LR AI Denoise is more realistic to me.

Modern photographers are like professional chefs that can't cook eggs without a Teflon pan. So sad.

Excellent review. I'm been looking to upgrade from NX Studio. I'm trying to decide between Luminar NEO and ON1. I'm now sold on ON1.

Richard is from Austria !

Thanks for this. I bought a PhotoLab licence several years ago, liked the RAW editing tools and the image rendition BUT, as you have alluded to in your introduction, its massive weakness is the lack of any sensible backend database image management tools. Back in 2020 I had been using Lightroom for several years and been making use of both the keywords and collections to manage my rapidly growing library of RAW files. I had become dissatisfied with Lightroom and was looking at the options. If PhotoLab had included a proper management system I might have gone with it, however, after trying several systems I chose Capture One - not only did ( and still does) it have a really good set of RAW editing tools with very good masking, subject selection and people portrait tools, but it also has a database system every bit as good as Lightroom, in fact I believe, even better. I make massive use of this facility and love the rendering Caprure One gives and, from my tests, there was little to choose between CI and PL and any subtle differences are really down to personal preferences. I love DxO PureRAW and it is my preferred de-noise tool which I often use as a pre-processor to my Capture One workflow if the images had had to be taken at high ISO. I still keep an eye on PhotoLab but, unless they introduce a proper integrated image management tool it is a non-starter as far as I am concered.

The new Acdsee is still not working too well on a mac, right?? Thx.

Thanks!

compared to my 2 year old version of Capture One is it very slow

PureRaw 4 using the same version of XDS2 , not older version , are you sure it is older ver

I downloaded this program tonight and have to agree that it isn't the most intuitive interface when first getting into it. I have also tried downloading and installing the free creative bundle that it ships with... really very clunky and complicated. Having watched a few YT videos, I can see how this will be a significant upgrade from my 2021 Capture One, but it isn't going to be an easy transition!! I'll stick at it for now.

This program looks amazing, just what i need for my shoddy amateur photo skills. Great overview and presentation 👍

Awesome video! There are so many great options out there, but personally, I prefer Retouch4Me for retouching. It’s super fast, easy to use, and delivers professional-quality results every time. The tools for skin smoothing, tone correction, and background cleaning make it a must-have for anyone serious about photo editing. Definitely worth a try!

what do you think about "which the best editing value this AI for photographer, is it topaz photo or gigapixel?"

Great content, does this program edit a group of photos at once like Lightroom does?

If you get a bit hamfisted with the minor deblur slider you can recover a surping amount of sharpness in Gigapixel...

Are they made by the same company?

I'll be honest, after playing around with the trial version for ahile I'm struggling to see the value, even over Gigapixel 7. I really wanted to want Photo AI, but but I'm still in two minds. Testing super focus, it doesn't look great....

I'm confused. What program is he talking about? I didn't hear you mention it. /s

I have a modern system 64gb DDR5 radeon GFX card with 16gb memory and a AM5 CPU, this runs fine lol

Thanks for the info. Photo AI is on sale for $139 right now so I was debating if it was worth it.

Hi Richard, I hope you can help me . I do astro photography and want try it out before I buy it I have a lot gradient in my images I want to remove it. So if can help would me thanks .

Thank you for this presentation; it's what I was looking for.

PL8 compares exactly same as PureRaw4 in your opinion?

I have and use these apps too and agree with your views here. These apps are image-savers for micro four-thirds shooters working in low light, as m4/3 sensors which offer many advantages especially in wildlife and sports photography, can get noisy enough above ISO 800 to impair sharpness, especially when cropping, but these apps do a great job. I had not noticed that hitting "Both" in On1, combining NoNoise AI with Tack Sharp AI, is much less effective than using them independently. Thanks for that Heads Up!

I suggest also comparing Lightroom Classic (CC), as it has more features and worth the try.

Thanks for the video! Sure it helps a lot!

Thank you for the informative video. Does Luminar Neo support Nikon RAW files?

Great video. Thank you. Purchased it. Was on the fence but this video showed me that it has all the basics I need and more. Thanks again.

Thank you for sharing these tips, they’re a lifesaver.

Excellent comparison, just what I was looking for - thank you. Nice that Topaz gives you the cheaper option with GigaPixel, but long-term investment, Photo Ai is clearly the better choice.

Excellent review! Can you predict the time for rendering the whole image by extrapolating the small preview? Or is there an estimation of the render time given in advance from the app itself based on the preview?

software is good but Aperty is so painstaking slow than evoto. What!!!. Time delivery matters to me alot. Its a No no. FYI, my hardware is a high end setup

I still would like to know if Topaz is good for taking an old picture like from the 70s that has that haze look, will it clean that all up and then make the pic look crystal clear? I have yet to see a video showing this being done with Topaz. I have used Photoshop to clean up a lot of old pics a few years back, but now with AI, can it make the pics look even better?

I used Luminar neo first with 2x8 gb ddr4 ram , expanded recently to 32gb ram, and there is no significant change or gain with the expanded memory.

I can’t figure out if Pure Raw 4 already is included in Photolab 8 Elite? Or do you have to buy both?

As a photographer, Topaz has saved myself a lot of times. Especially when I ask my friend to take a photo of me, I always expect them to be slightly out of focus or focusing on the wrong part of the body. They are not that knowledgeable so there is nothing I can do 😅

Is the app able to do "best take" feature like my Google pixel 8 pro. I need it for group photos.

I purchased a perpetual licence a week back.. I cant see sky tab in my version under landscapes bar.. Do i have to pay again?

I am a past user of Affinity Photo, LIghtroom and Photoshop, Topaz. I now use ON1 Photo Raw 2025 exclusively...I love the AI NO Noise, luminosity and depth masks, and most tools that are in Photoshop...no monthly subscription...just a 1-time purchase.

Maybe not a program that is totally up to date but one that has a lot of features that some others don't have and is totally "freeware" or the Pro version is only $40 US. Frankly for most users the freeware works fine and more than adequate. The program is PhotoScape X 4.2.1. This is the latest version and any that I have seen with a later version # is not legitimate. I have used a number of digital imaging programs during the past 30 years and this one does have some useful YT tutorials and once the basics are understood, personally, I feel it is as good as one can desire for processing digital capture files in either .jpg or RAW.

Thank you for the excellent video. I am a long-time on1Raw user. Since 2008 (it was not called On1 yet) Especially the last three years On1 2023, On1 2024, and On1 2025, it was almost unusable because of all the bugs and crashes. Version 2025, I updated by pre-order as I always do. So I got my version of 2025 immediately when it was released. Unfortunately, I have not been able to use it because it kept on crashing. The tech helpdesk, was extremely helpful, but they could not find what was the cause of all the crashes. Last week, I installed the last update, and finally it does not crash anymore so I am able to use it. Unfortunately, (like all the other versions I had) it is NOT Lightning Fast. It is slow, especially compared to ACDSEE. ACDSEE opens extremely fast. On1, compared slow. Bu what really bugs me, if I open an image that I have been working on, just basic editing like Brilliance AI, maybe noise reduction and Dynamic contrast, it may take up to 70 seconds to reopen that image. That is still quite unworkable. The specs of my computer are AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core Processor 3.80 GHz, Corsair 32GB RAM, 2 x DDR-4, Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB HD, and a (Nvidia) PNY 4GB D6 X T1000 graphic card. These specs are OK for On1 2025 but according to On1, especially the video card barely meets the minimum requirements. (It is also slow if no other applications are running) I see your video and On1 looks to work quite fast. Please share your hardware specs to see what we will need to make it work smoothly. On my laptop (2 years old), I cannot use this version of On1. It crashes at startup. The tech helpdesk told me that it does not meet the minimum requirements. Thank you!

Top Az 🤣WTF... never heard topaz pronounced like that before, made me PMSL every time.🤣 It's "Tow-Paz" dude.

Skimming over and dismissing Capture One solely based on the price tag deprives the audience of hearing about the most outstanding raw editor on the market. And it is not just about its amazing tethering capabilities but about the whole experience of being able to be more precise in your fundamental editing. Some may think it is only for the studio professionals due to its precision and fantastic integration with on-location review setup but due to its fundamental underlying colour and contrast engine it produces the best results with any type of raw images. The best thing about it is that it is not bloated with gimmicky Ai effects but use Ai for very precise masking and selection features only. Which, by the way, can be applied to individual dedicated layers in a way no other software are able to do for your raw images. The level of control over your editing workflow in Capture One surpasses anything else on the market. If you’re into image quality Capture One and DXO is the way to go. With Capture One you’re also able to arrange your workspace completely the way you like it to be set up. You’re even free to spread out your editing tools and palettes across multiple monitors, if you want. With Capture One you have the choice to either shoot directly into a Session set-up, directly linked with an extra on-location or distant located viewing station (for a client for example) or you can store all your images in a traditional catalog structure if that suits you better. The levels of freedom to set up your own workflow surpasses anything else I’ve ever seen by others on the market. Personally I have chosen to pay €11/ month for my subscription but a one-time payment for a license for Capture One can also be had. It is periodically on sale for less, so keep an eye open for your best deal on the market, if you really care about getting the best control and potential image quality out of your raw files. By the way, capture One is also capable of editing your Tif and jpg files for you as well. Capture One is based in Denmark which is a plus if you want to avoid dependency on US software.

Capture one is all about tethering. For myself lightroom and topaz photo ai make the most sense. I don have pure raw 3 and I do use that on images with a great deal of noise. I realize that DXO is on 4 or 5 but Topaz does about the same as the majority of my images are at lower ISO.

Lifetime license? that's mean I can free upgarde to ACD 2026?

I made the switch from Adobe at the beginning of this year. Switched to Divinci Resolve for video and On1 for photo. I love On1 but it takes forever to apply any changes I make or even to just select a new photo. It makes my MacBook sound like an airplane anytime I do anything in it. I’ve never had this issue with Adobe, and even divinci resolve is nowhere near as taxing on my MacBook during very complex edits. I just upgraded to 2025 hoping it would change, but it seems to be even worse now. Does anyone have any tips to fix this?

FYI.. I pay £45.49 a YEAR for the app Lightroom Mobile on iOS (iPad) and Android.. PLUS I get Lightroom Web free.. 🙏

Does Gigapixel 8 have features that makes it worth using it along with Topaz Photo AI?

You fail to distinguish between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic. For the same $9.99/month you can get the more powerful Lightroom Classic+Photoshop+20Gb storage. Plus you get Lightroom Mobile's abilities unlocked.

On1 Max version offers plugins so it can be invoked inside Lightroom, Capture, or even Apple Photos! Considering that apps like DXO Photolab cannot work on Apple ProRAW images and don't integrate with Apple Photos app (and the iPhone is the most used camera on the planet) it's a little surprising you gave no attention to Max or the plugins.