Topaz DeNoiseAI and SharpenerAI on the way out!

[Ken Miracle]

I like you have so many photos from near 20 years of wildlife photography. There are shoots I still haven’t gotten to. For me it’s simple to not spend time in camera and than have to go through more than one photo edit platform. I realize that Capture one or DxO may give you a better raw file to start but I live in the Adobe world for good or bad. I can go out and shoot several thousand photos and come home download them go have dinner come back and go through them pretty quickly and in many cases just enjoy the process. I like post processing and do not do this for a living. My guitar does that so for me so it’s a release and a way to still be creative. Ido periodically take a Quick Look in camera but don’t spend much time there. I have never cared for Nikon NX but that’s just me. I’ve been using LR since version 2 or 3 and am comfortable in its use. Maybe if Adobe raises the cost of the subscription I might think otherwise. I hear you about having to adapt to changing conditions. That’s part of the fun after all. I love a challenge and strive for excellence in all I do. That’s why I love the z8 and not an iPhone.

Like you LRC is my thing.

Just for clarity I put the settings I want into the camera before the shot, sometimes in the middle of action since that can be metering exposure compensation etc. done while looking through the viewfinder, some settings like camera profile and adjustments to that, high ISO NR etc. I have set up for birding in one bank and people in another. I do not do any adjustments in camera after the shot is taken.

I use LRC at some stage of my work flow 100% of the time. Even if I exported a no edit jpg from NX Studio for a non profits immediate need the jpg I created goes into LRC along with my RAW file for key wording and cataloging. I do not love editing but can spend quite a bit of time doing it for a important bird ID shot etc. that I did not get right in camera.

Unlike what we do, I have a pro friend who teaches, sells a bunch and owns two camera stores. He shoots in RAW and for a while was shooting in TIFF until the Z9 did not have that option. He does not edit after the shot except to crop in NX studio and export a jpg to his pro printing lab. He deletes any image that he would not print to sell without editing after the shot except for a few to show what not to do. He is amazingly fast at adjusting camera profile parameters etc. on the fly. I cannot even begin to do what he does at the speed he does it. However most of his photos are not crazy birder stuff

His wife like mine edits in NX Studio. For me NX Studio is to slow and cumbersome and no good keyword structure. I came to LRC from Apple Aperture when apple discontinued it. So like you LRC is what I do.

 

[macwalter]

I mainly do wildlife mostly birds and only occasionally landscape stuff. I rarely do people or human structures and if so I’m more inclined to just use my iPhone 15 pro max which has a decent image. I love action and have both z8s set up the same way and can carry too lenses usually primes. I don’t have to worry about getting things to people fast except on occasion when the guide might want a photo of a rarity. I can get to that pretty fast but not in the field. I know pro events photographers need to send stuff off while on location. I never have done that. When I first started I tried photo no but didn’t care for it. Interesting shooting in tiff. Why would that be an advantage? They are big files.
I can’t imagine being able to shoot and never have to do any processing. At least a crop. I occasionally will get a wildlife shot perfectly exposed in the right place in the frame and filling it properly but that is not a common occurrence for me. I like to Denoise things in most cases even when mostly clean and modify the background so it doesn’t impede too much on the subject. I do get carried away at times but I am just having fun and seeing what the software can do.

 

[Ken Miracle]

I mainly do wildlife mostly birds and only occasionally landscape stuff. I rarely do people or human structures and if so I’m more inclined to just use my iPhone 15 pro max which has a decent image. I love action and have both z8s set up the same way and can carry too lenses usually primes. I don’t have to worry about getting things to people fast except on occasion when the guide might want a photo of a rarity. I can get to that pretty fast but not in the field. I know pro events photographers need to send stuff off while on location. I never have done that. When I first started I tried photo no but didn’t care for it. Interesting shooting in tiff. Why would that be an advantage? They are big files.
I can’t imagine being able to shoot and never have to do any processing. At least a crop. I occasionally will get a wildlife shot perfectly exposed in the right place in the frame and filling it properly but that is not a common occurrence for me. I like to Denoise things in most cases even when mostly clean and modify the background so it doesn’t impede too much on the subject. I do get carried away at times but I am just having fun and seeing what the software can do.

Balmer the pro who liked to shoot in TIFF felt it gave him everything RAW did but it was to him a super jpg ready to print with camera settings etc. baked in. The pro lab he was using at the time told him to quit sending TIFF because the files were to large and they wanted jpg ... that is what I send to the same lab and their metal prints are gorgeous.

 

[agrumpybirdphotographer]

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.

Agree entirely. Never really got to grips with Topaz always get mixed results at best, now finding I use LR to denoise most of the time and very rarely drop anything in to PhotoAI. Will probably sack it off at next major (paid) update.

 

[Jaws]

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.

I have experienced the same thing with DeNoise in Photo AI where I often get results that don't look as realistic. Though, I have made some prints of those images, and they come out looking good.

 

[Jaws]

Topaz Photo AI overall has given me good results. I use the DeNoise and Sharpen features in it.

The DeNoise can sometimes be a little strong/over processed, but it does get rid of all of the noise. Though, when I have made prints (8x10 in size) they come out looking good. Maybe some of that is me zooming in too much and then thinking the DeNoise is over done.

The main issue I have is all of the bugs I have experienced with Photo AI. Their customer service people are quick to respond and give very good replies, and they confirmed my issues and said they are working on them. It's just that there are so many issues. Hopefully they finally get those bugs worked out.

The other issue I have is their program needs to be better at getting updated for the different camera models. I have had some issues using my Sony RX100 VII files with it. And they still don't support the Nikon Z6 III files. Every other program can now read the Z6 III files, but Topaz still cannot. The one good thing is their customer service people gave me a work around for the Z6 III files. I send my images to Photo AI from Lightroom, and if you convert your NEF files to DNG files, Photo AI will then be able to read and edit those files when you send them from Lightroom to Photo AI. That is fine, but by now I shouldn't have to be doing that as they should have updated their software by now for the Z6 III.

Overall I like the results I get from Photo AI, though I wish there weren't as many issues in trying to use it.

 

[MT_Dave]

I have Topaz and used to use it for de-noise high ISO photos.
I no longer use it and now use ON1 Photo Raw NoNoise AI

 

[macwalter]

I have been in contact with topaz and they seem to be trying to make improvements but he did say they are also trying to make an app that is easy to use. I told them that is fine as far as it goes but when you are doing wildlife and having to really push the capabilities of your gear you need more than just OK and need more control. I also told them that the sharpen algorithms are in many cases useless and way overdone. i mentioned the need for a masking option like in the original stand alones to allow you to reduce the amount of effect you are applying in critical areas. I also told them how it often crashes if you try to select custom and use the brush for just a specific area. I find it buggy but with decent images going in it can do an excellent job. I will say it has improved But has a ways to go. I also mentioned I was in a forum where many were disatisfied with the app. I didn’t say which forum though. If they ask I will just say I prefer not to say.

 

[macwalter]

I have not tried on 1 although I have it. I would rather not go there but if it is better I will certainly give it a go.

 

[JAJohnson]

The other issue I have is their program needs to be better at getting updated for the different camera models. I have had some issues using my Sony RX100 VII files with it. And they still don't support the Nikon Z6 III files. Every other program can now read the Z6 III files, but Topaz still cannot. The one good thing is their customer service people gave me a work around for the Z6 III files.

The problem I have with Photo AI isn’t reading Z6III RAW images, the problem is writing DNG output after denoise and/or sharpening. Apparently Topaz uses a 3rd party tool to write DNG but doesn’t itself support using Z6III RAW data as input. Topaz could not provide an estimate of when this would be resolved.

 

[macwalter]

Interesting, I do t use topaz for raw , I just use the tif version as it will end up there anyway after I use Nik.

 

[JoelKlein]

I have been in contact with topaz and they seem to be trying to make improvements but he did say they are also trying to make an app that is easy to use. I told them that is fine as far as it goes but when you are doing wildlife and having to really push the capabilities of your gear you need more than just OK and need more control. I also told them that the sharpen algorithms are in many cases useless and way overdone. i mentioned the need for a masking option like in the original stand alones to allow you to reduce the amount of effect you are applying in critical areas. I also told them how it often crashes if you try to select custom and use the brush for just a specific area. I find it buggy but with decent images going in it can do an excellent job. I will say it has improved But has a ways to go. I also mentioned I was in a forum where many were disatisfied with the app. I didn’t say which forum though. If they ask I will just say I prefer not to say.

They can google it.
For Topaz’s own sake they should read this thread.

 

[macwalter]

I agree but unfortunately I feel they are more concerned with convenience and for those who don’t want to take the extra time to get the most out of their photos. Look at iPhones and how they have taken over the photography market. People want easy and fast. We are a minority. Don’t mean to sound cynical.