In this Topaz Photo AI Review, we’re looking at Topaz Labs’ all-in-one image-quality enhancement studio for PC and Mac. And since Photo AI is based on the Topaz Trio, namely Gigapixel AI, Sharpen AI, and Denoise AI, expectations are high.
Fortunately, Topaz Photo AI doesn’t disappoint and is possibly the ultimate one-stop shop for denoising, sharpening, and upscaling your images. That being said, Topaz Photo AI isn’t perfect, and depending on your needs, you may be better off with an alternative product. So, is Topaz Photo AI right for you? Let’s find out. Jump to Conclusion
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Topaz Photo AI Review – Contents
- What is Topaz Photo AI
- What does Topaz Photo AI do?
- Topaz Photo AI Release Date
- Topaz Photo AI Promo Code
- Topaz Photo AI Download
- Topaz Photo AI Trial
- What is the latest version of Topaz Photo AI?
- Topaz Photo AI System Requirements
- Topaz Photo AI Price
- Topaz Photo AI Tutorial
- Topaz Photo AI Test
- Is Topaz Photo AI any good?
- Topaz Photo AI Alternatives
- Topaz Photo AI Compared
- Conclusion
What is Topaz Photo AI
Topaz Photo AI is an all-in-one image enhancement application for PC and Mac that will denoise, sharpen, and upscale your photos. In other words, Topaz Photo AI is what you get when you melt Gigapixel AI, Sharpen AI, and Denoise AI down into a single interface.
But we must be clear on what Topaz Photo AI is not. Specifically, Topaz Photo AI is an image enhancer, not a photo editor. In other words, you cannot use Photo AI to crop your images, adjust exposure, or correct white balance. As a result, you still need to pair Topaz Photo AI with a traditional photo editing application.
To that end, Topaz Photo can run standalone or as a plugin for the following photo editing applications.
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Lightroom Classic
- Capture One
For more information on other Topaz Products, check out,
- Topaz Sharpen AI Review
- Topaz Denoise AI Review
- Gigapixel AI Review
- Topaz Image Quality Bundle Review
What does Topaz Photo AI do?
As an all-in-one photo enhancer, Topaz Photo AI can do the following.
- Correct out-of-focus photos
- Correct motion blur
- Sharpen Photos
- Upscale and Enlarge photos.
- Enhance Photo Resolution
- Noise Reduction
As you’ll find out later in this Topaz Photo AI review, Photo AI works and will succeed in transforming your ‘nearly’ photos into keepers. Furthermore, Topaz Photo AI can automatically do all of this for you with its Autopilot Feature.
Auto Pilot
In addition to putting its greatest hits under one roof, Topaz Labs has come up with Auto Pilot. With Auto Pilot enabled, Topaz Photo AI will automatically assess your photo, identify and mask your subject, and apply the appropriate amount of sharpening and noise reduction without you lifting a finger.
As you will see later in this Topaz Photo AI review, Autopilot effectively and reliably produces images on par with those processed with manual adjustments.
Topaz Photo AI Release Date
15th September 2022
Topaz Photo AI Promo Code
None at preset. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter and be notified of deals and discounts on Topaz Photo AI and other photography software and gear.
Topaz Photo AI Download
Download Topaz Photo AI from Topaz Labs.
Topaz Photo AI Trial
You can download the free Topaz Photo AI trial here – Download
What is the latest version of Topaz Photo AI?
Topaz Photo AI v1.1.1 includes the latest bug fixes and speed enhancements. More notably, the ‘Standard’ joins ‘Lens Blur’ and ‘Motion Blur’ in the sharpening module along with a slider for ‘Clarity.’ Visit Topaz Labs’ Release page for more information on Topaz Photo AI v1.1.1.
Topaz Photo AI System Requirements
| Specs | PC | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD and Intel i5 (2011 onwards) | Intel i5 (2011 onwards), Apple M1 |
| RAM | 12GB (16GB Recommended) | Intel – 16GB (24GB Optimum), Apple M1 – 8GB (16GB Optimum) |
| GPU | Nvidia GTX 900 4GB, AMD 400 4GB | All |
| Display | 1280×720 | 1280*720 |
Topaz Photo AI Price
Topaz Photo AI costs US$199, excluding sales and promotions. Sign up for my weekly newsletter and be notified of the latest deals and discounts on Topaz and other products.
Topaz Photo AI Tutorial
Topaz Photo AI is designed to be easy to use – especially if you leave it in Auto Pilot.
#1 Open your Image
Upon opening your photo, Topaz Photo AI’s Autopilot will assess your image and automatically apply noise reduction and sharpening as it sees fit. At which point, you could be done!
#2 Making your adjustments
Alternatively, you can ignore Autopilot and process the image yourself. There are five different adjustments. Noise Removal, Sharpening, Face Recovery, Enhance Resolution, and upscale. Adjust each until you like what you see. If you wet the bed, you can always restore the autopilot settings.
#3 Reviewing and Saving your image
Topaz Photo AI offers three different review modes. A full-screen option allows you to bounce between the original and processed image, while a side-by-side comparison view serves both versions to your eyes at once. Finally, there’s an excellent old before-and-after slider view. Once you’re happy with your image – hit the big blue Save Image button, and you’re done.
Topaz Photo AI Test
This is the part of this Topaz Photo AI Review where we find out if Topaz Photo AI is any good. To that end, here is a collection of before and after samples cropped to 100%.
Topaz Photo AI for Wildlife Photos
This is a 24-megapixel raw image of a fantail processed with Topaz Photo AI on Autopilot with a little extra sharpening for good measure.
Topaz Photo AI for Portraits
Many software applications struggle with portraits, as processing requires a light touch to maintain skin tones and features. In this regard, Topaz Photo AI nails it by correcting this poorly focused portrait without corrupting the subject’s features.
Topaz Photo AI for fine detail
Like Topaz Sharpen AI, Topaz Photo AI excels in correcting motion blur. Fine detail? No problem.
Topaz Photo AI Stress Test
This photo was taken with a 3-megapixel point-and-shoot, and I include it here as a stress test for Topaz Photo AI. Overall, Topaz Photo AI did a great job. If you have a load of old photos to remaster, try Topaz Photo AI.
Is Topaz Photo AI any good?
As the above Topaz Photo AI Tests demonstrate, Topaz Photo AI is excellent. Overall, you can consider Topaz Photo AI to be the sum of its amazing parts, namely Gigapixel AI, Sharpen AI, and Denoise AI, with a dash of convenience.
Does Auto Pilot work
Autopilot did an excellent job of auto-tuning my images, and I was very impressed with how accurately it recognized and masked my photo’s subject.
Furthermore, the adjustments applied by Auto Pilot in terms of results were broadly competitive with my manual adjustments. Therefore, Autopilot is ideal if you’re looking for a quick, hands-off approach to image enhancement.
Is Topaz Photo AI Slow
Speed has always been a weak point for Topaz products, and Topaz Photo AI is no exception. For instance, when you open your image and apply or adjust an enhancement, Topaz Phot AI will pause between 10-15 seconds to rerender the image.
Furthermore, Topaz Photo AI will slow further with each enhancement you add. For instance, if you denoise and sharpen your photo, you’ll wait twice as long.
Nonetheless, I consider the wait entirely reasonable, given the quality of the result. But if you’re happy to trade a little quality for speed, an alternative product is coming up soon in this Topaz Photo AI review.
Ease of Use
Topaz Photo AI is very straightforward to use. For instance, leaving Photo AI in its automatic Autopilot mode means you’ll barely lift a finger. But even if you make the adjustments yourself – you’ll find the settings accessible, sensibly categorized, and well-named.
Topaz Photo AI Alternatives
Topaz Photo AI’s main competitors are,
- Topaz Image Quality Bundle
- DxO PureRaw 2
- ON1 Professional Plugin Series
- OM Workspace (for Olympus cameras)
Topaz Photo AI Compared
Topaz Photo AI vs Topaz Image Quality Bundle
The Topaz Image Quality includes Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Gigapixel AI, and all three of these applications are exceptional.
Recently, I tested Topaz Photo AI against Topaz Shapen AI and found them to produce near-identical results. Therefore, if all you want is a photo sharpener, you might as well save some money and buy Topaz Sharpen AI.
And while I have yet to write up my head-to-head comparisons of Topaz Photo AI, Topaz Denoise AI, and Gigapixel AI, I expect to find very little difference based on my real-world use of all three.
However, Topaz Photo AI is a single self-contained photo enhancement application, while the Topaz Image Quality trio are three separate products. This is problematic for two reasons.
The first and most obvious is that you may need to bounce between multiple Topaz products to enhance a single image. Secondly, while each Topaz Product has its automatic mode, each is separate and disconnected from the other. Therefore, Topaz Photo AI is a superior option for automatically applying multiple adjustments in a balanced way.
But if you only care about Sharpening, Upscaling, or Noise Reduction – you lose nothing by choosing Sharpen AI, Gigapixel, or Denoise AI, and you’ll save some money too.
- Topaz Sharpen AI Review
- Topaz Denoise AI Review
- Gigapixel AI Review
- Topaz Image Quality Bundle Review
Topaz Photo AI vs DxO PureRAW 2
In technical terms, Topaz Photo AI and DxO PureRAW 2 are pretty different. Specifically, Topaz Photo is an all-in-one AI-powered denoiser, sharpener, and upscaler. In contrast, DxO PureRaw 2 is an AI-powered noise reduction application.
However, DxO PureRaw 2 is cheaper, and its noise reduction is much faster and at least as good as that of Topaz Photo AI. And while DxO PureRaw 2 cannot fix poor focus or motion blur, its camera-and-lens-specific optical modules process and enhance soft photos to perfection.
So, if you’re looking for a quick way to denoise and polish unblurred raw files, check out DxO Pure Raw 2. Read DxO PureRaw Review.
Topaz Photo AI vs ON1 Plugin Bundle
ON1 also has some fantastic image enhancement apps. In terms of upscaling, denoising, and sharpening – there’s ON1 Resize AI and ON1 NoNoise AI. Alternatively, you can buy both of these applications as part of the ON1 Plugin Bundle and enjoy an HDR plugin and the excellent ON1 Effects. Read ON1 Plugin Bundle Review.
But, the biggest bargain is to buy ON1 Photo Raw, a full-blown photo editing and management tool that includes all ON1 Plugins built-in. Read ON1 Photo Raw Review for more information.
Overall, ON1’s image enhancement apps run faster than Topaz’s. Regarding photo denoising, ON1 NoNoise AI’s noise reduction is on par with Topaz Photo AI and Denoise AI, while it’s built-in sharpening, TackSharp AI, falls well short of its Topaz alternatives. Read ON1 NoNoise AI Review for more information.
Furthermore, ON1 Resize AI cannot match Gigapixel or Topaz Photo’s upscaling, but it is loaded with extra print-friendly features, and user presets. Read ON1 Resize AI Review.
Topaz Photo AI vs OM Workspace
Topaz Photo AI’s image sharpening and noise reduction are superior to OM Workspace. And unlike OM Workspace, Topaz Photo AI will process images taken with any camera – not just the OM-D M1ii and newer.
So, if you’re looking for the best photo noise reduction for your Micro Four Thirds images, Topaz Photo AI won’t disappoint. Read OM Workspace AI Noise Reduction Tested and Compared for more information.
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Conclusion
Topaz Photo AI combines first-class image enhancement applications Gigapixel, Denoise AI, and Sharpen AI and places them into one single coherent application. In other words, Topaz Photo AI is the sum of its excellent parts with a little dash of convenience on top.
But as the sum of its parts, Topaz Photo AI also inherits some issues – namely speed. While Topaz Photo AI is no slower than most AI image enhancement tools, ON1 alternatives such as NoNoise AI and Resize AI do much the same thing faster. And you can have those tools AND a fully-fledged photo editor in ON1 Photo Raw.
Furthermore, Topaz Photo AI only makes sense if you want denoising, sharpening, and upscaling. For instance, if you only want an excellent noise-reduction application, you’d be better off buying the equally effective Denoise AI as a standalone.
But if you want two or more of these standalone Topaz products, Topaz Photo AI is the way to go. Topaz’s noise reduction technology is outstanding, and its sharpening technology is so good it corrects poor focus and motion blur to the point where I’m impressed every time I use it.
So if you’re looking for world-class sharpening, noise reduction, and upscaling in a single ridiculously easy-to-use package – Topaz Photo AI is your ticket.
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GET TOPAZ PHOTO AI
BUY TOPAZ PHOTO AI
Buy Topaz Photo AI for a one-off fee plus 1-year’s worth of updates.
$199
TOPAZ PHOTO AI TRIAL
Topaz Photo AI Free Download. No Credit Card is Required.
$0
Plus: Refund for any reason within 30 days
Read more Topaz Reviews
OM Workspace Review – AI Noise Reduction Tested and Compared
Topaz DeNoise AI Review 2023 + Topaz Denoise AI Trial
Topaz Photo AI Review – 3 in 1 Excellence with just 1 problem.
Gigapixel AI Review 2023 – Almost Perfect. Almost.
Topaz Image Quality Bundle Review 2022
Topaz Sharpen AI Review 2023 – Nearly Perfect but needs to be Faster
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