My example of what Topaz AI can do (Page 2): :sm24:...

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

JRiepe wrote:

I use Topaz AI Denoise and AI Sharpen and am impressed with the results. I've used AI Sharpen on some of my old images that were soft and it has done a phenomenal job.

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

AzPicLady wrote:

I recently purchased Sharpen. I'm really impressed with what it can do. I guess my question would be, since Sharpen also does denoise, is there actually a need for a separate denoise program?

In the OP photo I ran the image through Topaz sharpen twice, first to correct for motion blur and a second time to adjust focus. The focus only did a tiny amount of improvement because the focus was already very good.

I turn the noise reduction all the way down on Topaz to speed the program up a bit. My work flow is LR => DxO PhotoLab 2 => LR => PS => LR. DxO does a very good job at noise reduction and further noise reduction is not needed.

russjc001 Loc: South Carolina

I am a fan of Topaz many products....they have Adjust AI, Sharpen AI, Gigapixel AI....etc. From the pictures used, when I look at the downloaded original that is posted and expand it to look at the exploded center section used as the example, it does not look like the pre-Topaz AI applied image at all. Good ad for Topaz though! 😁😁

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

SonyBug wrote:

Wow. And nice fall shot too.

Thank you. The leaves put on a spectacular show this year.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

AzPicLady wrote:

I recently purchased Sharpen. I'm really impressed with what it can do. I guess my question would be, since Sharpen also does denoise, is there actually a need for a separate denoise program?

I’ve found that if there’s enough noise Sharpen AI will sharpen the noise, even if I have it set for high denoise. Sometimes I use Denoise AI, sometimes I use Sharpen AI, and occasionally I’ll use both.

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

russjc001 wrote:

I am a fan of Topaz many products....they have Adjust AI, Sharpen AI, Gigapixel AI....etc. From the pictures used, when I look at the downloaded original that is posted and expand it to look at the exploded center section used as the example, it does not look like the pre-Topaz AI applied image at all. Good ad for Topaz though! 😁😁

That's because the full sized photo was the fully corrected image where Topaz was already used. The blurry image was the same image "Prior" to the application of Topaz. Were did you think the the blurry image came from?

Thanks for taking the time to look so closely at my work.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Delderby wrote:

Topaz did a good job. I see you used a Sony prime 600mm f4. Do all your pics with this lens come out similarly blurry?

Its motion blur and lack of contrast...most likely the leaves are moving slightly as some have it more than others. Also when adding glass in front of a lens there is always some deterioration. Regardless the OP made his point...Topaz is awesome.

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Remarkable.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

AzPicLady wrote:

I recently purchased Sharpen. I'm really impressed with what it can do. I guess my question would be, since Sharpen also does denoise, is there actually a need for a separate denoise program?

Of course, Gigapixel AI, Mask AI, JPEG To Raw AI, etc. all have their place in your photo processing batting order.
For this discussion, I am addressing my most frequently used Topaz products.
Always use Topaz Denoise AI first, if needed. ~ Think of the "Noise Suppression" function of Sharpen AI as DeNoise AI light.
Then use Topaz Sharpen AI. Think of the DSharpen function of Denoise AI as Sharpen light.
Only after using these two products, (in this order, if needed) use Topaz Adjust AI, Topaz Studio 2, LR, PS, etc.

After you start to feel comfortable using their products then give the following a try:
After loading a file select all of the "Full Auto" selections, run "Update", then . . select File, Preferences, Reset, and Close.
This allows the program to select the best/fastest settings for your computer.
Now select "Save Image" as you desire for the type of file, location, etc.

Another hint. Close all programs not in use as this will allow your computer to perform at its best.
After doing this, open "Task Manager" select "Performance" and watch the graphs to see if you have enough Memory/CPU etc.
Also: DO NOT select "Auto-Update Preview"!! It may be handy for making small changes but it will REALLY ADD to your processing times!

Tutorials:
Topaz Products FAQs: https://help.topazlabs.com/hc/en-us
Jim Nix Topaz: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jim+Nix+topaz
David Kelly Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dave+kelly+topaz
Best wishes and. . .
Smile,
JimmyT Sends

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

Jimmy T wrote:

Of course, Gigapixel AI, Mask AI, JPEG To Raw AI, ... (show quote)

Thanks for all the good links and ideas.

In this case my habit of running the image first through DxO was probably a waste of time as DxO does not provide correction module for the lens I used. Maybe the Topaz noise filter algorithm would have been just as good as DxO's noise reduction. At ISO=500 there really was not much noise to worry about.

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

PixelStan77 wrote:

I am a believer and owner of Topaz AI.

I use Topaz for most of my photo editing now. I have most of the stand-alone Topaz tools but I rarely use them; mostly I just use Topaz Studio (the old version, not Studio 2, which for some odd reason lacks some of the capabilities of the earlier version). I sometimes wonder whether the stand-alone tools would give me some advantage but I've never been able to convince myself that they would. On the other hand, Studio does a great job, provides a nice masking facility and pretty much all I need for most editing.

Still, I use LR initially for sorting, preliminary tone adjustments and for merging HDR and panorama shots. I rarely feel any need to use PS.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

AzPicLady wrote:

I recently purchased Sharpen. I'm really impressed with what it can do. I guess my question would be, since Sharpen also does denoise, is there actually a need for a separate denoise program?

DeNoise AI does an excellent job of noise reduction and has some sharpening capability. Sharpen AI does an excellent job of sharpening (Sharpen, Stabilize & Focus) and has mediocre noise reduction.

I have both programs and they work nicely together for the absolute best results...

bwa

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

Davethehiker wrote:

No, not at all! That was a Minolta 600mm f4 lens. ... (show quote)

Thanks for reply - clears up my wonderings about long reach primes - and also the value of Topaz apps.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Davethehiker wrote:

Thanks for all the good links and ideas.

In this case my habit of running the image first through DxO was probably a waste of time as DxO does not provide correction module for the lens I used. Maybe the Topaz noise filter algorithm would have been just as good as DxO's noise reduction. At ISO=500 there really was not much noise to worry about.

Dave:
I hope that I didn't step on your posting.
I'm a huge fan of Topaz products and maybe I should have sent a PM to AZPicLady.
I just thought that a lot of Topaz users could benefit from my "lessons learned" follow-up to both her and your posts.
See you around campus.
Best Wishes, Stay Healthy and
Smile,
JimmyT Sends

Pmortx

LOL!