neillaubenthal

OK, couple of questions about plugins. Been lurking quite awhile but generally I'm not a frequent poster.

I use Lightroom and occasionally Photoshop on a Mac and want to better my final output images, they're almost exclusively used for my blog.

1. Nik vs Topaz. I've got the entire Nik collection that I got at a discount awhile back and do use it…but several photog friends here in the RV park (we live in one full time) have suggested Topaz Adjust. Before I went to the trouble of downloading and playing with the trial…I figured I would ask here to see if there's really any improvement either image wise or process wise over using the tools in Nik. I also have the free version of Perfect Effects 8 but frankly haven't used it that much. I would likely only get Topaz Adjust since I can't justify the 500 bucks for the whole package.

2. Noiseless vs Topaz DeNoise. Same question…is this worth it or not?

We travel about 7 months of the year and I put probably 30 pictures a week up on our blog…mostly read by family and friends. Nothing commercial and little to nothing that's not on the web. I've found that Nik and Noiseless do a pretty decent job but haven't tried them against Topaz products…just wondering if the 125 bucks or so for the two Topaz tools is worth it or if they're just different ways of doing the same stuff.

Thanks.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Myself I have the Topaz plugins - most of them. Rarely use Adjust anymore, mostly it is Denoise that I go to.

Editing from raw files done in Lightroom and Photoshop, sometimes making use of denoise when required.

That being said, NIK are good plugins as well. I looked at Nik when I first started, but ended up going with Topaz.

You can always download the Topaz trials and run them for head to head comparisons. Costs nothing to do that, and if you decide to go Topaz, you pay the fee and get the license code to activate the plugin.

djtravels Loc: Georgia boy now

I don't use Nik but can advise you that if you go for a Topaz product sign up for one of their webinars. Each one offers a (usually)25% discount on any product. I do have Adjust 5 and Denoise both. I like them but can't compare to Nik products. Search for a webinar with Topaz Labs. Good hunting. djt

wsnyder Loc: Illinois

Don't know much about Topaz, but since you use a Mac, you might give some thought to Macphun ( Mac only so far). Very user friendly, and no overwhelming learning curve. Much less expensive, and free trails available. I have most of their apps, and am completely happy.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

If you are/were happy with what you have, why change?

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

I have all the Topaz, but rarely use any thing beyond the basics..
DeNoise, now on $49 special just upgraded to 6.00. No charge for a life time of upgrades. Soon the price will go back up to $79... so do not debate too long.

Detail, buying out fine structure... excellent

Clarity, for color/color-contrast manipulation.

Adjust was the first and has a sprinkle of all of the Topaz programs that grew from those seeds.

I have PSE 13, but since topaz will take care of most things one can use PSE 13 until Windows 23 upgrades to 128 bit op system!! in 2044!!!

PSE can be augmented by adding Elements plus for $12
http://elementsplus.net/en_US/overview.htm

For resizing to send on net ... use free program... www.faststone.org
Faststone Resize.

Lazy J Loc: Pacific Northwest

Topaz plugins are like potato chips. You always intend to have just one, but .........you know how that goes.

As posters have already stated, Denoise is currently on sale now for $49, and you can usually get others through webinar discounts. Or, you can wait until the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays when Topaz has typically put all there plugins on sale for 50% off.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Nick has excellent software and useful "color points" to work with the images. Their b&w plug-in is excellent and many photographers use it for their conversions.
I use Topaz Denoise and Adjust 5, both excellent also. Using Adjust I tend to use presets but I end up reducing the effect around 50% to make the file more realistic.
If you are happy with Nick I see no reasons to get anything else.

neillaubenthal

Thanks all…I'll give the webinar idea a try and maybe download the trials as well…I do have several of the MacPhun apps…Noiseless and Snapheal Pro so was aware of them.

I'm mostly happy with what I have so far…but if there were some great features or ease of use that I don't know about then having never really tried them I wouldn't know whether it was worth it to switch…hence the question.

It's a lot like the typical Ford/Chevy or Mac/Windows argument I guess…they're just tools in the end and if it works then it works…but on the other hand there's clearly a difference between a Craftsman tool and a Blue Light Special tool in a lot of cases…in which maybe the better tool is a good idea. I'll add the demo/webinar to my endless list of "Things I need to check out"…in fact the demo was already there…I just wasn't sure if there were any great advances with Topaz over what I am currently using.

Thanks.

James56 Loc: Nashville, Tennessee

I use both Topaz Adjust and DeNoise on all of my photographs. Topaz has made DeNoise a stand alone program, meaning it no longer requires a host editor program. I expect Adjust will be stand along too, but for now, it requires a host program like Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Lightroom. Adjust was my first Topaz product to buy and fell in love with it. The secret for me is to use it manually rather than the presets, then just make slight adjustments to color, detail and then add a slight vignette. You can see the results of using this software in my portfolio's listed below in my signature line if your curious. Adjust can bring that missing pop to your photos and it has some nice HDR presets as well.

Zeke4351 Loc: Kentucky

I have Nik and all the Topaz plugins. I like them both but use Topaz the most. Onone 10 is also great. I didn't really get to using any of my plugins until I watched hours of YouTube videos about each of them. They are all great and can be used to make beautiful photographs from same as throw away shots.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Neil,
Years ago, I did the purchase plug-in phase of my editing. Wow, were they cool. As of late, like the last year, I find I can accomplish pretty much everything in PS and rarely use the plugins.
--Bob

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Double post

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

I am starting to reach that same point I think... I still make use of a few plugins, but find more and more I am going to Photoshop to finish my images and can do so without much of a need for plugins anymore. I will still use DeNoise from Topaz, but that is almost it.

amkras Loc: NY

I have both Nik and all of the Topaz filters. Lately I find I rarely use Adjust for basic tweaking. I prefer what Nik has to offer.I do like to use Denoise and Clarity. I like to play with several of the Topaz special effects. Texture and Impressions are awesome. I also use Simplify a lot. They do have 30 day free trials so why not check them out.