DWOfPaul wrote:
Yep, on one hand, I am sure that for at least the first few years, Topaz will end up making more money. But unless they seriously improve their photo software, I have to wonder if long term it will be neutral at best. As a few people have noted, other companies have been catching up, if not surpassing Topaz, since they switched to an all in one app. You can get LR for about 150 a year, which offers a lot more than Photo AI and is cheaper. Also, while LR upgrades might not be as fast as we would like, the LR we have today is definitely better overall than the LR we had 3 years ago. In my experience, Photo AI has yet to reach the quality of the standalone plugins....Show more →
Me too. It's a mystery why the combined Photo AI is less than the sum of its parts but the results are often below par. I have virtually stopped using it anyway and don't plan to renew.
I have been a fan of Topaz for a number of years. The latest AI versions with paid rendering off-site are really trying my patience. The results are a mixture of added pixels and unreal cartoonish subjects. The pictures will not pass credential screening.
RoamingScott wrote:
You will continue to have access to the version you bought, just as you always have. This is for the new versions.
Scott, I am in the process of building a new computer, but I no longer have the download information. I haven't looked through the email for the authorization to use. Any place to download the old version that you are aware of?
BillinTexas wrote:
Scott, I am in the process of building a new computer, but I no longer have the download information. I haven't looked through the email for the authorization to use. Any place to download the old version that you are aware of?
Just sign into your Topaz account on their website. What you are licensed for shows up on the "My Products" page and there are download links available.
I gave up on Topaz a long time ago.
And I was a looong time user of their creative offerings from way back.
I still like the old tools, which continue to work.
All of the Topaz AI tools have never appealed to me, and still don't.
Bye-bye Topaz...
I got an email from them saying I’m grandfathered because I have two active licenses at the moment. What that exactly means, I actually don’t know. I do know that I won’t pay $200 for their software as a subscription, as in it’s too expensive for me.
Good, one less drain on my bank account, just cancelled all my future renewals. I just Uninstalled everything as well, I haven't been using it for years anyway other than to update it...lol.
Good luck Topaz Labs, the last sixteen years have been a slice!
LiveShots wrote:
I’ve been playing with DXO PhotoLab9 today using their trial version. They have a denoise option I’ve yet to play with.
I’m hoping I can ditch C1 and Topaz in favor of DXO….
DXO has the best denoise for most images if you are denosing a raw file. As of the last time I checked, unfortunately they don't work on TIF files.
So if I have a high ISO raw file, I will either use LR AI denoise or DXO denoise at the beginning of my workflow, depending on how noisy the image is.
But for low ISO images that I push hard during edetting, such as landscapes, I find it best to clean up the noise at almost the end of my workflow. Which means I need the ability to denoise a TIF file.
johnvanr wrote:
I got an email from them saying I’m grandfathered because I have two active licenses at the moment. What that exactly means, I actually don’t know. I do know that I won’t pay $200 for their software as a subscription, as in it’s too expensive for me.
I got the same email, but it's marketing BS speech "I think"... because in my mind, all that means is I can download and use the new Topaz Photo app for the remainder of my support term of Photo AI, then they will put their hand out and say "oh, you like the new app, time to start paying for it". That's my best guess interpretation from reading their blog.
I will HATE changing app's and workflows... I'm already on the hook for Adobe's photographers subscription... I guess I'll consolidate to just that... I mainly just use ACR and PS... never messed with LR except when I first installed the suite and I hated the cataloging and overhead of LR, I have my own filing methods. I dunno... grrrrrr!
The Topaz individual apps I own, plus Photo AI will continue to work, but now Photo AI will be orphaned with no further development, meaning their useful life span is now limited (hardware profiles will not get updated for new gear. No idea if Operating System compatibility will be maintained)
So Topaz is giving us the big "pull my finger" yet again asking us for more money and to go from support model to subscription model at a third more than I'm paying for Adobe Photographers suite.
CaptureOne is $329 to buy the software until it goes to a new version then it requires another purchase or subscription is $26 per month (pay the whole amount at once and it is reduced to $17 per month or $204 annually).
CaptureOne offers upgrades at 40% off in upgrading within one year of purchase, or 20% within 2 years, after that the reductions only apply to subscribers.
Topaz Studio is $33 per month ($399 annually)
DXO PhotoLab9 is $240 to buy the software until it gets a new version then it requires another purchase at $119.
PixelMator was a one-time purchase and has now been rolled into Apple. Not sure if it will be merged with the Photos App in future.
Although I like C1, the cost is getting prohibitive. DXO is looking better, I can buy that outright and if there's something new after a year then I can get it for much less than a C1 upgrade.
DWOfPaul wrote:
DXO has the best denoise for most images if you are denosing a raw file. As of the last time I checked, unfortunately they don't work on TIF files.
I just checked in PhotoLab9 and DeNoise option is greyed out for TIF files.
arbitrage wrote:
If you are a LR user I don't see any reason to keep paying for Topaz. I haven't touched Topaz since LR Denoise was a thing.
PureRAW may outperform LR on really high images but I never found any images Topaz outperformed it on.
$200 a year is a tough ask IMO.
Usually I don't have the patience to wait 2 or 3 minutes for LR's denoise to complete the job, it's like watching grass grow. Hope they can improve. I remember Topaz denoise was very slow a couple years ago.
That’s your computer being under powered. Denoise takes about 10 to 15 seconds on my files.
Douglas L wrote:
Usually I don't have the patience to wait 2 or 3 minutes for LR's denoise to complete the job, it's like watching grass grow. Hope they can improve. I remember Topaz denoise was very slow a couple years ago.
. Hope they can improve. I remember Topaz denoise was very slow a couple years ago.