Topaz Labs Sharpen AI test

**Craigbob** · 04-09-2019, 08:32 PM

A few months ago I heard about this new program from Topaz Labs called Sharpen AI, which is supposed to use machine based learning to sharpen photos better than anything else.

It handles Sharpening, Motion blur, and focus blur. I decided to try the 30 day trial and I have to admit I'm impressed with the results.

Below is a comparison the original Light room version and the Sharpen AI version done with Stabilize (motion) and Focus blurs removed.

I noticed the color difference between the two versions. I'm still figuring out the best workflow for this, as it has to be exported from LR/PS to work, so I might do this step first and save to TIFF then continue processing.

I'm only sorry I missed the introductory price. but for $80.00 it does a hell of a job.

Is anyone else here using it? WHat have you found as the best workflow?

Lightroom Output

LR then Sharpen AI Stabilize and Focus

LIghtroom Crop

Sharpen AI crop

Paul the Sunman · 04-09-2019, 09:18 PM

It's curious how the AI versions are desaturated. Can you get the colours back by increasing saturation?

**Terry C** · 04-09-2019, 09:24 PM

My current desktop is still running XP ( which I like ! ) so not compatible, but am presently setting up a new computer, so will give this a try.

**Craigbob** · 04-09-2019, 10:16 PM

Originally posted by Paul the Sunman

It's curious how the AI versions are desaturated. Can you get the colours back by increasing saturation?

I wondered the same thing so I brought the TIFF back into LR and did a quick exposure, contrast, vibrance, and saturation adjustments on them and got it back to what it should be.

LR Adjusted Sharpen AI

LR Adjusted Sharpen AI Crop

Paul the Sunman · 04-09-2019, 10:33 PM

The sharpening of the stamen is particularly impressive. Is denoise part of the same process? It is hard to separate sharpening and noise reduction.

nosliwmit · 04-10-2019, 12:39 AM

I've played with it a little bit. Have had some positive results but have noticed some distracting artifacts. On my 2013 vintage Win7 machine it's extraordinarily slow, like 30 minutes to process and save a photo...

**Craigbob** · 04-10-2019, 07:04 AM

Originally posted by Paul the Sunman

The sharpening of the stamen is particularly impressive. Is denoise part of the same process? It is hard to separate sharpening and noise reduction.

Yes there's a Denoise slider as well as an add grain slider. Adding grain is a lot more subtle then I'm used to.

vonBaloney · 04-10-2019, 01:56 PM

We just did a trial of this also and will be definitely buying it soon. Should be a big help to many of my "almost" pictures that I think are just a smidgen soft to do anything with. I would think that workflow-wise it should be the first step so it is working with the raw data before you start mucking with it.

On a side note, we also tried the Topaz Gigapixel AI for enlarging which is also pretty good. Probably pick that one up also.

**travelswsage** · 04-10-2019, 02:07 PM

Was wondering whether the ads were of the to good to be true variety, but those results are impressive. Thanks for postings and nice pic!

Paul the Sunman · 04-10-2019, 03:08 PM

Originally posted by vonBaloney

I would think that workflow-wise it should be the first step so it is working with the raw data before you start mucking with it.

That would be my preference too.

I wonder how many years it will take for this sort of functionality to appear in LR and the like. Obviously Topaz will have a patent on their version, but others will surely reinvent the wheel and come up with something similar.

All this reminds me of the chorus in the song "Rockin' the Suburbs" by Ben Folds

Just like Jon Bon Jovi did
I'm rockin' the suburbs
Except that he was talented
I'm rockin' the suburbs
I take the cheques and face the facts
That some producer with computers fixes all my shitty tracks

Just change "tracks" to "shots" and you have it. Photographic talent and technique no longer required; fix it all in post.

vonBaloney · 04-10-2019, 06:57 PM

Originally posted by Paul the Sunman

I wonder how many years it will take for this sort of functionality to appear in LR and the like. Obviously Topaz will have a patent on their version, but others will surely reinvent the wheel and come up with something similar.

Lightroom CC now has an "enhance details" function that can clean up things a bit, but it is very subtle. On my pictures I tried it on I struggled to tell the difference. (It works very fast, so it can't be doing too much computationally.) Seems geared towards architecture and things where there are lots of tiny lines.

How Good is the New Adobe Enhance Details Tool?

Paul the Sunman · 04-10-2019, 07:12 PM

Originally posted by vonBaloney

Lightroom CC now has an "enhance details" function that can clean up things a bit, but it is very subtle. On my pictures I tried it on I struggled to tell the difference. (It works very fast, so it can't be doing too much computationally.) Seems geared towards architecture and things where there are lots of tiny lines.

How Good is the New Adobe Enhance Details Tool?

I think it also greatly increases file size.

gatorguy · 04-11-2019, 08:11 AM

Originally posted by nosliwmit

I've played with it a little bit. Have had some positive results but have noticed some distracting artifacts. On my 2013 vintage Win7 machine it's extraordinarily slow, like 30 minutes to process and save a photo...

Mine is not exactly underpowered either but it is a relatively long process, and results with people have not been satisfactory in my opinion. They still have work to do on it before it's going to be part of my flow.

**Craigbob** · 04-11-2019, 08:30 AM

Originally posted by nosliwmit

I've played with it a little bit. Have had some positive results but have noticed some distracting artifacts. On my 2013 vintage Win7 machine it's extraordinarily slow, like 30 minutes to process and save a photo...

Make sure you're using the high performance GPU if you have one, also under preferences try setting it to use the CPU instead of the GPU and see if that makes a difference.

vonBaloney · 04-11-2019, 08:38 AM

I think some artifacts some of the time are probably inevitable with this type of thing. After all, it is trying to algorithmically determine what it *should* look like but doesn't. And remember the whole point of it is to save images that are borderline and you might not be able to use otherwise without some such process. So if there is some cleanup to be done with edges here and there I'm ok with that. If you're getting massive weird artifacts, then the original is probably not salvageable anyway. Of course, the thing might just be buggy. Dealing with different GPUs can be tricky business, so if you get a wonky result then yes try the CPU-only option and see if results are the same. Comparing CPU vs my AMD GPU so far we haven't seen any differences.

04-09-2019, 08:32 PM	#1
Craigbob Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: San Antonio, TX Photos: Albums Posts: 521	Topaz Labs Sharpen AI test A few months ago I heard about this new program from Topaz Labs called Sharpen AI, which is supposed to use machine based learning to sharpen photos better than anything else. It handles Sharpening, Motion blur, and focus blur. I decided to try the 30 day trial and I have to admit I'm impressed with the results. Below is a comparison the original Light room version and the Sharpen AI version done with Stabilize (motion) and Focus blurs removed. I noticed the color difference between the two versions. I'm still figuring out the best workflow for this, as it has to be exported from LR/PS to work, so I might do this step first and save to TIFF then continue processing. I'm only sorry I missed the introductory price. but for $80.00 it does a hell of a job. Is anyone else here using it? WHat have you found as the best workflow? Lightroom Output LR then Sharpen AI Stabilize and Focus LIghtroom Crop Sharpen AI crop

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04-09-2019, 09:18 PM	#2
Paul the Sunman Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,842	It's curious how the AI versions are desaturated. Can you get the colours back by increasing saturation?

04-09-2019, 09:24 PM	#3
Terry C Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: North west Tasmania. Photos: Gallery Posts: 604	My current desktop is still running XP ( which I like ! ) so not compatible, but am presently setting up a new computer, so will give this a try.

04-09-2019, 10:16 PM	#4
Craigbob Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: San Antonio, TX Photos: Albums Posts: 521 Original Poster	Originally posted by Paul the Sunman It's curious how the AI versions are desaturated. Can you get the colours back by increasing saturation? I wondered the same thing so I brought the TIFF back into LR and did a quick exposure, contrast, vibrance, and saturation adjustments on them and got it back to what it should be. LR Adjusted Sharpen AI LR Adjusted Sharpen AI Crop

04-09-2019, 10:33 PM	#5
Paul the Sunman Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,842	The sharpening of the stamen is particularly impressive. Is denoise part of the same process? It is hard to separate sharpening and noise reduction.

04-10-2019, 12:39 AM	#6
nosliwmit Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Pacific Northwest Photos: Gallery Posts: 913	I've played with it a little bit. Have had some positive results but have noticed some distracting artifacts. On my 2013 vintage Win7 machine it's extraordinarily slow, like 30 minutes to process and save a photo...

04-10-2019, 07:04 AM	#7
Craigbob Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: San Antonio, TX Photos: Albums Posts: 521 Original Poster	Originally posted by Paul the Sunman The sharpening of the stamen is particularly impressive. Is denoise part of the same process? It is hard to separate sharpening and noise reduction. Yes there's a Denoise slider as well as an add grain slider. Adding grain is a lot more subtle then I'm used to.

04-10-2019, 01:56 PM	#8
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	We just did a trial of this also and will be definitely buying it soon. Should be a big help to many of my "almost" pictures that I think are just a smidgen soft to do anything with. I would think that workflow-wise it should be the first step so it is working with the raw data before you start mucking with it. On a side note, we also tried the Topaz Gigapixel AI for enlarging which is also pretty good. Probably pick that one up also.

04-10-2019, 02:07 PM	#9
travelswsage Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2016 Posts: 385	Was wondering whether the ads were of the to good to be true variety, but those results are impressive. Thanks for postings and nice pic!

04-10-2019, 03:08 PM	#10
Paul the Sunman Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,842	Originally posted by vonBaloney I would think that workflow-wise it should be the first step so it is working with the raw data before you start mucking with it. That would be my preference too. I wonder how many years it will take for this sort of functionality to appear in LR and the like. Obviously Topaz will have a patent on their version, but others will surely reinvent the wheel and come up with something similar. All this reminds me of the chorus in the song "Rockin' the Suburbs" by Ben Folds Just like Jon Bon Jovi did I'm rockin' the suburbs Except that he was talented I'm rockin' the suburbs I take the cheques and face the facts That some producer with computers fixes all my shitty tracks Just change "tracks" to "shots" and you have it. Photographic talent and technique no longer required; fix it all in post.

04-10-2019, 06:57 PM	#11
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Originally posted by Paul the Sunman I wonder how many years it will take for this sort of functionality to appear in LR and the like. Obviously Topaz will have a patent on their version, but others will surely reinvent the wheel and come up with something similar. Lightroom CC now has an "enhance details" function that can clean up things a bit, but it is very subtle. On my pictures I tried it on I struggled to tell the difference. (It works very fast, so it can't be doing too much computationally.) Seems geared towards architecture and things where there are lots of tiny lines. How Good is the New Adobe Enhance Details Tool?

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04-10-2019, 07:12 PM	#12
Paul the Sunman Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,842	Originally posted by vonBaloney Lightroom CC now has an "enhance details" function that can clean up things a bit, but it is very subtle. On my pictures I tried it on I struggled to tell the difference. (It works very fast, so it can't be doing too much computationally.) Seems geared towards architecture and things where there are lots of tiny lines. How Good is the New Adobe Enhance Details Tool? I think it also greatly increases file size.

04-11-2019, 08:11 AM	#13
gatorguy Moderator Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Central Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,089	Originally posted by nosliwmit I've played with it a little bit. Have had some positive results but have noticed some distracting artifacts. On my 2013 vintage Win7 machine it's extraordinarily slow, like 30 minutes to process and save a photo... Mine is not exactly underpowered either but it is a relatively long process, and results with people have not been satisfactory in my opinion. They still have work to do on it before it's going to be part of my flow.

04-11-2019, 08:30 AM	#14
Craigbob Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: San Antonio, TX Photos: Albums Posts: 521 Original Poster	Originally posted by nosliwmit I've played with it a little bit. Have had some positive results but have noticed some distracting artifacts. On my 2013 vintage Win7 machine it's extraordinarily slow, like 30 minutes to process and save a photo... Make sure you're using the high performance GPU if you have one, also under preferences try setting it to use the CPU instead of the GPU and see if that makes a difference.

04-11-2019, 08:38 AM	#15
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	I think some artifacts some of the time are probably inevitable with this type of thing. After all, it is trying to algorithmically determine what it should look like but doesn't. And remember the whole point of it is to save images that are borderline and you might not be able to use otherwise without some such process. So if there is some cleanup to be done with edges here and there I'm ok with that. If you're getting massive weird artifacts, then the original is probably not salvageable anyway. Of course, the thing might just be buggy. Dealing with different GPUs can be tricky business, so if you get a wonky result then yes try the CPU-only option and see if results are the same. Comparing CPU vs my AMD GPU so far we haven't seen any differences.