Topaz: I saw Topaz Sharpen referenced in a thread I was reading, so I decided to look into it. Back some time ago someone had suggested that I look at Topaz, but I never did. Frankly...

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I saw Topaz Sharpen referenced in a thread I was reading, so I decided to look into it. Back some time ago someone had suggested that I look at Topaz, but I never did. Frankly, I don't think the Suite is for me. I simply don't do the sort of things it's made for. But I did look at the Sharpen module. It looked promising, and since I'm truly envious of all the really sharp shots that y'all seem to get (and I never do!), I decided to try it. So, I'm in for the 30-day trial. I've done several shots, sometimes using the "sharpen," and sometimes the "stabilize." What I saw on the screen blew me away! So I saved them. However, when I open those saved images in LR, they don't look any different than before. Guess something didn't work. But if this program does what it's supposed to do, it could sure save some images for me!

SnappyHappy Loc: Chapin, SC “The Capitol of Lake Murray”

I’ve used Topaz Sharpen for a couple of versions, but not the trial. I don’t understand what could have went missing in your saved files. If you decide to buy any of the Topaz modules a friend of mine has a discount with them. Use “Mariana15” as a discount code to save 15%. Topaz offers some great products in my opinion...hope you can figure out what went wrong with your saves.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

SnappyHappy wrote:

I’ve used Topaz Sharpen for a couple of versions, but not the trial. I don’t understand what could have went missing in your saved files. If you decide to buy any of the Topaz modules a friend of mine has a discount with them. Use “Mariana15” as a discount code to save 15%. Topaz offers some great products in my opinion...hope you can figure out what went wrong with your saves.

Woohoo! Thanks. I was really excited - until I got them into LR. I've got to figure that out.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

LR sharpening gets me there 95% of the time, but PS has even more sophisticated sharpening tools and techniques for that last 5%, so I don't use Topaz Sharpen AI very often. Topaz DeNoise, IMHO, is better than the tools in LR and PS and it's easy to learn.

Once installed you can reach TopazStudio2 and sharpenAI directly from Lightroom under the Photo -> Edit in menu. You can reach both DeNoise and Sharpen directly from PS under the filter menu.

For sharpening, the best option is to avoid the need to use it in PP. There are plenty of online tutorials on how to take sharp pictures. If you need to raise the ISO to get faster shutter speeds to avoid camera shake, or you are in a very poor light situation, take multiple shots and stack them to reduce the noise.

Woodsman Loc: North of Peterborough Ontario

I tried Sharpen AI but found it hit and miss on results for me. I do use DeNoise though. If your using it as a plugin try saving the image as a TIF and taking it into the standalone Topaz program. I found with DeNoise if I use it as a Photoshop plug in Denoise looks great on screen, processes but does not bring the changes into Photoshop. Using Topaz standalone solves that. Also when using the standalone version after it is processed and saved it should have renamed the file with something like _sharpen at the end of the filename. Be sure your looking at that processed file.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

AzPicLady wrote:

Woohoo! Thanks. I was really excited - until I got them into LR. I've got to figure that out.

Normally, use the “edit in” feature of Lightroom by right clicking on the image, that creates a Tiff file, stacks it with the original and opens up Sharpen A.I. On the Tiff. When you “apply” the sharpen settings, the Tiff file is re-saved, and once back in Lightroom you should see the edited Tiff beside the original.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Strodav wrote:

LR sharpening gets me there 95% of the time, but P... (show quote)

Thanks for your response. Between shaky hands and not-so-wonderful lenses, I really struggle with sharpness. No amount of using a tripod helps when the lens just isn't sharp! I'm going to continue to look into this as a possibility of salvaging some images.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Woodsman wrote:

I tried Sharpen AI but found it hit and miss on re... (show quote)

Yes, I deliberately imported the new file. And the trial version, I guess, is a stand-alone only. Although perhaps it can be accessed via PS. I was sort of assuming it would also be via LR, but perhaps not. Part of the sharpening seems to be a denoise setting, and I do need to play with that some. Thanks so much for your info.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Dngallagher wrote:

Normally, use the “edit in” feature of Lightroom by right clicking on the image, that creates a Tiff file, stacks it with the original and opens up Sharpen A.I. On the Tiff. When you “apply” the sharpen settings, the Tiff file is re-saved, and once back in Lightroom you should see the edited Tiff beside the original.

Actually, I didn't access it via LR, but directly. Then I imported the newly created files into LR. I'm still working on this. Thanks so much.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

AzPicLady wrote:

Thanks for your response. Between shaky hands and not-so-wonderful lenses, I really struggle with sharpness. No amount of using a tripod helps when the lens just isn't sharp! I'm going to continue to look into this as a possibility of salvaging some images.

FWIW - I fine tune all my lenses using FoCal on my 90D. It easily gets the AF fine tune setting where it is needed to be quickly. That and proper shutter speed gets the image in the ball park. sharpen A.I. does a good job to tweak things either by sharpening or stabilize, sometimes you need both.

DaveJ Loc: NE Missouri

I have had Topaz Sharpen and Denoise since last December. I use DeNoise a lot and highly recommend it. I have used Sharpen with mixed results. I can only recommend it you have money burning a hole in your pocket. I also have a 15% off code on any Topaz product which I'll be happy to share by Private message for anyone wanting it.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Dngallagher wrote:

FWIW - I fine tune all my lenses using FoCal on my 90D. It easily gets the AF fine tune setting where it is needed to be quickly. That and proper shutter speed gets the image in the ball park. sharpen A.I. does a good job to tweak things either by sharpening or stabilize, sometimes you need both.

Actually, my new camera and the lens are currently getting a tune up. Hopefully they're learning to play together.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

DaveJ wrote:

I have had Topaz Sharpen and Denoise since last December. I use DeNoise a lot and highly recommend it. I have used Sharpen with mixed results. I can only recommend it you have money burning a hole in your pocket. I also have a 15% off code on any Topaz product which I'll be happy to share by Private message for anyone wanting it.

Thanks. I do find it a bit pricey. So thank you!

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

My base program PSPro asks when I use Save As... what level of file resolution I want.

One of the webinars the presenter mentioned that he puts the sliders far-right and backs off till the photo looks good and then a tad more, otherwise, the photo may be "overcooked" when saved and reopened. What you see and what you save my differ.

SHWeiss

I have found LR sometimes forgets to update the metadata. You can see the changes in the library module but not develop module. Try updating metadata, if no change, switch to another directory and switch back to the one with your new photo