Topaz Sharpen AI - Compare Modes - Worth the $$$ ?

Here I look at Topaz Sharpen AI from a hands-on, real-world experience. What mode works best? Is there any perfect setting?
Most importantly is it worth the money!?
Yes, I pulled up a Horned Lark and somehow called it a Snow Bunting and somewhere birders are mocking me.... It's amazing what you can say and not even realize.
(I also noted on replay that I used the term "defraction" and not "distortion" which may have been a more accurate term for heat/focus related issues)

If you are interested in using this (my suggestion in the video) use this link and coupon code for an additional 15% off (commissioned links):

0:00 Intro
5:00 Feature walkthrough
7:30 Masking w/ Sharpen AI
10:00 Different modes on a "sharp" image
19:45 Different modes on a "soft" image
27:30 "Sharpening" with AI Clear in Denoise AI
29:30 Example of combining both
37:00 Recommendations

[TheManOfTheeYear]

Your so good at this man. First I bought denoise with your code from your first video, now I bought Sharpen because of this video with your code. Enjoy my gratitude purchases man! Appreciate the effort you put into these!

[craigwallace]

Very informative, has to be the best video on topaz sharpen I have watched, I have watch a lot of them. You have answered a lot of the questions about the product I had. Looking forward to your next one on all types of sharpening.

[WildlifeInspired]

Thanks for tuning in live. Hope you found it helpful

[aarontodd]

Helpful insights as usual Scott. Plus that Hoodie is awesome. Thumbs up!

[dgirard]

I love your honest and down to heart appreciation of the sofware. I use Denoise a lot and love it, I try Sharpen but did not found it to do a better job than Denoise most of the time. Your demonstration may change my mind.

[natalielee]

Love Topaz Denoise so much! I’m glad you introduced it

[johnwilliams]

will have to watch this video more . Was pretty fast for me the beginner for trial to buy or not. Thanks

[michaelwallwork]

Just watched this vlog. Super vlog Scott 👍. This we'll be great help to me. Thanks 👍

[touchedbynature]

Great video, very helpful and informative. Many thanks for sharing 🇬🇧

[dougsmit]

I believe what you showed best is that there is a learning curve that will allow best results BUT one problem with Topaz is they are constantly updating/improving the program so what you reviewed in March is more than a little different in April when I am commenting. I'm using version 3.0.3.

[digvijaychaugle]

You explained that very well. Thank you! 🙏🏻

[charlesdavis]

a lot has changed in a year and a half - but this is still a valuable video - and I agree with most everything you suggest.

[CarolineOrdHume]

I enjoy and appreciate all your videos, thank you. I have both Topaz software and tend to use Sharpen more often if the image isn't too noisy because I find it reduces the unwanted noise at the same time. If you Sharpen the whole image it will Sharpen the background too and cause the issues you had, so best to mask the area to Sharpen. I use Denoise on images with more noise and find the Clear setting usually works good for me.

[LarryFasnacht]

Have you tried Topaz Gigapixel? I’d like to see you review that.

[erik]

👍 Give that man 35 silver dollars and a box of Mars Bars! (My Dad used to use that line from Dr. I.Q., which was a question and answer game show that came on the air in 1939. How's that for a blast from the past?!

I especially found interesting  the detail you went into in terms of adjusting the different layers of sharpening and noise reduction. I myself am a detailed person and so I have no problem with someone getting very detailed with me.

We are also on the same page re artistic integrity and intent overshadowing and trumping the technical, the detail factors.

Especially when it comes to the works I produce from my photographs, which by the time I'm done bear very little, if any, resemblance to the original subject. It's really quite funny people always ask me what was the original image and then they can't believe what I started with. 

The goal is to create the affect I want to effect in terms of the feeling I'm trying to convey. Yes, I want to be as technically perfect as possible - within the constraints of that dynamic - and printable at the highest conceivable levels.

When it comes to producing a print of an original painting as a you giclee, almost always on canvas, fidelity to the artistic integrity and intent of the artist is also paramount.

To achieve that, I employ for  scanning of the originals, the best people in the world, because garbage in means garbage out as we both know.

Depending on the size of the original piece if it's being scanned 300 DPI, 1:1?

We can end up with a file of 600 to a 1, 000 MB. Needless to say, when you're working at that level of quality with the original scan there's not a whole lot you need to do to adjust the quality of the file or the image. 

Though color correction and adjustments to the file predicated on having the original in front of you under proper lighting is necessary to make it truly faithful to the original

As you undoubtedly know, from working with printers, too many of the more laxidasical ones - especially re a print of painting? 

Their feeling, albeit not outright spoken, is, "Well, they're never going to see the original anyway so they ll never know." 

This means in reality that most of the prints you see around of art are only about 80% faithful, true to the originals and in my opinion nothing more than glorified photocopies.

If you can't afford $20, 000 for an original painting, which is not unreasonable for a good original painting by a really good artist,

but you can afford a thousand to two thousand or three thousand for Quality print of it; you want and you deserve to get the essence, the heart and soul of the magic, the artistry that the artist poured their heart and soul into.

At least that's my modus operandi, which I have a feeling you can quite easily appreciate.

I look forward to more of of your videos and I must say, I absolutely loved the last image of the bird sitting on its tail upright thst6you worked on in this video. 

What a heck of a shot!

[LarryFasnacht]

My new MacBook Pro Max smokes my purpose built Puget Systems PC, especially for Topaz. MUCH faster. You should try it.

Also I am using these software titles and like you I use it on my best images. I have found that simply “drawing in” detail is actually easier, more fun, and gives me pixel level detail. Sometimes, detail that isn’t actually in the image. For example I will usually ‘shop in a catch light in the eye if there isn’t one. It’s amazing what that alone can do to improve an image. In fact, now that I think about it, I think that’s how I got started “drawing in” detail. I use a combination of the paint brush and clone stamp.

[librarycollection]

When you create a new tutorial about Sharpen AI, you should be able to use version 3.0 which just came out with major improvements.

[B.D.TRX]

i have the free trial of sharpen AI and the free version of PS express, i was shocked i was able to get better results with sharpening with PS Express.. I also noticed my Sharpen A.I. crashes often, my laptop is 1 month old gaming laptop.

[boatman]

Great video! One suggestion, however. I often watch you YouTube videos on an iPad so screen size is not great, the thumbnail in the lower left of you sitting at your computer takes away some of that precious screen space and I can't help but wish it wasn't there. Not that you aren't a handsome guy, you understand, but I rather have more of the duck 😩