Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Has/is anyone going to upgrade to the new version for $59.00? If so why/why not?

jdtonkinson Loc: Red Wing, MN

Jack
Do you recommend using Topaz Denoise?
Primarily I use photoshopping elements currently

Jim

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

The current version of DeNoise is a regular part of my work flow. I could probably do without it but I wouldn't want to.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Are you talking about an upgrade from version 1 to version 2 or if you already have version 2 are you talking about the most recent update to 2.3?

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Sorry I should have been more clear--2.3.1

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

If you are already using Topaz DeNoise AI 2.x the update to 2.3.1 is free.

Ron 717 Loc: Pennsylvania

The free updates are only good for a year, after which Topaz sells another year of updates for a fee.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

I tried DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI free for a month - good results but soooo slow. I spoke to their techie and he said that although I have a brand new MacBook Pro my i5 chip doesn't meet their minimum requirements - I would have needed to get the i7 chip or faster. So, I learned how to do noise reduction with optimal sharpening in Affinity Photo and am very satisfied with results. For certain lighting conditions the Topaz AI would yield better results but for 95%+ of my shots my processing is as good.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I have been using Denoise AI, the 2.3.1 version but for one reason or another I am not getting the results other talk about. Since I still have Denoise 6, the old version, that is what I have been using with better results than AI.
When I use AI now it is to use AI Clear to add some sharpness to my images.

artesdecobo

I have upgraded to version 2.3.1 and it is well worth it. Why?

This latest version is faster for rendering the final output, but more importantly it incorporates a split screen option where you can visibly compare four (4) versions of your image: One of the original file, one in AI Clear, one in Denoise AI and the fourth in Denoise Low Light. You can clearly see any noise/artifacts evident between the four and select the one which looks best. Then select that version and render.

Bubba

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

4 points
1. Topaz is terrible for putting out versions that are basically betas. On the FB pages there a tons of people complaining the new versions are so bad they can’t use them (freezing, doing nothing, and crashing are the biggest complaints) with pc users having the biggest issues
2. Their code is poorly written which causes the performance issues especially with the pattern matching and machine learning which is what they call AI, which it isn’t. I use a 2011 iMac and have zero performance issues with lots of other apps doing pm and ml such as PhotoShop , LightRoom , On1 , even Luminar 4. I have no better results on a new mbp i7, max ram, and an SSD drive. In fact, often the iMac is faster on same image.
3. Their pricing model is a ripoff. Used to be you bought a product and got free versions for life. That is not sustainable unless you continue to increase your customer base at a rate higher than the revenue you would get from charging upgrades. If you purchased up to about a year ago you are grandfathered into free upgrades for life for THE products you own. It is easy for a company to rebadge a product and claim it is new and not covered by the lifetime upgrade policy. They replaced that with the new policy which is a hybrid of perpetual and SaaS-based pricing. Perpetual because you own whatever product for life and SaaS because have a contractual process that charges you a set fee yearly. No problem, other than the set fee is way too high based on the norm for software. It is a sign of financial issues and a red flag.
4. Ive tried all the versions of topaz and found their results to be sketchy at best with one noticeable exception, Topaz Studio 2. It is not under the draconic pricing model probably because they arent doing on any work on it. It includes AI Clear which often does a better job of both denoising and sharpening than the expensive standalone they sell.

My 2 cents

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Bought it, use it, love it!

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

I was an early adopter of topaz denoise, starting with denoise 6 and transitioning to AI. My license stopped at v2.2.12 and I don't plan on buying any updates for at least a year.

My observations are there is not much improvement in the denoising results. Almost all of the revisions have been associated with fixing bugs or changing UI feel, but no real improvement in image quality. My biggest problems with them had been their very buggy update process. I came to expect this to take a week of emails back and forth to get many updates installed correctly. Their programmers leave a lot to be desired.

I like the ease of denoising with Topaz, but I can get similar results with technique, PS or denoise 6, just not as easily.

I'm also not against license/maintenance fees. But Topaz fees, for the value you receive, are exorbitant. I have more than one product, so my new annual license fees will be as much as my annual subscription to Adobe. Topaz does not give me nearly the same value as what I receive from Adobe, but they want just as much.

So for me, I'll use what I have for the next year. If Topaz makes any significant improvement in image quality, not performance or new UI, I'll reconsider.

Just my opinion.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

I have to totally agree with your first point! I've had far too many upgrades that either wouldn't install or wouldn't run after installation!! I dislike being a Beta tester for a company unless being paid to do so.

I do like their products BUT wish they'd get their act together regarding quality control!

bwa

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

I upgraded. Don't know that it's *terribly* better than the previous, but, then, the jury is still walking in...