Right after I am asked what camera I am used, the second question is often “What software do you use?”
And just like it is with cameras, my answer with software is “I use a combination of products that work for me.”
But one thing is pretty constant. For the last five years, I have been an affiliate with and even spokesperson for Topaz Labs and the reason for that is simple. Their stuff just works. I have literally tried everything and for my money, Topaz products offer the best bang for the buck on a regular basis.
I use all their products, but particularly Topaz AI, Topaz DeNoise, Gigapixel and Topaz Sharpen AI. And right now, Topaz is running their annual Black Friday sale which makes all these programs very affordable. You can get all the programs I mentioned plus Topaz’ new Video enhancing plugin for 60% off at https://www.topazlabs.com/black-friday.
These are the tools I use every single day to finish my photos. After whatever adjustments I make in Lightroom, Photoshop, On1, RAWPOWER or BorisFX Optics, I send the image to one or more of these Topaz Labs products to finalize the file for client delivery or publication. If there were something better out there I’d be using it. But so far, I haven’t found it so give this stuff a try. I was blown away the first time I used a Topaz plug-in and all these years later remain a fan. And there is some great news…
November 15-27 you can get the ULTIMATE BUNDLE for $299 (60% off). The regular price is $755. The purchase price includes one year of free updates. Learn more.
Enjoy!
2 Responses
Hi Scott,
I also used the Topaz products in the past, but then stopped it more or less completely. I just had too many technical problems. I usually work with Apple photos for simple and extremely fast editing. When I need more sophisticated tools, I just call (start) Luminar Neo out of Apple photos and do further editing in Luminar. After finishing the changes, I can easily jump back to Apple photos. This process does (no longer) work with Topaz Sharpen and Denoise AI. Either the program does not start at all or it crashes or it does not jump back to Apple photos.
While I agree with you that the core functionality of the Topaz products is great (i.e. sharpen and denoise), I am disappointed with regards to the compatibility with other tools.
In case I change my mind, I will use the METHODS code 😉
Regards, Stefan
Thanks for your comment. You are one of a very small handful of photographers I have run into who feels that way. I think maybe you should dive in deeper to their training. You may be missing something. All I can say is I have used the software nearly every day for five years and had a very different experience. The VideoAI is amazing but not everyone needs that. Likewise, Gigapixel might not be of use to some people but I print several times a week and often need to enlarge images that came from early cameras. While it won’t replace a hardware RIP it does an amazing job. I will say I better understand the comment when it comes to PHOTO AI because that is the company’s newest product and least mature. It isn’t perfect but over time I have learned to figure out which photos it will help and in those cases when I am right it delivers. When it comes to their sharpening and noise reduction I have tested every major software product available and find they have no peer. To each his own. I do appreciate your comment about the code METHODS but it’s no longer needed. Just go to the URL I provide and you will get the best price Topaz has to offer on that day. Thanks again for your comment.