Photo AI 1.0.7 - is it just me, or are the results vastly improved?

Zeee wrote:

Euell wrote:

Digital Nigel wrote:

CrisL wrote:

Digital Nigel wrote:

ProDude wrote:

Digital Nigel wrote:

ProDude wrote:

Ernie Misner wrote:

Amazing and good to hear. Did you open your raw file directly in Photo AI, or?

Yes indeed I did take a ORF file right into the program. It does a nice job

I'm finding that, for raws, Photo AI falls a long way short of PhotoLab 6 with DeepPRIME XD. See https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66596422

Of course, Photo AI has the advantage with JPEGs.

Well not really. But then it depends on how much you hate digital noise. I personally prefer to ban it altogether and not compromise the detail. Yes DXO does a admirable job in this area. Better than anyone else out there, BUT perhaps in one manner not as well as Topaz. I can manipulate a 12,800ISO image with Topaz and end up with a finely detailed image, NO color noise nor ANY grain.

But no detail, either. Photo AI's heavy-handed NR loses all the detail.

If I try it on DXO it gets rid of most of the grain, but in many cases leaves some. Its a personal choice. limit it, moderate it or BAN it. I prefer the later. To each their own. From my recent testing I must say Topaz is getting VERY close to an essentially perfect software package with the Photo AI. Perhaps another couple updates and they can be there.

You get less detail with Photo AI than DeepPRIME XD, plus the Topaz raw processor is very poor (and isn't improving). For best noise-free results process raws in PhotoLab, then apply a final polish in Photo AI.

Sometimes it may be true but I found in this case PAI is definitively removing too much details even if you put the remove noise strengh to the minimum 1 . I got better controllable result using ON1 NoNoise AI after DXO

With PL5 DeepPRIME, I sometimes found that DeNoise AI Clear model could add a useful extra 'polish'. But with PL6 DeepPRIME XD, I've yet to find an image that needs it. If I did, I think I'd still use DeNoise AI, not Photo AI.

So I've yet to find a use case for Photo AI. I'd never use it to process raw images, and if I need to enhance an image after processing in PL, I think I'd prefer to use the right one of the three basic Topaz AI apps.

I don't think anyone in the thread has so far mentioned the distinction between actual and apparent sharpness, When processing an image the latter is what will impress, rather than the former. The paradox is that while actual sharpness is great to have, a picture processed to suggest apparent sharpness will generally be deemed superior when viewed in the print. In this regard, local contrast can be more important than actual fine detail.

Sharpness is achieved but the increase of contrast. PTAI also has s detail slider which is usually a micro contrast adjustment. I think PL has dedicated micro contrast window but it has been over a year since I've used.

PL has multiple micro contrast controls. For example, I reduce it in the shadows and increase it in the highlights. There's also ClearView Plus, which you can apply both globally and in local adjustments.