Did Topaz Labs FINALLY FIX Photo AI v3.1?
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Introduction
When it comes to photo editing apps, the one that I spend the most time with on this channel is Adobe Lightroom. After all, it's what I use to manage, edit, and share my entire photo library. That said, there are a few other apps that fill in some of the gaps that Lightroom has, and the one I think is worth considering the most by far is Photo AI by Topaz Labs. While Topaz Labs does a great job releasing regular updates to Photo AI, I generally prefer covering the app when they add significant features and performance improvements. That’s what this article is about.
Topaz Labs recently released Photo AI version 3.1, and there are several improvements that are worth highlighting. Some features of Photo AI may not fit into my editing workflow, but others make the app totally worth the price, especially if you've already licensed it and are considering whether to get the app upgrade plan. I will leave a link below if you want to check out Photo AI, but for now, let's dive in.
Photo AI v3.1 Key Enhancements
I have this photo here that I'm going to use to illustrate some of the improvements added to Photo AI version 3.1. I have the app already loaded. If you have an older version of Photo AI, you'll see a button on the top right that says "updates available." You can click on it, and if you have a valid license, it will prompt you to download and install it. That’s how Topaz Labs works; when you purchase the software you get updates for a year, and then if you want to continue getting updates, you can purchase annual upgrade plans.
What I'm going to do is drag this image onto Photo AI. Now let's go ahead and zoom in to 200%. Before that, let’s fit the image to the screen. Several UI enhancements and functionality improvements are worth mentioning.
Over here, there’s a new section saying, “Here are a few more ideas for your image.” This is part of the autopilot feature, which analyzes your photo and makes recommendations. Right now, it is recommending two things: upscale and face recovery.
One of the reasons why I would use Photo AI over Lightroom is upscaling. If you have an image to upscale, Lightroom has super resolution, which will double the width and height of your image, but it only works with certain raw and DNG files. The same goes for noise reduction. Photo AI has outstanding noise reduction, whereas Lightroom’s current AI noise reduction only supports certain raw and DNG files.
Smart Preview Technology
Let’s use the image to show you an important improvement. When this happens, let’s zoom out and allow Photo AI to process the image at full fit resolution. In previous versions of Photo AI, when you zoom in and pan around, the app had to reprocess the image, which was a pain. Now, by zooming to fit, you can let the app process the image completely, and then you don't have to reprocess when you zoom in and pan around.
If you make a change, zoom to fit, let the app do its processing, and then you can zoom in and pan around to see the improvements.
Additional Features
With the image processed, let’s zoom in to show an improvement to an existing filter. Notice the text in the image; it looks weird due to the upscaling. Press and hold the space bar to toggle between the original and processed images. The text looks readable but improves significantly with the new preserve text filter. Click on "add enhancements" and select "preserve text." You can paint on the text you want Photo AI to analyze and preserve.
Photo AI also includes other features that might not fit into my regular workflow but are interesting to know. These features include adjustments to light and color balance.
Exporting Images
Once happy with the improvements, click on the "export image" button, change the file settings, and save the image. You can compare the original and processed versions to see the enhancements made.
Conclusion
While Lightroom remains powerful with extensive tools, it does have gaps. If you need upscaling beyond 2x, excellent noise reduction on non-raw files, face recovery, or text preservation, Photo AI is an excellent app to consider. I've provided a link in the description to learn more about Photo AI.
Keywords
- Adobe Lightroom
- Photo AI
- Topaz Labs
- Photo editing
- Noise reduction
- Upscaling
- Smart preview
- Preserve text
- Face recovery
FAQ
Q: What makes Photo AI different from Adobe Lightroom? A: Photo AI excels in features like upscaling beyond 2x and applying noise reduction to non-raw files, whereas Lightroom has limitations in these areas.
Q: What is the autopilot feature in Photo AI? A: The autopilot feature analyzes your photo and makes enhancement recommendations based on the image's needs.
Q: How does the new smart preview technology work? A: Smart preview processes the image completely when zoomed to fit, allowing users to zoom in and pan without waiting for reprocessing.
Q: What is the preserve text filter? A: The preserve text filter improves the clarity and sharpness of text within an image after processing.
Q: How are updates managed in Photo AI? A: When you purchase Photo AI, you get updates for a year. After that, you can buy annual upgrade plans to continue receiving updates.