Does applying noise reduction to RAW files really make a difference? [Topaz Photo AI Tutorial]

[@brianmatiash]

Quick question: Do you apply noise reduction to your RAW files or do you wait until the end of your editing workflow?

[@photobeast]

I found it best as many other photographers have to do any cropping and editing first and then send it over.

[@bobrockefeller1348]

I want to do noise reduce to the raw file. But for Photo AI, I’m not convinced its raw conversion is as good as Lightroom’s.

[@larrycitra300]

Great presentation Brian … definitely the best way to go! You gotta love these Topaz products!

[@SvenPries]

Interesting! For my use case this is too much work. I shoot 3k soccer images, choose 300 and (with night games and bad floodlights) I need to batch process as much as possible, cause I am on a tight deadline. Right now, I edit in LR CC: develop a quick preset that fits most of the images, apply it to all pictures, go through all of them and crop and change those images that don’t fit the preset. Than I send all images to PhotoAI, export JPGS afterwards, delete the DNGs (to save space) and keep the RAW Files. But I will keep your informations in mind when I do other kind of work with less images and more time. Greetings, Sven

[@TheSmartWoodshop]

As a wildlife photographer, I often rely on ISO 12800 to capture my shots. Despite the Sony A1's impressive performance in high ISO, I aim to minimize noise and enhance image sharpness. My typical workflow involves processing RAW (DNG) files in Lightroom (LR), exporting them to Photoshop (PS) as Smart Objects, and applying noise reduction and sharpening with Topaz Photo AI. Although the results are satisfactory, I'm interested in experimenting with TP-AI as a RAW tool for high-ISO images. However, I discovered that TP-AI doesn't function as intended with DNG files because it treats them as already processed files. To use TP-AI, I must import the original Sony files into LR instead of converting them to DNG. Since my entire LR catalog is in DNG format, I'll have to wait until my next shoot to try out this new approach and remember to import the native Sony files. Nonetheless, I'm thrilled to test out this workflow. Thank you for the video.

[@image7d]

Hi Ron, my approach is a little bit different I first import the images as DNG's into lightroom, then I will sort though my images deleting the ones I don't want, also within lightroom. Next I will open the images I have left into Topaz Photo AI standalone, let Autopilot do it's processing on all images, before saving all my images as DNG's into a subfolder which I call Topaz Photo AI I will then apply any Lightroom or Photoshop adjustments to the DNG images within this subfolder Still maintaining a RAW workflow Hope this helps

[@brianmatiash]

I didn’t realize that you convert to DNG first, Ron. Very interesting! What benefits do you see in taking that approach? Very curious and I’m sure others are, too.

[@TheSmartWoodshop]

@@brianmatiash Converting to DNG has been a long-standing practice for me, and while my initial reasons for doing so may no longer be relevant, I still find it to be a useful format. When I first started using DNG, I understood that it was a universal raw format that resulted in smaller file sizes with no loss in quality. Additionally, editing instructions could be stored within the file, eliminating the need to manage a separate XMP file. Nowadays, many devices, such as my iPhone, DJI Mavic 3, and DJI Action camera, use DNG as their native RAW format. While I cannot definitively say whether DNG is better than other raw formats, I have not experienced any loss in quality or compatibility issues when compared to Sony or Canon raw formats. After watching this video a second time, I realized that I was not using Topaz correctly. However, when I followed your instructions in the video and invoked using the "plug-in extras" method, Topaz treated Adobe DNG as a raw file, resulting in amazing results when working with my typical 12,800 ISO files for photographing birds in flight. This video has changed my workflow for the better, and I am grateful for the new technique. Thank You

[@boulx]

should nt be like taht,3 apps for a photo wtf

[@photobeast]

Same here with the R5

[@uhoh7541]

I've struggled to figure out a workflow i like best for LR and Topaz together and have not been fond of anyone else's suggestions for various reasons. What has worked best for me so far has been image dependent, if the photo is extra noisy and or needs focus fixed- send to topaz first. If it's not too bad, and just a little too noisy for LR's noise reduction- i edit with LR and send over to topaz for clean up. I'm very anxious to try this method of synchronizing the edits. Thank you for the suggestion 👏👏👏🙌

[@PaulBeiser]

Cool, did not know Topaz AI could return a .dng file back into Lightroom. Very compelling case to do the noise reduction at first - thanks, Brian!

[@brianmatiash]

It’s a relatively new feature that was introduced with Topaz Photo AI. I’m glad you found the video helpful!

[@photonomist6345]

Ah, that explains! I didn't know but have not upgraded from the separate programmes (Noise reduction, Sharpen A1 and Gigapixel). You have given me a reason to do so, but I also wondered whether there are other significant reasons to upgrade, as I had thought that changes were fairly cosmetic and it seemed a lot of money! Anyway, many thanks for your very clear and informative videos. .

[@blackislepeastoo]

Great thoughtful presentation - no hype, no nonsense - subscribed.

[@brianmatiash]

Thank you, and I’m glad to have you here!

[@photobeast]

I've been doing photography for a long time. I remember back in a DSLR days WHEN 1600 ISO was high!! Since switching to mirrorless with the Canon EOS R and then updating to the R5 as soon as it came out the R5 is my main camera now and I max out my ISO at 12,800 ans shoot Mauel with auto ISO. Leaving what used to be my ISO wheel on the back of the camera for exposure compensation. At least when I'm in C2 mode, C1 is portraits and Landscapes at ISO 100. But, with the R5 I found that I can shoot at 12800 ISO and the images especially of like birds in Flight I can bring back all the detail using Topaz Denoise. At least this has been my method for the last 2 years. I just got photo AI last week and really haven't played with it too much because Denoise has been so great! But I also own gigapixel and sharpen. I use gigapixel to blow up images for Prince and I you sharpen just like you do Infidel AI to sharpen the eyes and things like that.. basically blurry pictures. With tools from Topaz I'm excited to see what the future holds for us

[@DavidSwinney]

Yes, it absolutely does. I love the Topaz products.

[@arlennercessian4261]

Thanks, this is great info. I am totally confused. I have Capture One Pro 22 perpetual license for Nikon Z. I recently have purchased a Sony APSC camera. Not wanting to invest in yet another RAW processing software, I am now working with the Capture One for Nikon Z, but only using Sony generated JPEG edits. I am interested in adding Topaz package as noise is a challenge with APSC. Not sure if I could import my Sony ARW files (RAW) into Topaz, and then create output file (either TIFF or JPEG) as Capture One does not read DNG (is my understanding). And then send these to my Capture One to process. Boy it's all so confounding.....

[@JohnDraper-w1j]

Good video but I was just wondering why you are sending a jpeg file to Topaz rather than a TIFF. I would have thought it would be better to compare sending over a TIFF vs Raw file rather than a jpeg vs Raw?

[@petergardner1358]

I have carried out denoise in Topaz AI using auto settings on a picture of a Fumar chick, which is largely a ball of very fine fur. That carried out on the RAW file attempted to carry out more sharpening but end up with some of the fur blurred and looking as if it is matted together, which is unusable compared to that carried out on the edited file. It doesn't seem that one method is always best.

[@KevinMillerphotos]

Brian, your thoughtful and balanced video was very helpful. I am new to Topaz but am very impressed with the few results I have seen from a friend's work. Can you comment on Photo AI vs the Triple Suite of AI apps by Topaz?

[@brianmatiash]

Glad you found the video helpful, Kevin! I'm not sure if you have specific questions about Topaz Photo AI vs their Image Quality bundle (the individual apps) - let me know if you do. I will say that Topaz Phoot AI is the future of that company. That's where they're going to invest all of their development resources going forward. I expect minor updates to the individual apps down the line, but if I were you, I'd expect them to eventually be discontinued in favor of their consolidated app. Now, in terms of quality, I've been very happy with the rate at which Topaz Photo AI has been improving since it was released last September. I also like that I can accomplish multiple tasks (i.e. noise reduction, sharpening, and upscaling) in a single app instead of having to hop from app to app. It's not a perfect app by any means, but it's a solid option for AI-powered noise reduction. I hope that helps!

[@KevinMillerphotos]

@@brianmatiash Yes, that helps a lot. I have watched a few videos comparing Photo AI with their Image Quality Bundle and wondered if I would be selling myself short with Photo AI although I love the simplicity of it. Your comments about the future focus of the company (which I know you have some understanding of) are very helpful. It sounds like the Photo AI app will be my best option. I love landscapes and nature shooting but I also do some retouching of old and low resolution images. This app will be wonderful for those cases. Thanks for the prompt reply. I wish you well.

[@brianmatiash]

It’s my pleasure, Kevin. Always happy to help. If you do end up purchasing the app, could I trouble you to use the link in this video’s description? It is an affiliate link and i would earn a small commission of the sale. No worries if you already ordered it, though. I thought I should mention it just in case. ☺️ Regardless, don’t hesitate to ask any other questions about the apps. I’m happy to help.

[@allenzhu2178]

Does the Topaz Denoise AI, not the entire Topaz Photo AI, have the option of sending denoised photos back to Lightroom in the DNG format? I saw another video that says that the Topaz Denoise AI plug-in does not have the ability to send photos back in DNG.

[@image7d]

Hi Brian another excellent video io as always I've watched all your videos and let all the articles on the topaz learning hub and KZbin channel. Brian, may I ask as you are now posting to your own channel does that mean you no longer work for topaz or just taking a break Thanks you for your time and l look forward to seeing your next video

[@brianmatiash]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it. And you are correct, I am no longer with Topaz Labs. However, I do think that their apps are excellent and want to share my own best practices using them.

[@allenzhu2178]

Question. Does the Topaz Photo AI work well for portraits (human faces) as it does for wild life? I'm also interested in the software but my photos are of human faces. The photos I took are also from the Canon EOS R5 with very high ISO settings.

[@brianmatiash]

I think the noise reduction and Face Recovery features are quite good for portraits. But, in full disclosure, I rarely edit portrait photos. I’m more of a landscape and wildlife photographer. They do have a solid return policy, so if it doesn’t suit your needs, you can at least get your money back.

[@okhascorpio]

whats your system config? cpu gpu ?

[@brianmatiash]

I have an Apple Macbook Pro 16" M2 Max with 64 GB RAM

[@photobeast]

Hey Brian. I have all 3 and they asked me for $158 for this product. And have been for some time? Is there some way to get it free? You were saying they do but I haven't seen it thus far. Thanks in advance 😊

[@brianmatiash]

I should say that if you have all three apps AND you’re in a valid update cycle, then you’d get Topaz Photo AI for free. But, if you’re out of that upgrade cycle, then they will charge you for a Photo Upgrade Plan… which will get you the app.

[@photobeast]

@@brianmatiash I got in touch with them and they sent me a link. I would have never have known if I had not have watched your video. Thank you

[@brianmatiash]

@@photobeast Woohoo! Glad they took care of you. I hope you enjoy the app!