“Enhance that image” she said, as the tech on a 1999 486 clicked a his button and made the perp appear from the muddy shadows down the alley. Data that was never there appeared like magic!
Most photographers have seen this many times and laughed thinking of what unsharp mask actually does. For me my everyday tools, software, presets and actions are the simple mainstays of being a photographer. But what if we could have something that could save images we screwed up or that were missing information?
Today we’ll look at two products from Topaz, Sharpen AI and AI Gigapixel. to see if we actually can MAGNIFY and ENHANCE in 2019. Don’t forget to go full screen or watch on YouTube in 4k so you can see what a day ago, you might have thought was impossible.
Also here’s a couple high res examples so you can see just how much is being done before and after. Click on the images to view them large.
There’s some great photo tools and plugins out there and we all hate paying full price. To get you more bang for your buck Pro Photo Show has been arranging deals and discounts for you readers. We’re getting a nice collection of savings compiled in one place. I’ll keep
working on more deals and update this page with the latest. In the meantime you’re welcome to pass these along to your friends and help them save them some money too. PPS also gets credit when you buy using out codes. Know a company you think should be on the deals page. Email us, prophotoshow@gmail.com and we’ll see what we can work out.
PPS Discount Codes…
Seim Effect Tools. Save 15% Promo code: PPS Gavin’s simple and fast editing tools.
Topaz Labs. Save 15% Promo code: PROSHOW
DeNoise, Adjust, Enhance and more.
Imagenomics.Save 15% Promo code: PPSIMG Portraiture, Noiseware and more.
Photomatix Pro. Save 15% Promo code: PPS15 A favorite HDR processing software.
NOTE: This article is a few years old. Most of the products mentioned here have newer refined versions. They arr all viable options. Look over our review. But also check out the latest offerings from each company and see what they offer.
by Gavin Seim. Updated 04/2010: Even with cameras getting amazing at high ISO, low noise images, there’s still room in our kits for good noise reduction software. It allows us to push the limits and keep our images clean and vivid. Nearly every serious photographer should have a good noise reduction tool in his arsenal. That said I don’t think we need to use NR all the time like we did in the past. A little noise is not always bad, especially the more appealing grain like noise coming from today’s cameras. I keep various NR tools on hand however so if I want to reduce, their ready to go.
Today the showdown has come. I see lots of talk about what’s the best noise reduction software, but mostly it’s all talk. Rather than just talk, I’ve made comparisons. Lots of comparisons. I’ll give you examples with various products, images, cameras and ISO settings, including some HDR. At the end I’ll give my final opinions of each product and let you decide for yourself. Let’s get started.
All tests were made using the Photoshop plugin versions of the products but some are available as standalone apps. Settings varied, but I used mostly default settings and automatic profiles, with occasional tweaks to get the results I felt looked best. This means these images represent the results you would get with a single pass and minimal hassle.
Often I found that one product maybe great on one image, while another product may work better on the next. Tweaking the settings would perhaps improve results a little depending on the image, however I wanted a real feel of the results we’ll get everyday. You can click any image for a large view, but some results are similar so you may want to download the large image bundle linked below.
