]

I use DXO PureRaw. I did order the bundle of three Topaz products on a special a while back, but the only one I use (and that only occasionally) is Gigapixel. The Topaz DeNoise had a weird artifact where it would denoise portions and leave others looking blotchy. Not sure how to describe it, but it was so bad that it was essentially unuseable.

 

[Whiskeyman]

Topaz has pretty much "improved" their product into irrelevancy to me. I was a user of their products and touted them for a long time, but not so much any more.

Sadly, a lot of other photo post-processing software seems to be trending in the same direction.

 

[KP Birder]

Topaz definitely made waves with the announcement about DeNoiseAI and SharpenerAI updates ending.

One option I often recommend exploring is Topaz Studio 2—it’s free and really shines for creative and artistic edits. I use it and have found it incredibly versatile for adding unique, artistic effects to images. While it doesn’t replace noise reduction tools like DeNoiseAI, it offers a lot of flexibility and a range of effects for a more creative touch.

Does it work on M-chip Macs?

 

[JAJohnson]

Does it work on M-chip Macs?

There are MacOS and Windows versions available, but Studio and Studio 2 are no longer being enhanced and supported by Topaz Labs.

 

[TheLRC]

Does it work on M-chip Macs?

I'm not entirely sure, but I'd recommend downloading it from here and giving it a try yourself!

 

[KP Birder]

I'm not entirely sure, but I'd recommend downloading it from here and giving it a try yourself!

I will! I have been using Topaz Labs products for 5 or 6 years now, but I think they are pricing themselves out of the market now, or at least out of MY market, lol. Excellent support, though.

 

[Karl Gillard]

Both Denoise and Sharpen are no longer being enhanced and maintained by Topaz. This has been the case for more than a year. They both have been replaced by PhotoAI.

With ongoing enhancement to Windows and MacOS, eventually Topaz Denoise and Sharpen will no longer work.

Yep, that’s what she said.

 

[JoelKlein]

In my opinion, Topaz took a great product, and broke it! All in the name of “improvement”.

The main pain point, is the fact that they constantly change the way their software works. What has worked for me yesterday, doesn’t work today, and what works today, might not work tomorrow.
Result? I stopped using it.
ACR de-noise is a one click process.

B.T.W.
NX Studio built in de-noise, is amazing! Limited to Nikon’s NEF files though.

 

[sh1209]

In my opinion DXO pure raw4 is far superior to any Topaz product and works very fast on both of my Mac’s. I still use topaz denoise at times but haven’t been real pleased with photo AI.

 

[Charles Loy]

I got totally burned out on Topaz. I now use Adobe Photoshop 2024 only (however 2025 has just released), and am very content with the noise reduction platform. Actually amazing to me.

 

[sh1209]

I got totally burned out on Topaz. I now use Adobe Photoshop 2024 only (however 2025 has just released), and am very content with the noise reduction platform. Actually mazing to me.

I agree and lost a lot of faith in them whenever they stopped supporting the individual programs. I still think the individual programs work noticeably better and faster than photo ai. Even bringing the images from Lightroom into photo ai is painfully slow.

 

[groob]

I got totally burned out on Topaz. I now use Adobe Photoshop 2024 only (however 2025 has just released), and am very content with the noise reduction platform. Actually mazing to me.

Same here. Never really loved the output from Topaz. I’ve always just selected the background in PS and run its NR filter across it.

 

[GHWI]

Software and cameras always evolve and change, hopefully for the better. Today for my purposes I find Photoshop and DXO superior to Topaz, but tomorrow that could all change. One thing to consider is that Denoise in Photoshop is free if you subscribe to Photoshop.

 

[PhotoLover]

I agree and lost a lot of faith in them whenever they stopped supporting the individual programs. I still think the individual programs work noticeably better and faster than photo ai. Even bringing the images from Lightroom into photo ai is painfully slow.

The best workflow for me when I wanted to use one of the Topaz programs was to take the image into PS, then from PS invoke sharpen, denoise, gigapixel and then take back into LR. On my M1 chip Mac (albeit with lots of memory) this is fairly quick. I like gigapixel AI pretty well, and have several images that sharpen AI was able to salvage. For routine denoising, the LR denoise is good enough for about everything I find.

I haven't tried the Photo AI program.