Doc Barry Loc: Huntsville, Alabama USA

You have a problem somewhere in your system. I don’t observe any such behavior.

DanielJDLM

I agree...have been using the software on a trial basis for several days, and it is not that slow, and does an amazing job in my humble opinion.

cascoly Loc: seattle

wrong application of 2nd law - it's not a closed system once you add the ai software - i ve been using it for several months and have not found it adding elements not in the originals

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Download the trial and I’m not impressed. Granted, I only tried it on one image, but I saw no appreciable improvement that corresponds to the money asked for.

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

Topaz A I solutions all seem to be very graphics card dependent. I have a 2011 imac with graphics done by the main processor so im definitely at the bottom range. I tested the previous version of Topaz Sharpen and it was unusable on my computer. I downed the new version yesterday and while not fast it worked. But and this is the big one I ran the same images thru on1 (2019 and 2020 beta) and I couldn’t seen any specific advantage to Topaz so even at $50 I already own a solution that works as well.

I will give Topaz Labs a bit of a backhanded compliment - after releasing 11 updates to Topaz 2 (release not beta) it finally works for the most part. Compare that to on1 2020 BETA which worked right out of the box with no problems and 2 times faster on my computer with 2019. I like TS2 for the artistic presets it does but I've given up on the rest of their software until I buy my next super computer.

tomcat

I mostly agree with Howard's points. My computer is a 2011 iMac desktop, maxed out with 32 gigs of RAM. I disable my video card for LR and whether it speeds up Topaz I don't know. But this I do know that Topaz runs great on my 8-year old Mac. The processor is a 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7. The video card (currently disabled) is an AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1024 MB. So is it "kick-ass"---not sure, but it is a Mac and it does run fast, even for it's age. So if you are having a problem with Topaz, don't blame the program--either upgrade or quit griping!!

tomcat

I shoot 100% in raw also, but I have not found raw to be an advantage with a slightly OOF image. However, Topaz Sharpen AI can restore the sharpness and the focus for those images. I never discard any images that are OOF now because a lot of them are rescuable. So I am puzzled somewhat by the way that you phrased your comment that when you shoot in raw you don't see the need to use Sharpen AI. Am I missing something about raw files?

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Based on my extensive use of it during the trial period I found it was very effective at fixing images that lacked significant sharpness and were even a bit OOF. However, for images that are shot with good lenses known for their sharpness and using proper technique when shooting, I found that for those images there was no advantage applying sharpening via topaz compared to the excellent built in sharpening of DXO Photolab Elite, my raw converter of choice.

For fixing very soft images resulting from mediocre lenses, poor technique, or the occasional bad shot when we mess up, Topaz was remarkably good at sharpening those images and rendering them usable. But, the number of images I shoot that are extremely OOF or are extremely soft that would be better served by Topaz are few and far between. As a result I can get equally good results with my images applying sharpening directly against my raw files in Photolab and cannot justify the high expense for this very limited functionality program.

For those who have a difficult time shooting images that are not soft, the tool is highly recommended. For the rest of us, not so much. I don't want or need software for a one in one hundred grossly out of focus shot. It won't turn a badly OOF image into a great one, it will just make it more useable.

tomcat

Good explanation. I was wondering if you had some "magic" raw processor that fixed everything. I shoot a ton of high school sports. Outdoors I shoot a D500 with Nikon's 70-200mm VR II lens. Indoors, due to the really poor lighting, I have to shoot with a D3s with Sigma Art 135mm lens at f/1.8 and Nikon's 85mm f/1.8 lens. However, given the fact that there are constantly variable subject-to-camera distances and spastic athletic movements, I still get a few OOF images. And adding to this is my 71-year old body that is slowly losing the quickness and anticipation. Outdoors my keeper rate is very high. Indoors, the keeper rate is a lot less, just due to the quicker pace of volleyball and basketball movements. Topaz Sharpen AI has helped the keeper rate go up with adding a touch of sharpness back to those slightly OOF images.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Please don't misunderstand me, there's nothing wrong with Topaz. The only reason I downloaded it in the first place is because someone online on a different site posted a badly out-of-focus image and asked for assistance. Everyone who saw it indicated that image was not salvageable, so I decided to see what Topaz would do. It was remarkably capable at making an extremely unusable picture much more usable, which was the shooter's goal as this was a special shot and could not be recaptured. But the general IQ was still pretty mediocre. Topaz does one thing, and does it well, however it's fairly pricy based on its limited functionality. Given how infrequently I would need to use it, I can't justify the price.

tomcat

Gotcha! I didn't mean to give you the impression that I was misunderstanding your point with Topaz. I find that I use it a lot more lately than before to add that extra sharpness for the sports shots. For those portraits that I occasionally take, I seldom use it because it adds too much sharpness to an already excellent image. It's another one of those tools that you have to be careful when not to use, especially with men. Take care, tomcat on the prowl......

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

My computer with 3.60 GH, Multi-core, Hyper-threaded processor; 480 GB SSD Drive; 16 GB RAM; NVIDIA Graphics Card w/2 GB RAM is not the most high-powered ever but has proven to be totally capable of running the dozen or more photo-processing programs I have tested in the last year – and at good speed. The computer is NOT responsible for changing colors, GREATLY darkening and introducing noise into processed photos as I and others have found with the Topaz AI product. There were no people in my test pictures, so I did not observe the noted phenomenon of faces being blotched, but what I did observe certainly does not make me doubt that. NO OTHER software I have tested/used makes these changes, and all run at quite acceptable speeds. Even though there was some slight improvement in sharpening (but not appreciably more than in other software), for me the negatives – and only occasional use – certainly are overwhelming.

On another subject, I am a user of ON1 Photo RAW, and find the new ON1 Photo RAW 2020 in all regards to be better than anything else I have used – or tried.

Loren – in Beautiful Baguio City

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

I have used it successfully many times.

It can be a little slow but seems to run faster as a standalone than it does inside of Photoshop.

tomcat

I've used Sharpen AI on hundreds of images and I've NEVER seen any darkening, noise added, or blotching of faces as you and others in this thread have described. So if I am NOT seeing it, then it can only be certain combinations of computer specs that are making these flawed results.

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

Even were that to be true, I still would not use it because of marginal/questionable performance vs other mainstream processing programs which work just fine for me. I have few problems; perhaps the program negatively affects only good images, while effecting some degree of correction for the bad ones!

Pick any subject you wish - there never is unanimity of views here!!! One may assess all the known pertinent factors - it seems that there are others of a lesser degree of obviousness - perhaps not recognized at all!!! And that which is of a high level of importance to one may be inconsequential to another!!!

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City