As an aside, if you’re working solely in Lightroom, the order or operation never matters as you are not actually affecting pixels. This is not a criticism of Topaz it’s simply a good thing to know. Denoise AI was unable to do anything with the noise created when I brightened shadows first in Lightroom. It is better to take the RAW file directly to Denoise AI before doing adjustments in Lightroom. Question 2 - Does the order of operation matter? The AI Clear module within Denoise AI yielded better results than the standard Denoise module in every case. Note that the default Denoise module within Denoise AI did not do a good job on any of the photos here. When Denoise AI worked well, however, it really worked! The potential is there so I will plan to always take a look at what Denoise AI can do for future night landscape photos. Uneven processing in the sky was a real problem with Denoise in some photos. Question 1 - Does Denoise AI do a better job removing noise while retaining important detail than Lightroom? Third, would Sharpen AI help to enhance/recreate detail in starry skies and objects that moved during long nighttime exposures?įourth, how would Denoise AI perform with night photos taken years ago with older cameras? Would it help to improve some of our old favorites? Second, does the order of operation matter? That is, is it better to do color and exposure adjustments in Lightroom (or Camera Raw or Photoshop) and then take the file over to Denoise AI or is it better to take the unaltered RAW file straight to Denoise AI and then head back to Lightroom (or Photoshop if that’s your bag) for further processing? I used these questions to frame the review and then chose a series of photos to help provide answers.įirst, would Topaz Denoise AI manage the luminance and color noise inherent in night landscape photos better than I could do with my normal Lightroom workflow? I hoped that Denoise AI would do a great job in removing noise on starry skies and foregrounds without wiping out too much detail. I had four questions regarding Topaz Denoise AI and Sharpen AI for night landscape photography. If you are also into bird and wildlife photography as I am, please check out my blog and video review of Topaz Denoise AI and Sharpen AI for those purposes. The longer the exposure, and the higher the outside temperature, the more our sensor will heat up and the more color noise our image will have. And color noise tends to be a product of long exposures as our camera sensors heat up over time. ISO settings of 1600 to 6400 are common for night landscapes. In general, luminance noise is a result of using high ISO values. While different cameras handle noise differently, nocturnal landscapes tend to suffer from heavy doses of both luminance and color noise. Since landscape photography is one of my main passions, I wanted to investigate whether and how Topaz Denoise AI and Sharpen AI could help for nocturnal landscapes. So, with the considerable hype surrounding the new Topaz AI suite of products, I was intrigued when Topaz asked me to download the software and try it out. That said, I’m certainly all for any software that can give me the best result possible for my photos. So, I never really want to like a plugin too much! Plugins can also be a pain in terms of keeping them updated and working with our core programs. I’ll also admit that I’m not a fan of plugins generally as I prefer to keep a tidy, self-contained Lightroom workflow based on my RAW file as my master. At the same time, I am not a fanboy in terms of photo gear or photo software, and I always try to provide honest reviews of the products that interest me. I admire the software they make and their initiative in trying to push the envelope in terms of photo editing plugins. Night images are generally the most difficult images to handle in terms of noise reduction and at the same time preserve detail.I have been a Topaz affiliate for years, and I’ve even done some web content in collaboration with them. I haven’t tested the Chroma Noise function extensively, but I notice that it reduces and smooths out color casts.ĭisclaimer: The program is in this review only tested in one setting and can, therefore, yield different or even better results for less demanding scenes and images. It is also an idea to run the program twice for particularly tricky areas, with different settings each time. However, we must prepare for some manual masking work if our aim is to make a large print. At its default settings and in Auto mode the program produces images that are more than good enough for social media. I am impressed by how well the DeNoise AI handles noise in the sky and at the same time protects and enhances the stars.
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