Is Sharpening & NR in Topaz Photo AI BETTER Than Lightroom?

In this video, I demonstrate and compare the sharpening and noise reduction in Lightroom versus that of Topaz Labs Photo AI.
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[@AnthonyMorganti]

In this video, I demonstrate and compare the sharpening and noise reduction in Lightroom versus that of Topaz Labs Photo AI. Please subscribe to my newsletter! anthonymorganti.substack.com/subscribe Check out the Topaz Labs Software here: bit.ly/3cDqa5J Currently, I do not have a personal promo code to share. To get more info about Lightroom, go here: prf.hn/l/lGnjDBl I am an affiliate of Topaz Labs and Adobe and will receive a commission if you purchase anything from them. Please read my Code of Ethics Statement: onlinephotographytraining.com/code-of-ethics/ Please help support my KZbin channel - consider purchasing my Lightroom Presets: www.anthonymorganti.com/ Here is my list of recommended software: wp.me/P9QUvD-ozx Here is a list of my current cameras, lenses, etc.: wp.me/P9QUvD-ozG Help me help others learn photography. You can quickly offer your support here, where I receive 100% of your kind gift: ko-fi.com/anthonymorganti You can change the default amount to the amount you want to donate.

[@Supermanohman]

thanks for responding to your emails! This is a great video!

[@geofleigh9184]

I repeated this with a slight difference. In Lightroom after Denoise I created a mask for the subject (the bird) and use a combination of sharpness, texture, clarity and dehaze. I think in this case Lightroom produced a better result, albeit with a little more effort. I will send the files by email. Another great video btw.

[@desertgecko4549]

5:05 "So many little things here." Anthony, _never_ apologize for showing all the little things you're doing. Your thoroughness is what makes you so good. I've recommended your channel to many others, not only for content but for how thorough you are. When I started learning Photoshop, I was often so frustrated watching "how to" videos on other channels where the host wouldn't show the little things that he expected viewers to already know. Some viewers are novices who need to see those little things.

[@nickditoro]

Thanks for the video, Anthony. I hadn't considered using Topaz Photo AI to process RAW files, as I'veI used it primarily to enhance scans of older prints. I have been using Lightroom Denoise and then sharpening in Topaz Sharpen AI, which gives me more control. As others have pointed out, the artifacts created by Photo AI are not welcome features.

[@rwmcgeesr]

I prefer the other Topaz programs over Photo AI and Lightroom. I get better results with Topaz Sharpen and Denoise.

[@tectorama]

I've just built a pretty powerful PC, but I find denoise in Lightroom so slow. It can take about 3 minutes to render a photo. I shall be sticking with Topaz, especially if processing multiple photos.

[@jamesf2697]

If topaz adds a little clarity, why wouldnt you first just add some clarity to your lightroom image? Wouldnt that add that extra color and shapening ?

[@carlkaplan1611]

Great video. My question is, "what about when I need to crop and enhance resolution", such as bird photography? I could followup you video with Gigapixel AI, but I get the feeling they are not doing much in the way of enhancements for Gigapixel AI anymore. Since I lose any cropping going from LR to Topaz Photo AI I am curious about the proper workflow. Thanks again.

[@BobJones-b2o]

I use both LRC, PS & TAI. My print work flow prior to getting TAI was based on conventional wisedom that you do basic non agressive capture sharpening in LR, do all your various processing then because I use PS for print commands, I apply print out put sharpening to the file created for a specific print size. In your video you are sharpening along with NR in LRC. I'm confused because it is not clear whether this is capture sharpening or capture plus output. Please clarify exactly what should happen when in a process that involves LRC, PS and Topaz AI. Many thanks. Bob Jones

[@tubaraomartelo7838]

I'm hoping that Adobe adds, Sharpen and Upscale in lightroom AI...

[@DejanMrganic]

I'm not a fan of this comparison. I appreciate attempt but the conclusion may be flawed. First, that is Luminar Neo logo on thumbnail, not Topaz Photo AI. Using only a single picture with specific criteria may not be the best approach for comparison. Technically, you will need more time and workarounds/manual work to achieve what Topaz does in single click. First in this example, you didn't mask a picture so that sharpening applies only to subject in Lightroom, something Topaz did automatically. So that is going to require masking which Topaz did an excellent job of selecting on its own. Second, when you use a picture with a person, Topaz will recover face details in addition, on its own, something that will require even more work in Lightroom. These are just a few things on top of my mind that was missed in this comparison. Technically, if you don't mind spending significantly more time editing pictures you can accomplish this in Lightroom. If you don't want to spend a lot of time editing and want amazing results, use Topaz.

[@aardvarklet]

LightRoom definitely handled it better. The detail looks a lot more refined and natural with very little effort in lightroom

[@d1m18]

Why didn't you tweak Topaz AI setting to get the most?

[@andrewmason8691]

The difference for me is with people. Topaz Photo AI with recover faces will make people look cleaner, whereas LR NR will make the people look softer, and not in a better way.

[@ThePNWRiderWA]

I find that photo Ai vs Lr is a wash. The new beta options for lighting screw up the colors with a yellow cast and too warm. The only thing I see photoAi can do is use non raw formats

[@dktraveller8364]

Yes you are mixing things up. Logo on the Topaz is wrong. :o)

[@hanswi336]

Sharpen doesn't mean the whole world - but an automatic change of tonal values is not desirable...

[@TotalOpel]

You don't mention in this video that you are paid by Topaz to promote their products so you can't be said to be totally impartial when it comes to recommending Topaz.

[@themonkeythatsmokes]

Can we just all admit ADOBE IS BLOATWARE TRASH! Good video.

[@dsorx]

Topaz AI is still introducing artifacts that were not in the original image. When you are zoomed in, look to the left of the head and you will see what looks like a blown white pixel. This happens all the time. It's easily removed, but requires searching the image for artifacts. I also think the sharpening in auto is way too heavy and produces weird patterns in feathers and fur. On many images it also causes some sort of pixel shift where when you compare the before/after, the image seems to move slightly and the new dng file created isn't the same dimensions as the original. I do think PhotoAI is pretty good, but I am finding myself using LR Denoise AI more often because of these issues.

[@amendegw]

Exactly! I'm seeing artifacts with Topaz Photo AI as well - particularly on fur & feathers. Therefore, I'm leaning more-and-more to LR "Enhance" and adding in "normal" sharpening.

[@dav14pawest]

I keep trying to like AI but I'm ready to give up on it. Every time Anthony or Dave Kelly make a video about a new update I give it a try again and each time it fails. It seems to produce artifacts randomly so that you really have to look your photo over carefully to find these spots. But the biggest issue for me is on feather detail. It just does a bad job by either making them look smeared or adding artifacts to the edges that I can't fix. I find myself going back to Topaz Denoise or DXO Pure Raw 3. Lightroom's built in denoise is OK but it requires me to spend time manually sharpening it's results. I don't come to this conclusion easily. I have processed dozens of photos using all four programs so that I can compare them side by side. I can say with certainty that Photo AI has never been the clear winner. So my go to if I need a quick fix its Topaz Denoise. If it's a 'portfolio' quality image it Pure Raw 3.

[@jamesp7762]

I enjoy the vast majority of your videos and only skip those that relate to gear or editing products that I do not use or am not considering. However, this is about ageing' not photography. I am 78 years old, have a wife who will join my age bracket in less than a week, 6 adult children, 5 daughter and one son in laws, 11 grandchildren, and some unknown but significant number of cats, dogs and a few odds and ends that are spread between our scattered family homes. I shout HAY as loud as I can to get my targets attention if they are in danger or about to do something verry wrong; regardless of how many others turn to look at me. When "HAY" would be inappropriate, I just use a calm "I have something to tell you" and point to my target if others are present and also turn to look at me. I tend to ignore pets, even the several cats that live in my own home. I found these tips to be effective. But most importantly, all these related named people and pets constantly remind me that 1) aging beats the hell out of the alternative, 2) only the lucky get the privilege to grow old, and 3)I have been blessed. I hope they do similarly for you.😃

[@gman5375]

Exactly my thoughts! Growing old is a privilege denied of many! Keep on truckin 🫡

[@SingtotheMountainStudio]

Thanks for this Anthony. I too have found Topaz AI Denoise consistently produces more pleasing images than Lightroom Classic or Topaz Photo AI. Curious if others are experiencing something similar.

[@Graygeezer]

I prefer Topaz Denoise AI and Sharpen AI to Photo AI or Lightroom Denoise. Photo AI adds artifacts and distortion that the other products do not.

[@susanmeyer8885]

My first few attempts with photo AI resulted in far worse image quality. I am hoping they have made improvements along the way. Lightroom has improved so much I find I use it almost exclusively but for PS fantastic beta version to remove unwanted elements in an image.

[@hchandless]

The color shift you are seeing is the reason I don't use the plug-in to process with Topaz Photo AI. If you use the "Edit in . . ." instead you get the correct colors. Topaz does something with RAW file colors that it shouldn't be. Needs to be fixed, frankly. I have also found, if I want to denoise and sharpen, I usually just use Topaz Denoise AI. Seems a touch faster to me.

[@davidknight6981]

The difference between the two programs, as you noted in this video, is negligible. I am very satisfied with Lightroom Classic's Denoise application. For me, it does a very good job. Thank much Anthony for this video.

[@desertgecko4549]

One more comment, Anthony. I too have three sons, and I too mix up their names. I used to laugh at my parents for mixing up my and my brothers' names (my parents also had three sons), but I'm worse than they ever were. I'm not surprised that with more contrast and saturation, the Topaz version looks sharper. What is sharpness, anyway? As you know, it's contrast between pixels. Increase that contrast (even by increasing the saturation of some), and we'll perceive more sharpness. Thanks for a great job on this comparison. I'd been considering the Topaz app, but now I think I'll just continue with Lr.

[@photosbyjoeendy]

I used to use topaz denoise and sharpen AI religiously. Since denoise came out on Lightroom I just use that and then sharpen in Lightroom as well. I do not use topaz at all. I find it to be so much better. Now if I have an image that is a little soft I will denoise in Lightroom and then I will sharpen AI with topaz, but overall the denoise and Lightroom has cut my workflow down drastically. I am shooting with a Z9.

[@jjaylad]

Since we always keep the Raw files but deliver jpegs, I do things differently. In Lr I apply a preset that does Auto WB, Auto Tone, Auto Lens Corrections, and Auto Transform (Upright).. Then I select alI the images and send them to Photo Ai to process as jpegs, in one batch .and just leave it on AutoPilot. My laptop is fast, so it doesn't take long, and I can do other things while processing. After that, I edit and finally export the originals, renaming as desired, for delivery. This process gives me great jpegs to work on because the initial process does its work on the raw files. This eliminates the gigantic dng files and makes everything run happier. Adobe and Topaz are upgrading their programs almost weekly, and I'd never reprocess the processed dng, so I don't want those.

[@misha4422]

Dx0 Pure RAW? Photo AI? Lightroom Classic Denoise? Which I go with depends. Though, if LrC works well, I usually stop there. But, I currently have all three.

[@payperview714]

You were much to kind to Lightroom in this comparison. The differences between Topaz AI and lightroom are stark when the subject or image is more out of focus..For slight out of focus such as your example, the differences are far less. Clearly you know this better than me! I can't be more happy with Topaz AI...mindblowing actually..no comparison to what Lightroom can do for me either..it's almost an unfair comparison as LR is about a zero for my purposes which is improving focus from mostly Leica dng files...Can't say enough good things about Topaz AI!

[@tonyh4266]

It seems to be an added expense using Topaz, if you already own it, use it, if you rent Lightroom ditto. Topaz is American, hear in the U.K. people are more likely to use DX0 noise reduction. I find Lightroom is good enough to print A2. Great topic……..

[@debrafoster7998]

Now that Photo AI is becoming so feature-rich, I was wondering how much you continue to use Denoise and Sharpening AI, or do you find yourself sticking mainly with Photo AI?

[@fostervf16]

Um.... That's the Luminar logo. Lol.

[@radiozelaza]

Lightroom uses different color profiles for RAW compared to Photo AI, thus the difference in white balance and saturation

[@markteeee]

Topaz is better, Adobe has some catching up to do but good to see they have made an excellent start.

[@CryoftheProphet]

lightroom takes it imo

[@PhreddCrintt]

I feel that PhotoAI over-sharpened the image (I also use it)

[@39zack]

Is that only in lightroom or in photoshop raw too?

[@PhotoGearFun]

I have found that editing the image in LR then exporting it as a jpg and then opening in Photo AI produces better results than using Photo AI on a RAW image. I am not sure why this is but I have tested it on a bunch of images and it works better especially if you need to upscale. The AI just seems to work better on jpg than RAW at least for Sony RAW. Thanks for the video!

[@alankefauver6187]

Then there is DxO Deep Prime XD.

[@vernonsza]

Topaz Photo AI (as of today) seems to be MUCH better than LR for sharpening Fujifilm files. I'd really like to get your thoughts on the best way to sharpen Fuji files if I already use Lightroom as an editor (I don't mind sending images to a to another app as a plugin from LR).

[@DavidSchamis]

I tried the same test and gort very similar results - I think the right answer today is for people to use both and see how the updates play out over time.

[@HR-wd6cw]

Maybe I'm missing something but in Luminar, I don't know if you get the masking overlay when sharpening and doing noise reduction which is helpful (noticed this the other day when I was playing around with Luminar on a photo I had which had a bit of noise). It does clean up fine, but I can't tell with their masking system where I'm applying the masking (or at least, compare to LR, it's not as obvious in terms of overlays). (I would use the Denoise AI in LR more but my computer just takes too long so I've been using DXO which is a bit quicker or I just use the old fashioned noise reduction methods -- the sliders in the Detail panel).

[@telkirton]

I use Topaz Denoise as LR's noise removal take's 20mins to process why I don't know, my PC is Win10, 3.2Ghz quadcore, 32GB Ram and Nvidia graphics card 2GB of memory.

[@stevenkwuphotography]

I still don’t like the occasional artifacts and change in color from Topaz Labs Photo AI. Been using LR Denoise AI since it released and never looked back. I just apply some local sharpening using masks when needed.

[@bobcohen4008]

I don't have any kids but I have two dogs and am frequently calling each by the other's name. I am so glad to hear from you and others leaving comments here that's a common thing and not necessarily a sign I'm losing it. BTW I appreciate your videos as well as your reality checks.

[@MadGeorgeProductions]

The differences are so minor it's simply not worth paying extra for introducing Topaz into your workflow.

[@L.Spencer]

When I use Denoise in LRC, it takes at least 10 minutes per photo. I hadn't heard of Topaz, but perhaps I can give it a try.

[@riotrob]

I prefer DeNoise because I can use it after the edits, and because I can do large batches of photos quickly.

[@bobrockefeller1348]

Photo AI uses an open source demosaic step which may explain the differences in color.

[@jacekkomeda7087]

"It's terrible thing getting old". 😢😢😢😢

[@BobMcClenahan]

The one area I wished Lightroom were better is the sharpening. It's weak and has lots of artifacts.

[@Overxpossed]

I like more what LR did. The hairs looks more continous.

[@DennisMathias]

My problem is that it is RAW only. Whereas TAI will work with any file type. A lot of my inherited files are JPG. And with the added features it's a winner. Lightroom has dropped behind in this respect. Now watch, TPAI is going to come out with a full LR type competitor and knock LR off its throne. Plus Neo is out there with ON1. They all have something to offer. I'm trying to get over my subscription anxiety but looks like that's a waste of time 🙂

[@hendynz6358]

I couldn't understand why so many of my images weren't suitable for LR Denoise until I read that it only works on RAW images. A bit disappointing given that I have many of both types of images.

[@davidligon6088]

I find PhotoAI creates very plastic looking images, and I really don’t like it (compared to DeNoise AI). One of my biggest complaints is that it does not give me the control Denoise AI does with translucent mask brushes. I find Denoise in Lightroom much better for images that are not severely noisy (needing less than 50%:denoise). Lightroom applies all the edits I may have already done, without severe color shift, and without introducing the kind of artifacts PhotoAI does. Lightroom produces a much less plastic look with fewer artifacts. I find the best workflow for more noisy images is to first do a partial Denoise in Lightroom, then if it needs more, process the resulting .dng file in DenoiseAI.

[@86BBUB]

I do the same. Denoise in LR and then clean and sharpen with Denoise AI. Love the sharpening in Denoise - just enough for my taste.

[@iraabramson3825]

Why waste time when the Topaz product is so superior?

[@longboardfella5306]

It stays in raw after processing ie you get a dng and not a tiff. This matters for subsequent raw editing. I denoise in LR by preference now and then use topaz ai if I need to intelligently upscale or sharpen. Hope this helps

[@graham_T]

Did not even need to watch the YT to know the answer to that Topaz Photo Ai is light years better than Lightroom