Topaz Sharpen AI: Has anyone used or is using Topaz Sharpen AI? If so what do you think of it? I have the previous Topaz sharpening plug-in, non AI and I was not thrilled with it. I...

will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

Has anyone used or is using Topaz Sharpen AI? If so what do you think of it? I have the previous Topaz sharpening plug-in, non AI and I was not thrilled with it. I know I can get a free trial of AI Sharpen, but I am looking for comments from those who have or are using it. Thanks.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I have basically the same question--waiting on answers to Will.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

will47 wrote:

Has anyone used or is using Topaz Sharpen AI? If so what do you think of it? I have the previous Topaz sharpening plug-in, non AI and I was not thrilled with it. I know I can get a free trial of AI Sharpen, but I am looking for comments from those who have or are using it. Thanks.

I have sharpen a.i. and use it, it works, and when you need it, it is great to have it, BUT, I tend to use Denoise a.i. more, which includes sharpening features as well as clear a.i. functionality.

will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

Dngallagher wrote:

I have sharpen a.i. and use it, it works, and when you need it, it is great to have it, BUT, I tend to use Denoise a.i. more, which includes sharpening features as well as clear a.i. functionality.

I use the regular DeNoise with good results. I tried to use DeNoise AI and could never get it to work correctly.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The two at the top of the list are recent UHH topics and there's a link to another within one of them (found via the "simple" search because people created meaningful titles, like Will did

):

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/search-topic-list?q=sharpen+ai&sectnum=0&username=&srto=true

Seems a lot of folks have checked out this Topaz product.

Guzser02

Hi, I've used Topaz's Sharpen AI. I am very impressed with the "Stabilize" mode for motion blurness. I have used the other two modes (Sharpennin and Focus) but have come away unimpressed.

gtilford Loc: Woodstock, Ontario, Canada

On some photos it work great on other photos it adds pixelated blobs in the photo or tends to over sharpen areas. If you have an older computer it can take forever to render your image. So I have found that in some instances it works great in others not so much, it is a photo by photo trial.

promfh Loc: Redwood City, CA, USA

will47 wrote:

Has anyone used or is using Topaz Sharpen AI? If so what do you think of it? I have the previous Topaz sharpening plug-in, non AI and I was not thrilled with it. I know I can get a free trial of AI Sharpen, but I am looking for comments from those who have or are using it. Thanks.

Just as with any of the plethora of "Miracle Plugins", Sharpen AI works moderately well in certain circumstances. For me it's yet another tool in my expanding (expensive) tool box. There's no "Magic Wand" available that will easily correct the results of incorrect photo technique. You might be able to clear up a few minor faults but none of them are going to refocus, re-expose, or stabilize camera/subject motion.

You can go down to Pixel Peeping level and reconstruct portions of an image but that's essentially equivalent to creating a new picture to reimagine what the original might have looked like.

So, "There's no free lunch" applies here. That said, there are some pretty tasty "Bar Snacks" out there that can make life a little brighter and easier to get along with.

Pete Romfh

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

I was disappointed and didn't buy it.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

will47 wrote:

Has anyone used or is using Topaz Sharpen AI? If so what do you think of it? I have the previous Topaz sharpening plug-in, non AI and I was not thrilled with it. I know I can get a free trial of AI Sharpen, but I am looking for comments from those who have or are using it. Thanks.

I used it, with great results on the recently posted image of the Blue Angels over Los Angeles.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-611815-1.html

Rescued the slight blurriness shooting a moving target through the hazy atmosphere.

pahtspix

I'm On the 30 day trial now, and I'm not really finding this working for me at all..HOWEVER, I did get the upgrade to Denoise AI, and it also sharpens as well as quelling Noise.. I give THAT app 5 *****. The best APP I use it on virtually all of my high ISO images as a starting point before any edits, and it gives me a "clean slate" to begin my post processing..it really works, and I can't overstate the job it does!!

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

pahtspix wrote:

I'm On the 30 day trial now, and I'm not really finding this working for me at all..HOWEVER, I did get the upgrade to Denoise AI, and it also sharpens as well as quelling Noise.. I give THAT app 5 *****. The best APP I use it on virtually all of my high ISO images as a starting point before any edits, and it gives me a "clean slate" to begin my post processing..it really works, and I can't overstate the job it does!!

FWIW - take a look at Photolemur 3 as well. I use both Photolemur 3 & Denoise A.I. on most of my edits now.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

I was pretty skeptical about some of the claims Topaz was making, so I downloaded the 30 day trial and used it on some problem images that I had given up on. The most impressive one was an out of focus shot with a used Nikkor 24mm lens that was malfunctioning. Critical viewing at 100% showed the focus was off slightly on an entire set of photos I took. Using Sharpen AI (focus) as the first step in processing saved that image which I didn't think was possible, and I bought the plugin before my trial expired. Bear in mind Sharpen AI is very processor intensive and you'll wait a while for it to finish. YMMV.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I use Sharpen AI in my workflow and like it very much

Feiertag Loc: British Columbia, Canada

Linda From Maine wrote:

The two at the top of the list are recent UHH topics and there's a link to another within one of them (found via the "simple" search because people created meaningful titles, like Will did

):

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/search-topic-list?q=sharpen+ai&sectnum=0&username=&srto=true

Seems a lot of folks have checked out this Topaz product.

Good to see that you have returned, Linda.