Saved by Topaz

If you follow my Facebook page, the shot below is one that I just shared. But there's a backstory to it, which is a testimony to the power of Topaz Sharpen. Here's the shot I posted. It's a tack-sharp capture of a black skimmer doing a very high speed pass over a hyacinth macaw, on a beach in the Pantanal of Brazil.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...bHwn9DS-XL.jpg

The only "problem" with this picture is that I totally screwed up! I set the shutter speed too low, and the skimmer came out blurred. Here's the original:

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...wS9mjJq-XL.jpg


When I saw the result in my camera, I kicked myself rather severely. But then I thought I'd run it through Topaz Sharpen, using the motion blur algorithm. I could not believe the results --- it completely saved the shot and corrected my egregious mistake. Paid for itself right there!

Very glad that Topaz worked its magic. Great encounter you captured there!

Topaz Sharpen AI is totally amazing .... great shot too!

I need to learn how to use this.

It has a good interface with Lightroom. After making your normal adjustments, you can then edit your image in Topaz. The program pops open, and there are only a few options that you need to play with. It helps to have a fast computer that also has a good graphics chip; otherwise it can take a while to do its thing. When you finalize the image it is automatically loaded into Lightroom next to the original. Pretty slick.

I have never been much of a LightRoom user but have used Topaz Sharpen AI for around 3 years now in Photoshop. It is a wonderful tool and there are many ways it can be used. I sometimes use it on just a small selection of an image like a bird's head. If you sharpen an entire image it does tax your computer a bit and can take a while to process but it's worth it.

Topaz DeNoise is a lot quicker to run and often provides enough sharpening on its own, so it’s usually my first choice. I really only use Sharpen if the photo already has very low noise, or I need a rescue operation :rolleyes:. I’m still interested in the new Photo AI program which combines the two. I’m keen to see how it works and whether it’s worth the upgrade.

I agree ... DeNoise comes first