Topaz Sharpen AI is an incredibly effective, affordable, and straightforward-to-use AI image sharpener for fixing poorly focused and motion-blurred photos. In a word, Topaz Sharpen AI is the best photo-sharpening application I have used.
In this Topaz Sharpen AI Review, we’ll explore the latest version of Topaz Labs‘ powerful AI image-sharpening application to find out what Sharpen AI is like to use, how good it is, areas for improvement, and how it compares with other photo-sharpening applications such as ON1 NoNoise AI and Topaz Photo AI. Let’s get started! Jump to Conclusion
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Topaz Sharpen AI Review – Contents
- What is Topaz Sharpen AI
- What does Topaz Sharpen AI do
- Who is Topaz Sharpen AI for
- How much is Topaz Sharpen AI?
- Download Topaz Sharpen AI
- Topaz Sharpen AI Trial
- Topaz Sharpen AI System Requirements
- How to use Topaz Sharpen AI
- Topaz Sharpen AI Tutorial (Video)
- Topaz Sharpen AI Tests and Examples
- Does Topaz Sharpen AI work?
- Is Topaz Sharpen AI Slow?
- Topaz Sharpen AI Compared
- Conclusion
What is Topaz Sharpen AI
Topaz Sharpen AI is a standalone AI-powered image-sharpening application for your PC or Mac. And by standalone, I mean you can use Topaz Sharpen AI independently of another photo editor.
Alternatively, you can use Topaz Sharpen AI as a plugin for the following applications.
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Lightroom
What does Topaz Sharpen AI do
Unlike traditional sharpening tools that polish your photo’s edges, Topaz Sharpen AI uses artificial intelligence to correct and restore your image. On the most basic level, this means sharpening without all the usual bizarre artifacts such as fringing and haloing.
But Topaz Sharpen AI takes photo sharpening to the next level with its ability to correct poorly focused and motion-blurred images. As a result, Topaz Sharpen AI enables you to transform your ‘nearly’ photos keepers.
Does Sharpen AI work? The sample below suggests it does. Stay tuned for more samples later in this Topaz Sharpen AI Review.
Who is Topaz Sharpen AI for
Topaz Sharpen AI is for anyone who has captured a blurred photo of a great moment. However, Topaz Sharpen AI is almost essential if you are a professional photographer with clients to please.
How much is Topaz Sharpen AI?
Topaz Sharpen AI costs US$79.99. Alternatively, you can buy Topaz Sharpen AI as part of the Topaz Image Quality Bundle.
Topaz Image Quality Bundle
The Topaz Image Quality Bundle includes Topaz Sharpen AI, Topaz Denoise AI, and Gigapixel AI. Ideal if you’re looking for class-leading image sharpening, denoising, and upscaling. But if you would rather have all these features wrapped into a single application, you should check out Topaz Photo AI.
For more information, check out.
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Download Topaz Sharpen AI
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Topaz Sharpen AI Trial
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Topaz Sharpen AI Trial limitations
You can download Topaz Sharpen AI for free. The trial is lengthy, and no credit card is required. Your original photos will remain unchanged. However, your sharpened photos’ will continue to be watermarked until you become a paying customer.
Topaz Sharpen AI System Requirements
| Topaz Sharpen AI | Recommended System Specifications |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10, 11, MacOS 10.14 or higher |
| CPU | Intel i3, AMD Ryzen 3 3GHz equivalent or above. Apple M1 |
| RAM | 8GB Minimum – 16GB Recommended |
| GPU | Open GL 3.3 Compliant (minimum Nvidia GTX740/AMD 5870) |
| GPU RAM | 2GB Minimum – 6GB Recommended |
| Display Resolution | 1024×768 Minimum |
How to use Topaz Sharpen AI
Sharpen AI is a specialized AI image-sharpening application, and thanks to its singular purpose, Topaz Sharpen AI enjoys a simple, easy-to-use interface.
#1 Open your image
When you open your image, Topaz Sharpen AI will, by default, automatically assess your image and apply the AI model and adjustments it thinks work best. If you want to make adjustments, click on the Change button.
#2 Making your adjustments
There are ten different AI models to choose from, with each model featuring parameters such as Remove Blur and Suppress Noise. Which model is best varies from photo to photo, and it’s worth clicking through each model until you find one that looks best.
#3 Comparing multiple AI models simultaneously.
Comparing different AI models is much easier with Topaz Sharpen AI’s split screen model. To set up a slider view or a 2-way or 4-way split screen, click on the icons at the top-right of your image.
#4 Export your sharpened image
When you’ve finished sharpening your photo, click Save Image. You’ll be presented with various options such as Image Format (JPEG, TIFF, etc.), quality, and filename. When you’re done, click Save.
Topaz Sharpen AI Tutorial (Video)
Topaz Sharpen AI Tests and Examples
In this part of this Topaz Sharpen AI Review, we’ll determine whether Topaz Sharpen AI is up to the task. Each sample is a 100% 1:1 crop of a blurred image – thus leaving poor processing exposed with nowhere to hide.
Sample 1. Processing Portraits with Topaz Sharpen AI
Many software applications struggle to process portraits correctly. However, Topaz Sharpen AI ably corrected focus while preserving the subject’s natural features. Bravo, Topaz Labs.
Sample 2. Topaz Sharpen AI for Wildlife
Like many, you probably take a lot of photos of Girrafes. If so, Topaz Sharpen AI did a great job correcting this photo’s motion blur while preserving the Giraffe’s fine detail. In retrospect, I was a little heavy-handed on the detail slider leading to a somewhat overprocessed look you can easily avoid.
Sample 3. Correcting poor focus with Topaz Sharpen AI
Watching Topaz Sharpen AI correct front/back focused images for the first time was jaw-dropping. Looking back, I have deleted many photos Topaz Sharpen AI could have saved.
Sample 4. Using Topaz Photo for remastering old photos
This is a poorly focused, low-detail image taken at high ISO. Nevertheless, Sharpen AI handled this hopeless scenario pretty well.
Sample 5. Using Topaz Sharpen AI for Everyday Sharpening
So, we now know that Topaz Sharpen AI is great for correcting blur. But what about regular sharpening? Topaz Sharpen AI delivers artifact-free sharpening vastly superior to traditional sharpening tools.
Does Topaz Sharpen AI work?
As the above Topaz Sharpen AI tests demonstrate, Sharpen AI works very well correcting poor focus and motion blur. Furthermore, Sharpen AI is vastly superior to traditional methods when it comes to simple image sharpening.
Is Topaz Sharpen AI Slow?
While Topaz Sharpen AI produces excellent results, it is slow to create them. For instance, when you change your AI model or adjust your AI model’s parameters, Sharpen AI will take between 5 and 15 seconds to rerender the image.
But because you’re likely browsing and optimizing multiple AI models, you’ll face this delay multiple times throughout processing a single image.
But in my opinion, the wait is worth the results. For reference, I’m testing Topaz Sharpen AI on Ryzen 7 2700x PC with 32GB of RAM, SSD storage, and a GTX 1070ti GPU (with the latest drivers). If you want to find out how quickly Topaz Sharpen AI runs on your computer, download the free Topaz Sharpen AI trial. Download
Topaz Sharpen AI Compared
Topaz Sharpen AI vs ON1 NoNoise 2023
Tack Sharp AI is new to ON1 NoNoise 2023 and offers similar functionality to Topaz Sharpen AI. While NoNoise AI 2023 is one of the best noise reduction applications you buy, this first iteration of Tack Sharp is no match for Topaz Sharpen AI.
That being said, Tack Sharp runs way faster. So, if you’re looking for an outstanding Noise Reduction application with an effectively free sharpening tool, check out ON1 NoNoise 2023. Read ON1 NoNoise AI Review.
Topaz Sharpen AI vs Topaz Photo AI
Topaz Photo AI is an image enhancement application combining the capabilities of Topaz Sharpen AI, Gigapixel AI, and Topaz Denoise AI into a single user-friendly interface. In short, Topaz Photo AI is outstanding.
But if you don’t want upscaling and noise reduction, Topaz Sharpen AI is just as good at correcting blur as Topaz Photo AI and costs much less. Read Topaz Photo AI Review
Topaz Sharpen AI vs Topaz Denoise AI
Although Sharpen AI and Denoise AI are two very different products, there is some crossover. Specifically, Topaz Denoise AI does sharpen and restore the detail of the images it denoises. However, Topaz Denoise cannot correct motion blur or poor focus, whereas Topaz Sharpen AI can.
Of course, Topaz Sharpen AI cannot denoise your photo so which is best depends on your needs. In an ideal world, you might like both.
In this case, you should consider buying Topaz Photo AI as it is effectively Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Gigapixel AI, all rolled into a single, easy-to-use application. Read Topaz Denoise AI Review for more information.
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Conclusion
Topaz Sharpen AI is one of the best photo-sharpening applications on the market today. As demonstrated earlier in this Topaz Sharpen AI review, Sharpen AI blows traditional methods out of the water. Sharpen AI’s ability to correct out-of-focus and motion-blurred images verge on spectacular.
Furthermore, Topaz Sharpen AI is pleasant to look at and straightforward to use, whether you’re leaving Sharpen AI on its automatic mode or making your adjustments. And the ability to compare different AI models simultaneously via two and four-way split screen modes makes it easy to find optimum results.
Speed
However, Topaz Sharpen AI is imperfect in that processing your images can be slow. For instance, when you change your AI model or adjust the model’s parameters, Topaz Sharpen AI will pause for around 10 seconds to rerender the image. And if you are as picky as me, you’ll want to try several models and adjustments, leading to multiple rerenders for each image you work with.
Alternatives
If this is a problem, ON1 NoNoise 2023 features Tack Sharp AI – a much faster equivalent to Topaz Sharpen AI. However, TackSharp AI is less able and consistent. So, I’d find the time to use Topaz Sharpen AI instead.
But in reality, I don’t use Topaz Sharpen AI; I use Topaz Photo AI because it is, effectively, Topaz Sharpen AI, Topaz Denoise AI, and Gigapixel AI all rolled into a single one-stop interface. But if you’re only looking for a sharpener, Topaz Sharpen AI is just as good as Topaz Photo AI and significantly cheaper.
Is Topaz Sharpen AI worth it?
Topaz Sharpen AI is easy to use, relatively affordable, and highly effective. If you’re looking for world-class image sharpening, you’re looking for Topaz Sharpen AI.
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Get Topaz Sharpen AI
BUY TOPAZ SHARPEN AI
Lifetime licence
US$79.99
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