Topaz Labs Clarity?

[earlybird]

Hi,
 I am taking some time to try some trial demos this week and have begun with Topaz Clarity. It seems as if it is designed to distract you with the all-in-one-stop parameters that are available but I am trying to focus on just the 4 contrast sliders as all the other functions seem to duplicate standard Photoshop adjustments that I already use routinely. I don't think I am fond of the one-stop, do it all packaging but I assume that is the only practical way to entertain a preset collection enthusiast while providing numerous one click results that are markedly varied.

 Having said that, the 4 contrast sliders seem very interesting and I am enjoying experimenting with them, but I also think I am recognizing a general tendency to arrive at the same combination of proportioned adjustments and so now I am wondering if a one slider "Clarity" function, such as found in Adobe Camera RAW, incorporates the same ideas and has simplified a similar relativity into a single function.

 For example; I find that I am repeatedly increasing the micro contrast up until I notice a change, increasing the low contrast setting upwards a little less than the micro, and pulling the high contrast down a bit. It seems as if the proportioned relationship I am describing between the four sliders might already be coded into a single input control.

 I realize that many people may prefer other parameter setting combos but I can not help but suspect that I might use this new plugin for several months only to realize that it is a slow moving and complex front end for a function that is easily available as a simple parameter adjustment in my Adobe software.

 I am wondering about the opinions of people who have used it extensively. Have you have found that the 4 contrast parameters offer useful control that you can not command from standard Adobe features? Are the four contrast controls truly useful or is this plugin just a wall of slider candy?

 Thank you.

[rdonson]

I'm new to "Clarity" by Topaz Labs as well.  I bought it as an addition to my toolkit that includes Nik tools and those from MacPhun.

For me, these kinds of tools are just tools in the belt.  Do they do things that I can't do in PS?  No.  Do they save me a LOT of time?  Yes!  Does it reduce the chance of halos when I do it in PS?  Yes.  Do I think it does more than "Clarity" in Lightroom?  Yes.  It also helps me see some possibilities in a photo that I may not have thought about. 

Do I use it on all my photos?  Nope. 

For me, the presets in tools like "Clarify" are just starting points.  The previews are a quick way to see where the photo might go.  So far, I'm tweaking the settings for contrast for each image and using the masking tools to refine the results by localizing them. 

I do find the 4 contrast sliders useful?  Yes.  I don't see them replaced by a single parameter adjustment in PS or Lr.  For some images might a single parameter adjustment suffice for you and your photos?  Perhaps.  That's up to you and what you want to do with the photo.

The only gripe I have so far is that the Topaz tools strip away some of the EXIF data.  Looking through their support forums I find it's something they've been aware of for a few years now but haven't fixed.  It has to do with the fact that the damage is done by a library they use from another source. 

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Hi,
 I am taking some time to try some trial demos this week and have begun with Topaz Clarity. It seems as if it is designed to distract you with the all-in-one-stop parameters that are available but I am trying to focus on just the 4 contrast sliders as all the other functions seem to duplicate standard Photoshop adjustments that I already use routinely. I don't think I am fond of the one-stop, do it all packaging but I assume that is the only practical way to entertain a preset collection enthusiast while providing numerous one click results that are markedly varied.

 Having said that, the 4 contrast sliders seem very interesting and I am enjoying experimenting with them, but I also think I am recognizing a general tendency to arrive at the same combination of proportioned adjustments and so now I am wondering if a one slider "Clarity" function, such as found in Adobe Camera RAW, incorporates the same ideas and has simplified a similar relativity into a single function.

Hi,

Topaz Clarity is awesome, and very much unlike the function in LR/Photoshop with the same name. The reason you might arrive at similar slider settings each time, may have to do with your subjects, and your personal taste/style. That's why there are presets, you can create your own, as a quick start requiring only minimal additional tweaking.

I find that different subjects, and even different areas in a single image, can benefit from different settings.

For example; I find that I am repeatedly increasing the micro contrast up until I notice a change, increasing the low contrast setting upwards a little less than the micro, and pulling the high contrast down a bit. It seems as if the proportioned relationship I am describing between the four sliders might already be coded into a single input control.

Well, that's what the presets are for, a one click control, as a starting point. But for some other subject matter you might want to reduce the microcontrast (to avoid a dirty looking surface or to avoid accentuating skin pores) and maybe boost the overall contrast, and another image might require a more lowered general contrast, or open up the Darks a bit more than usual.

Besides that, there is a huge quality difference in this Topaz plugin when compared to the alternatives. One of the reasons, besides being halo free, is the IntelliColor technology that preserves natural looking color when the contrast is changed. Here is a video to show the difference, on a different plugin but using the same technology as in TL Clarity.

I am wondering about the opinions of people who have used it extensively. Have you have found that the 4 contrast parameters offer useful control that you can not command from standard Adobe features?

Yes, very useful.

Are the four contrast controls truly useful or is this plugin just a wall of slider candy?

Very useful, and not slider candy at all. Just analyze your images, and identify different regions (e.g. clouds, skin, water surface, fog (reduce or accentuate), etc. ), and make specific presets for that.

Cheers,
Bart

[Redcrown]

I'm a big fan of Topaz Clarity (and Detail), but do have a slight grudge. I used Topaz Adjust sparingly until Clarity came out. Have not used Adjust since.

After much testing and experience I find I use only 4 of the adjustment sliders: Micro Contrast, Low Contrast, Black Level, and White Level. I don't find much use for Medium and High Contrast, or the Midtones adjustment. I have a preset that sets Micro and Low Contrast both to 0.30, Black Level to 0.10, and White Level to -0.10.

Some of their tutorials encourage using negative values for Medium or High contrast to offset the effects of the Micro and Low contrast, but I find using the Black and White Levels a better way. About 80% of the time I go with just my preset. But when highlights or shadows get pushed too far I compensate with Black and White Level adjustments.

Often times, however, I find the shadows get lost or just don't benefit from the effect. In those cases I mask them off back in Photoshop, usually with a luminosity mask.

In the past, I used a variety of Photoshop-only techniques. Some complicated techniques combining high pass filtering, luminosity masks, linear or hard light blend modes. These could be made simple with actions, but almost always left some bad artifacts that had to be searched and destroyed. Google "Calvin Hollywood Freaky Details" for an example.

But Topaz Clarity easily beat all those techniques, and never leaves nasty artifacts. I also find it far superior to the "Clarity" adjustment in Adobe Camera Raw (LR).

My grudge with Topaz is over their relatively poor quality control. They tend to release software before it's ready for prime time. Look at their own user forums for a long list of problems on new versions. And most of their problems come from the 3rd party common code libraries they use. 

[earlybird]

Thank you for the informative answers.

[howardm]

RedCrown,

I created your preset from your description.  I like it a lot.  Do you mind if I post the exported xml file in the same place I put my build of the dcamprof software?

[Redcrown]

Presets are free, do what you want with them.

Another gripe I have with Topaz is that they don't change their version numbers when they make minor bug fixes. For example, when they first released Remask5 it was version 5.0.1. There were at least 2 bug fixes in the first 2 weeks, yet it is still version 5.0.1.

So even if you let the software check for updates, it may report no updates when, in fact, there is a newer version.

Also, they have a history of messing up update installs when you install "over the top". Always best to unstall compeltely and then re-install.

[Damon Lynch]

I agree with Bart that it's a very useful plugin. But when was the last time Topaz did any kind of work on improving Clarity? Sadly, it's as if they've abandoned all development on it. It's a real shame. I hope they can release some improvements. One I'd love to see is a warning when shadows are blocked or highlights blown.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

I hope they can release some improvements. One I'd love to see is a warning when shadows are blocked or highlights blown.

Yes, I've also sent them my (short) list of feature enhancements, and clipping indicators were one of them. An Apply button would be a nice addition as well, so one can target several separate/masked image regions in sequence with different settings. Saving the mask could also be useful.

A nice little trick that's already possible with TP Clarity's HSL controls may be useful for the removal of colored fringing. One adds a color aware masking on those color fringes while masking out the correction on other parts of the image (click the reveal mode and reset the mask to black, then sample and paint on the fringes) and then target the colored (e.g. purple) fringes with the HSL tool to shift Hue / Desaturate, and or change Lightness of those fringes, and the Color Aware masking is very helpful for that, and the HSL controls have their own mask. I have created a preset that sets the HSL sliders to a slider combination that is useful to me, and all I have to do is select the preset and paint the mask.

Cheers,
Bart

[Peano]

 I am wondering about the opinions of people who have used it extensively. Have you have found that the 4 contrast parameters offer useful control that you can not command from standard Adobe features?

Yes, definitely. This plug-in has capabilities that simply aren't built into ACR's Clarity slider. I also find the hue/sat/lum sliders extremely useful in conjunction with the sliders for contrast dynamics and tone levels. ACR provides similar color sliders, but it is very useful to have them combined with the contrast and tone adjustments.

Clarity and Detail are the only two Topaz plug-ins I use with PS CS6, because of this sort of multi-level flexibility.

[Pictus]

The Topaz Triumvirate:
-ReMask
-Detail
-Clarity
 

[LesPalenik]

The Topaz Triumvirate:
-ReMask
-Detail
-Clarity
 

+1
I use these 3 plugins also quite frequently, in addition to Denoise and occasionally even Impression.
I find them all very useful and definitely time saving.

[rdonson]

I like using Clarity but I wonder about Topaz dedication to improvement.  The product was released in March 2013 and its still version 1.0.0,  Surely there have been bugs reported and features requested.

Anyone had any insights into Topaz as a company??

[m_rouleau]

I like using Clarity but I wonder about Topaz dedication to improvement.  The product was released in March 2013 and its still version 1.0.0,  Surely there have been bugs reported and features requested.

Anyone had any insights into Topaz as a company??

Their free updates for life policy probably makes it more financially attractive to create new plugins than update old ones. Plus they are a small plugin company maintaining a relatively large stable of software.

[Peano]

I like using Clarity but I wonder about Topaz dedication to improvement.  The product was released in March 2013 and its still version 1.0.0,  Surely there have been bugs reported and features requested.

Anyone had any insights into Topaz as a company??

It ain't broke, so I hope they don't "fix" it!

[Jack Hogan]

I like it and use it, but color management in the plug-in preview is broke.

Jack

[rdonson]

It ain't broke, so I hope they don't "fix" it!

I don't like that it strips off certain EXIF data entries.  In my mind, that's broken and needs a fix.

[Peano]

I like it and use it, but color management in the plug-in preview is broke.

Jack

That's a problem with Topaz Adjust used with PSP. It isn't about Topaz Clarity used with Photoshop, which is what I'm using.

[rdonson]

Please keep in mind that not all of us use Topaz solely in Photoshop.  Some of us also use it from Lightroom where things get a little more convoluted since we have to use Topaz Fusion Express 2.  Kind of clunky compared to Nik and MacPhun.

[Jack Hogan]

That's a problem with Topaz Adjust used with PSP. It isn't about Topaz Clarity used with Photoshop, which is what I'm using.

Hi Peano,

Unless they fixed it in the last couple of years I am afraid it is a problem with Clarity 1.0.0 and Photoshop as well, as can be seen in my exchange with Topaz support posted above.  Of course you may not notice it if you don't use color spaces like Adobe RGB.



Jack