Sharpening software?

jerry12953

jerry12953

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Name
Jeremy Moore
Edit My Images
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I've got one particular photo which needs selectively sharpening. (I've posted it in the "Nature - Wild and Free" forum, btw....) I have an old trial version of Topaz Sharpen which does a really good job of the sharpening but because its only a trial has a watermark on it. If Sharpen was available as a standalone i'd buy it but I really can't justify buying the whole AI suite. I can't find an alternative - can anyone suggest one?
 
If you could stomach the likely cost of Sharpen AI then as a previous trial user they might be willing to take your money???

Can't hurt to drop them a support ticket to ask the question?
 
I find photo ai substandard compared to sharpen ai. It is by far it's worst module! Sharpen ai can deal with fairly minor out of focus or blur in one single direction. Not both

If it's a one off you may as well just ask someone to help, and just make sure it is up to standard right away next time
 
if we were talking about this specific image, in fact you have up to 3 choices:

1. Accept the focus is on otter and do NOTHING. It is not very natural to have dual focus images and heron is substantially out of focus enough that you would be running the more aggressive very blurry algorithm in sharpen AI, which rarely gives that great results and pretty much has to re-invent all the missing details. If you are thinking of using this image for any competitions then this is clearly the way to go

2. Use a very similar frame taken seconds earlier or later with focus the desired part, then blend in as needed. This will give by far the most natural in-focus result, except the dual-focus character which to be honest may be not too noticeable for the uneducated general public.

3. Apply lens blur to further exaggerate the effect drawing more emphasis on the subject already in good focus.

in any case it probably asks for a little bit of selective dodging and burning to bring the attention to the otters. Heron is pretty big and bright, so he wants to be the main hero, but really is not...
 
LongLensPhotography said:
I find photo ai substandard compared to sharpen ai. It is by far it's worst module! Sharpen ai can deal with fairly minor out of focus or blur in one single direction. Not both

If it's a one off you may as well just ask someone to help, and just make sure it is up to standard right away next time
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That's interesting. The Sharpen AI version is pretty good and I'm just trying out a few different versions of sharpening in Photo AI.
 
jerry12953 said:
So far none of my efforts with PhotoAI have come up with a result as good as that provided by Sharpen AI.
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good to know it is not just me then
 
My go-to is focus magic if I need a to bump up the sharpening (not tried any of the AI stuff yet) my old favorite now free is Photokit sharpener, great sharpening plug in. You can download it free from link It was made by the people who worked on Lightrooms sharpening.
 
jerry12953 said:
Is there any way of getting hold of a copy of superceded software like Sharpen AI?
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IIRC when the trial version runs or indeed expires there is a "buy" button option on the splash screen.

Though you say you have an old copy, what does clicking on the 'buy' do?

IIRC I have kept all versions of the downloads so could try a WeTransfer to you but I need to check the file size as IIRC the free service is limited to 2GB file size.
 
Box Brownie said:
IIRC when the trial version runs or indeed expires there is a "buy" button option on the splash screen.

Though you say you have an old copy, what does clicking on the 'buy' do?

IIRC I have kept all versions of the downloads so could try a WeTransfer to you but I need to check the file size as IIRC the free service is limited to 2GB file size.
Click to expand...


If you click Buy you just get taken to Photo AI. I've emailed Topaz Support as you suggested. We'll see what they say.
 
I’ve got an old copy of sharpen AI , to be honest for the amount of times I use it it’s not worth buying the new version, I mostly used it for old pictures, hopefully now my technique is better
It is annoying that when I use it I get a pop up saying that my version is out of date with an option to buy the new one, it’s annoying because I paid for the version I have
 
LCPete said:
I’ve got an old copy of sharpen AI , to be honest for the amount of times I use it it’s not worth buying the new version, I mostly used it for old pictures, hopefully now my technique is better
It is annoying that when I use it I get a pop up saying that my version is out of date with an option to buy the new one, it’s annoying because I paid for the version I have
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If my experience is anything to go by you're better off with the old version you already have.......
 
jerry12953 said:
If my experience is anything to go by you're better off with the old version you already have.......
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Ahh I see thanks , I was tempted but will stick with what I have :)
 
jerry12953 said:
Just to clarify, my trial version is 3.1.2. :)
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That IIRC is fairly current i.e. I think the latest is v3.2.2

So as you say in post #12, you will have to see what Topaz say :thinking:
 
Box Brownie said:
IIRC I have kept all versions of the downloads so could try a WeTransfer to you but I need to check the file size as IIRC the free service is limited to 2GB file size.
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that is actually a very good idea with them, as long as you can have the full download with all the models.

Not long ago I was testing client's video ai older version installation and it just would not download any more models. Upgrade or suck it up. A bloody good inspiration to shoot flawless content.
 
In case it helps?

I have found the community site where all the v3.3 dot releases are shown and "full" installer packages are there for downloads

community.topazlabs.com

Sharpen AI v3.3

v3.3.6 Released February 4th, 2022 Windows: Online | Full Mac: Online | Full Changes Fixed some permissions issues when installing on windows Fixed authentication issue for certain operating system versions Fixed wrong file suffix being applied while using auto model Fixed issue with...
community.topazlabs.com community.topazlabs.com

And version series 3.1 dots

community.topazlabs.com

Sharpen AI v3.1

v3.1.2 Released June 9th, 2021 Windows: Online | Full (Win 10) | Full Legacy (Win 7/8) Mac: Online | Full Fixes Fixed some pixel shifting between the original and preview Fixed errors related to installing plugins Fixed errors opening Sharpen AI on Windows 7 machines Fixed Find Objects...
community.topazlabs.com community.topazlabs.com
 
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jerry12953 said:
No reply from Topaz yet......

I've downloaded a trail of v4.1.0 from the link Box Brownie sent (thanks!) and again it does an excellent job of sharpening the heron but has the watermark across it. :(
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While you are awaiting their response..
Can I suggest you join the Topaz community forum and start (or find?) a conversation in regard to the matter.

Though I have Photo AI primarily to use when/if/as needed the Remove function, I too like Sharpen AI and you say it does work nicely:)
 
I really don't like what Photo Ai does to a photo, though I loved the stand alone denoise AI, less so Sharpen AI as I found it too harsh. Since they stopped the stand alone versions I have moved to the Nik collection ( should really say back to ) even though I only use the pre sharpen part of it...
 
turbotoes said:
Sharpen AI as I found it too harsh
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You may have used way too strong settings, and defaults are usually insane. Stay well within 20% of everything, maybe closer to 10 and it works. You also have to use the correct model for each problem you are trying to fix, whether this was slightly OOF, or a very minor single direction motion blur, and you can't solve both at once.
 
jerry12953 said:
No reply from Topaz. They obviously just want to sell Photo AI.

Does anyone know the ins and outs of buying used software?
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That is galling to not have received any (meaningful?) response.

AFAIK you cannot buy 'used Topaz' software. The original purchase is linked to the buyers email with a unique license number. Possibly, also when first registered the Topaz servers use the owners IP address or even a hash number based on the computer Identity???
 
Box Brownie said:
That is galling to not have received any (meaningful?) response.

AFAIK you cannot buy 'used Topaz' software. The original purchase is linked to the buyers email with a unique license number. Possibly, also when first registered the Topaz servers use the owners IP address or even a hash number based on the computer Identity???
Click to expand...

I suppose I was clutching at straws....... :(
 
Box Brownie said:
AFAIK you cannot buy 'used Topaz' software. The original purchase is linked to the buyers email with a unique license number. Possibly, also when first registered the Topaz servers use the owners IP address or even a hash number based on the computer Identity???
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Other than the requirement to sign in with the email no they don't. Very few people have static IP address, and you can use always remove a licence from an old pc
Still it doesn't make it a viable solution

I'm actually concerned they will just kill the login server one day.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Other than the requirement to sign in with the email no they don't. Very few people have static IP address, and you can use always remove a licence from an old pc
Still it doesn't make it a viable solution

I'm actually concerned they will just kill the login server one day.
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This happened when the company who developed LightZone went and closed their 'fledgling' business. I cannot remember the full details but IIRC about 18 months later one of the developers released the intellectual copyright & program code to public domain and it still exists as a donation ware development product.

Of note, with Photolab since IIRC v7.7 onwards it requires internet connection every 37 days to reaffirm it's activation. Bear in mind this is, compared to subscription model software, a perpetual license product. There is no absolute clarity as to why DxO have introduced that requirement!

Oh, and sometimes I have found my Topaz software requires me to log in again.....I have idea why that happens!

PS no doubt all such online activation/registration method software companies will say 'do not worry we are not going anywhere......' but do they as part of their business model have a backstop business failure contingency in place for their customers???
 
Box Brownie said:
Oh, and sometimes I have found my Topaz software requires me to log in again.....I have idea why that happens!
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every 6 months or whenever they release a messed up update. So they got us by the proverbial balls.

And since the support has expired for something like Sharpen AI, or even after your 1 year you are purely on your own if they just pull the plug

Wasn't there a recent case of adobe pulling activation of one of their old "permanent" PS versions? The point is they all do it, and it is just a matter of when. You will do well if it is just 10-15 years down the line, while 1-3 will be obviously quite painful for many.
 
I decided to install incremental update of photo AI. 600 something MB of main files. Fine, reasonable. Now it is downloading maybe 10TB worth of models. Now that is a bloody bloatware, considering I probably won't use it for another 4 months if at all.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
I decided to install incremental update of photo AI. 600 something MB of main files. Fine, reasonable. Now it is downloading maybe 10TB worth of models. Now that is a bloody bloatware, considering I probably won't use it for another 4 months if at all.
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Surely you jest! ?
 
Clipboard_10-18-2024_01.jpg

The only thing that comes even remotely close in size on my drive is unreal engine, which I installed a few months back when I imagined I could be doing some product renders. I don't that is going ahead so it may soon go.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
View attachment 436616

The only thing that comes even remotely close in size on my drive is unreal engine, which I installed a few months back when I imagined I could be doing some product renders. I don't that is going ahead so it may soon go.
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But 44.2 GB is a very long way from 10 TB
 
Box Brownie said:
But 44.2 GB is a very long way from 10 TB
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yeah, I meant to say 10GB, still an incredibly large minor revision update! The time for gigabit internet is now here. And 4TB nvme...
 
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Last night I tried out the new super focus feature (beta) in photo ai due to my 16-35mm slightly missing focus in one off night shot.
After waiting 5min, The results were .. drum roll..... C..rrrrr....ap, and utter at that. Maybe I will give it much easier example just to try out.
Sharpen ai did a much more conservative and thus better job. I had to donwsize it to around 12mp but it is at least usable for A4, maybe A3 print, all in 20s
 
I seem to get adverts in my facebook feed for Photo AI , pro photographers endorsing the software, which is fine they need to make a living
The examples they show often aren’t very good unfortunately, one recent one of a cheetahs face the original one was better
nothing against their software just think that whoever does the adverts could show better before and after examples
 
I had a recent email that included some before & after examples...that made the look oh so plastic!

If that is supposed the be a 'good' example of the output, I am not impressed:

PS I tried to copy them in here but that did not work ...will try again!


P3-BA-Mobile.png


IIRC there was some discussion on the Topaz community forum that the default settings are too strong and, as in many post processing programs, the user needs to 'take control' to get the best results.

PPS also PC Mag editors choice
uk.pcmag.com

Topaz Photo

Top-notch denoising and more
uk.pcmag.com uk.pcmag.com
 
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LCPete said:
I seem to get adverts in my facebook feed for Photo AI , pro photographers endorsing the software, which is fine they need to make a living
The examples they show often aren’t very good unfortunately, one recent one of a cheetahs face the original one was better
nothing against their software just think that whoever does the adverts could show better before and after examples
Click to expand...


How "pro" actually are they, one wonders.......
 
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