RELEASED TODAY: Topaz Photo AI 1.5.2 (SALE ENDS TODAY, 8/18)

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As I described in a previous post, Photo AI integrates the functionality of the Topaz Image Quality Bundle (DeNoise, Sharpen, and Gigapixel) into a single app with the aim of providing "autopilot for image quality".

This approach saves you the effort needed to treat your image in those 3 separate apps, one after the other.

As part of their launch special, Topaz is offering a $40 discount through 10/7 using coupon GETPHOTOAI.

Here are some examples of non-DLSR images as well as vintage image scans being treated in Photo AI, with emphasis on upscaling (which was my favorite feature in Gigapixel). I am especially excited about the Face Recovery feature, as I have a ton of old family photos on hand.

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Latest Photo AI news:

v1.0.1
Released September 22, 2022

Changes since 1.0.0:

Implemented face selection/deselection
Implemented free trials
Updated various camera profiles to have proper exposure baselines, including logic for determining camera make/model, and adding several new cameras
The windows installer now checks for AVX2 support before installing
Removed padding around the app icon on Windows
Filters are now hidden when refining subject or selecting faces, and the save button is disabled
Fixed “COne” folder being created on computers with multiple hard drives and don’t have Capture One installed
Fixed some images having incorrect cropping
Fixed Mac Capture One plugin not working on files with spaces in them
Fixed auto-upscaling showing check when using plugin mode that doesn’t support resizing
Partial fix for crash on some monitors with custom colorspaces
Partial fix for window being larger than the current monitor’s display

Going forward we’d like to share a bit about what major feedback the team is actively working on addressing, to give an idea on what you can expect in the coming weeks. There are no promises these will be completed and ready by any specific release, only that they’re in the pipeline. Here’s the current list:

Subject refinement is not precise enough
Autopilot takes too long looking for subjects or faces, particularly in cases where the user knows there aren’t any

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New version today: Regain control with Auto-Pilot override!

Still on sale through 10/7.

v1.0.2

Released September 29, 2022


Changes since 1.0.1:
•Added preferences panel for customizing Autopilot
•Choose default subject detection model to use, or None
•Disable automatic face detection
•Choose what blur levels should suggest the Sharpen filter
•Customize resolution/scaling targets for auto upscaling
•Lens correction is now applied to input images
•This feature can be disabled using a toggle in the “Preferences” menu
•Replaced AVX2 check in the installer with just an AVX check
•Added prompt when using LrC Plug-In on a list of images that don’t exist on the hard drive
•Fixed model downloading issues within Mac installer
•Fixed some Windows 11 computers not opening TPAI
•Fixed auth failing on users with upgrade licenses that have expired (but should own 1.0.X)
•Fixed issues with window appearing larger than the size of the monitor
•Fixed LrC plugin not installing on Mac if the user renamed their HOME folder
•Fixed prompt about enabling international language support on windows not appearing when invoked from a host editor
•Fixed refine buttons being clickable while Autopilot is processing

To improve:
•Subject refinement is not precise enough
•The Sharpen filter sometimes oversharpens on images with low amounts of blur

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New weekly update! On sale through tomorrow, 10/7.

v1.0.3
Released October 6, 2022

Changes since 1.0.2:

"Added new model to Sharpen filter that better handles low amounts of blur without over-sharpening
Added sliders for more parameters on some filters
Added command line interface
There’s a lot to this one, but if you run the executable with --help you can see the different options it takes
Re-designed seats dialog
Re-designed updates available dialog
Improved performance and stability on some hardware
Improved accuracy of luma noise detection
Fixed rare crash when checking authentication
Fixed file paths not loading with certain characters
Fixed AP Preferences dialog not expanding properly
Fixed crash caused by lens correction
Fixed black border in corners when zoomed in with lens correction enabled
Fixed preview not stop processing when opening a refine mode
Fixed crashes when opening or exporting large amounts of images
Fixed certain cropping metadata on ORF photos not being handled
Fixed some visual artifacts with Face Refinement in certain circumstances
Fixed subject mask sometimes showing the mask of a previous image after switching
Fixed switching images while in a refine mode saving the changes rather than cancelling
Fixed horizontal lines visual artifact on some images
Potentially fixed crash on open on Mac

Known Issues

Face refinement may have visual artifacts when lens correction is enabled
Users behind some firewall products may need to allow “Multi-compressed ZIP/GZIP files” to be downloaded

We still have a lot more planned! Here’s the problem areas we’ve heard your feedback on and are actively working on improving:

Subject refinement is not precise enough"

Attached:

Experimenting with 4x enlargement, otherwise I left settings on Auto Pilot. This is a screenshot from Instagram of one of the photos I posted there. Very nice cleanup! Gigapixel was always my favorite Topaz app, glad to see the legacy continues in Photo AI.

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And again!

v1.0.4
Released October 7, 2022

Changes since 1.0.3:
Fixed a crash when working with RAW files whose lens correction was smaller than the original image size
Fixed black borders on RAW files whose lens correction was smaller than the original image size
Fixed CLI output on Windows being hidden due to it running as a GUI application
Fixed closing an image making it so it cannot be re-imported until restarting the app
Fixed issue with AI engine where an invalid minimum Mac OS version was listed
Fixed some issues when switching images when in refine mode

Known Issues:
Lens correction may still cause crashes when zooming in on certain images. As a workaround, disable lens correction from the preferences menu item.

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Tonight's update:

v1.0.5
Released October 13, 2022

Change log:

General:
Use HTTPS for downloads on Windows in installer
CLI should now respect Autopilot settings
CLI should now apply camera profile correctly depending on input/output

Fixes:
Fixed crash when importing lots of images at once
Fixed issue with demo mode when no seats were available
Fixed lens correction crash/weird preview behavior. Now only applies lens correction on true RAW files, not linear RAW.
Fixed lens correction crash when using high zoom levels on corners of some images
Fixed DeNoise standard model not loading in some cases
Fixed preview area jumping around when importing an image

Memory related:
Updated AI engine to fix a memory leak
Rework how images are passed around to avoid multiple copies in some places
Lower memory footprint of TIFF/DNG output (6000x4000 saves ~48MB, 32000x32000 saves ~2GB)
Hide preview/navigator when exporting
Use high bit depth format for previews instead of converting to 8-bit
Reduce size of various image caches by 90+% (masks, face refinement)

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This week Topaz has an update for Photo AI (v. 1.0.6) that continues improving memory usage and performance improvements and bug fixes, general quality of life stuff AND an AI Brush, a feature that will allow you to refine your subject mask with much more precision! Topaz thinks this is much better than the “dumb” brushing in the older IQ apps, even with their edge detection modes. It still has a lot to improve upon though, and you should expect to see further updates to it.

My early tests are attached showing auto-selection, then my refinements (a little more could still be done):

v1.0.6
Released October 20, 2022

Changes since 1.0.5:

•Implemented AI Brush, a feature for more finely editing the subject selection
•Further reduced memory usage, particularly when batch processing
•Various performance optimizations
•Default zoom is now “Zoom to fit” on small images
•Updated exiftool, adding support for several new cameras and metadata tags
•Updated lensfun, adding support for several new cameras and lenses
•Fixed some special characters, like #, causing issues with loaded images
•Fixed crash when saving some RAW images
•Fixed Mac being prevented from falling asleep whenever the app is open. Now it’s only prevented while processing images
•Fixed issues with Subject Only and subject masks sometimes not applying correctly
•Fixed images that are 1024x1024 or 2048x2048 becoming washed out after running face detection
•Fixed the subject detection setting in AP preferences visually resetting to “Default” after re-opening the application
•Fixed subject refinement and face selection modes not closing when dragging an image into the application
•Fixed the app sometimes crashing while closing, particularly when used as an external editor
•Fixed image settings tooltip showing Sharpen settings incorrectly
•Fixed Sharpen sliders showing suggested values at 1 when Sharpen is not suggested

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v1.0.7
Released October 27, 2022

Changes since 1.0.6:

While making a mask brush stroke, the feathering won’t be rendered so you can see what precisely is being selected
The Face Recovery filter is now enabled if there are detected faces, and will automatically select all or no faces on toggle, as appropriate
Enabled the mask softness slider when the subject is set to “None”
The “Activate” button in the login dialog now reactivates after a couple seconds, in case the user closes their browser / tab
Fixed crash when starting a mask brush in the margins of the preview
Fixed crash caused by switching images rapidly
Fixed crash on certain images due to lens correction
Fixed CLI hanging if an image fails to write
Fixed installer claiming some versions of AVX as not supported that actually are
Fixed issues with the AI Brush appearing in the wrong spot in some situations
Fixed Mac not opening files as an external editor sometimes
Fixed instances not merging on Windows when files are located on external drives (causing issues like LrC appearing to not open all your files in TPAI if you have many selected)
Fixed images opened on Windows using “Open With” not saving if set to “original folder”
Fixed some plugin files on Mac being owned by root rather than the user, preventing things like PhotoShop 2023 automatically copying them over to the new plugins folder
Fixed face indicators in navigator appearing incorrectly on large faces

We still have a lot more planned! Here’s some of the things we are actively working on improving:

AI Brush
Performance of the preview panel (particularly when zoomed out on large images)

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v1.0.8
Released November 3, 2022

Changes since 1.0.7:

Add --showSettings and --skipProcessing flags to command line interface
Window position should now be saved between app runs
AVX check should no longer trigger antivirus
Installer will now attempt to use HTTPS to avoid firewall issues
Image preview should now clear after closing and re-opening an image
Fixed an issue where CLI didn’t cap the amount of simultaneously saving images
Fixed Autopilot dots not being correct in Sharpen
Fixed Enhance parameters being wrong if controls were modified before resizing
We still have a lot more planned! Here’s some of the things we are actively working on improving:

AI Brush
Performance of the preview panel (particularly when zoomed out on large images)

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v1.0.9
Released November 10, 2022

Changes since 1.0.8:

• App should open on lower end GPU setups again
• Updated AI Engine

– First time caching should be slightly faster
– Will now cache CPU models in memory
– Reduce memory usage on large images
– Fix various concurrency issues

• Updated Exiftool to 12.50
• Added ability to drag and drop folders to import all images inside them
• Added scrollbar to the file list at the bottom and made scrollbars slightly bigger
• Added a help message when using LR from the Edit In option instead of the plugin workflow
• Fixed frequent block artifact on high softness strength while masking
• Fixed zoom combobox stealing focus after it was clicked
• Tweaked Lightroom Classic plugin wording

Attached: Scan of a 1994 35mm negative with Photo AI on complete auto-pilot.

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v1.0.10
Released November 17, 2022

Currently offered as a Black Friday discount.

Changes since 1.0.9:

• Fixed a potential crash on super pixel generation
• Fixed an issue where the Photoshop plugin wouldn’t start sometimes on Mac
• Fixed plugin installation for Photoshop Elements and Affinity Photo 2
• ExifTool start error from LrC now comes with a support link to help fix the issue
• Fixed tooltip showing image settings getting stuck, can now get unstuck by hovering any image in batch view
• Uninstaller should now remove everything properly
• Installer will now ask to close Capture One on Windows to avoid plugin installation issues
• There is now a warning when closing an image whose settings have been modified
• Fixed mask mode sometimes saying “No Filters Active” instead of “Viewing Original”

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From Topaz' CEO:

You can now get Topaz Photo AI v1.1.0 with a new raw model, better AI Brush, snappier previews, better noise detection, and more. This is our biggest update since release; we’re really proud of it and hope you like it! You will see Topaz Photo AI continue to improve each Thursday.

Topaz Photo AI’s core value is that it helps you maximize image quality on autopilot, so our team has been focused on both the quality and consistency of your results. To that end, right now we’re mainly working on improving the image quality models, autopilot accuracy, subject refinement, and performance.

We’re actively working on these features:

• New upscaling model (Enhance Resolution) for finer detail and more natural results. In internal testing, this new model significantly outperforms our existing upscaling models in both Gigapixel and Topaz Photo AI.
• Improve blur estimation so Autopilot can enable or disable Sharpen more reliably.
• Further improve subject refinement based on AI Brush feedback
• For raw images: improve strong raw noise parameter estimation and allow Autopilot to select it.
• Add Configure Autopilot option to enable or disable Remove Noise at various noise levels, similar to the current Sharpen option.

After that, here’s what’s next:

• New Remove Noise model for non-raw images that preserves more detail and responds better to slider changes.
• New Sharpen model for focus and motion blur that creates fewer artifacts.
• Add cropping and allow optional auto-upscaling to original image dimensions.
• Improve subject detection model accuracy to reduce how often you need to refine inaccurate subjects
• Add Apple Photos extension
• Improve the batch processing workflow

We’re also improving performance, reducing memory, and fixing bugs every release. We aim to release most of these improvements within the next few months, although there’s not a firm timeline. While you’ll likely see this roadmap change based on feedback, in the meantime we hope this shows you the direction we’re taking the product.

Thanks. We’re looking forward to making Topaz Photo AI the perfect tool for you!

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v1.1.1
Released December 8, 2022

Changes since 1.1.0:

Updated AI Engine
Fixed some model loading issues
Fixed some OpenVINO crashes
Fixed some TensorRT errors
Memory usage reduced
ExifTool is now embedded in the app instead of being run as a separate process
Model files on Mac should now be pre-cached in the installer which should make first load faster
Photoshop silent mode plugin will now save automatically when invoked
Added right click menu on preview panel which mirrors batch menu
Changed image open errors on Mac to use the native dialog
Reworded some Autopilot configuration labels
Cleared up batch thumbnail hover tooltip
Reworded buy license button if license is expired
Lightroom Plug-In Extras helper prompt no longer shows when input file is from a potentially unsupported camera
Added a camera profile translation for Panasonic DC-TZ200

Fixes:

Fixed issue with face refinement when using NVidia backend
Fixed issue where CPU was being used excessively when an image was not opened
Fixed issue where metadata being read would freeze on unsupported images from LR
Fixed face bounding boxes being at incorrect scales and positions
Fixed orientation not being applied to 180 degree images
Fixed issues with auth and updates
Fixed fit zoom breaking between view modes and image loads
Fixed clicking on the image requesting a proc instead of just showing original
Fixed some pixel shift in fit view
Fixed last filter saving/loading
Fixed preview jumping around when switching between images of different sizes
Fixed “Renew” button adding the wrong item to the cart
Fixed claim seats button disappearing when a user needs to claim multiple seats
Fixed some login prompt issues where an incorrect error would show

Known Issues:

In Photoshop, editing a smart filter will reset it to Autopilot settings
If you own this version and have an expired license while offline you cannot log in until reconnecting to the internet

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v1.1.2
Released December 15, 2022

Changes since 1.1.1:

Added “Apply current settings to all” in image menu
New model for suggested strength parameter for RAW Denoise Strong
Updated camera profiles
Improved error handling in LrC Plug-In Extras flow
Added filename validation to prefix and suffix text fields
App updates dialog opens faster, update indicator is hidden while login dialog is open
Fixed some images having incorrect image cropping applied
Fixed prompt for sending RAW images as TIFFs from LrC appearing when it shouldn’t
Fixed preview snapping when changing zoom
Fixed “Subject Only” toggle not working
Fixed GPS data being stripped when saving images
Fixed some images loading with vertical stripes
Fixed users with expired licenses not being able to use an owned version of the app while offline

Known Issues:

Apply Settings sets the incorrect number of faces in Face Recovery
Apply Settings to or from linear raw files will cause a model loading failure from other formats
When subject is set to “None”, mask strokes disappear after you lift your mouse. As a workaround, you can select a different subject setting and erase it.

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v1.1.3, currently on sale for 25% off
Released December 22, 2022

Changes since 1.1.2:

Photoshop plugin can now save masking strokes between runs on the same image
Current image should now be removed from the background when loading another image
Added formatting support based on current locale (e.g., 2.87 will be 2,87 for locales that use comma as the decimal separator)
Improved batch tooltip UI
Improved error messages when model fails to load or run
Modified error messages coming from the image reader to hopefully be more clear
Added an unfocused color to the titlebar

Fixes:

Fixed issue where certain characters would cause issues with external editors (e.g., Japanese, Norwegian, some German characters, etc)
Fixed an issue where only the preview area of the image would be saved if saving at the exact right moment during processing
Fixed mask not rendering when subject mask was set to “None”
Fixed some masking related crashes
Fixed turning off subject mask not updating preview until panned
Fixed crash reporter not running in plugin mode
Fixed some RAW files loading with incorrect colors due to floating-point black level values
Fixed several RAW files using incorrect camera profiles
Fixed right clicking preview showing original image
Fixed some cases where the current image would process while switching to another image
Fixed interaction with Apply Settings to All and Face Refinement
Fixed Linear RAW interaction with Apply Settings to All

Known Issues:

We are investigating some issues with images sometimes not being imported back to LR
“Apply Settings to All” may not work if the batch includes Linear RAW images

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v1.1.4, currently on sale for 25% off – LAST DAY
Released December 29, 2022

Changes since 1.1.3:

Updated blur detection model
Added hotkey to switch masking modes (x swaps between add/sub)
Checking for updates button is faster, and has a manual refresh button
Improve main menu organization
Menu items now show shortcut keys on Windows
Removed autopilot green dot when the autopilot suggested model is NOT selected
Apply Current Settings to All now respects Linear RAWs
Fixed Mac not closing images correctly
Fixed split view being offset at 100% display scale
Fixed plugin crashing when using older hosts (CS6, Corel PSP)
Fixed some images using the wrong camera profiles (e.g., Canon EOS R5)
Fixed old preview image popping in while processing a new image in batch mode

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v1.1.5
Released January 5, 2023

Changes since 1.1.4:
•Added settings for customizing mask overlay color and opacity
•Add Select Faces button inside the Face Recovery settings block
•Added and improved various error messages in LrC plugin
•Improved handling of authentication errors when checking for updates
•Fixed some images opening with the wrong orientation
•Fixed some images opening with a blue color shift
•Fixed some images opening with incorrect cropping
•Fixed PS plugin not opening layers with transparency on grayscale images
•Fixed model download issue in Mac installer
•Fixed “Edit Smart Filter” in PS resetting settings to autopilot values
•Fixed opening many images from LrC taking a long time
•Fixed updates dialog not being scrollable
•Updated lens correction files
•Updated ExifTool to 12.53

Examples show the results of an image found online being upscaled 4X on complete autopilot.

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Catching up!

v1.2.0

Released February 2, 2023

Changes since 1.1.9:

•Added new High Fidelity upscaling model
•Added new Standard upscaling model which replaces the old Natural model
•Added ability to crop in plugin modes that support resizing
•Remove open images and show images in finder/explorer while in plugin mode
•Cropping on import via metadata now handles CropArea tag
•Automatically try to correct cases where crop size is knowably incorrect
•Updated app icons
•Updated upscaling Autopilot models
•Update lens correction files
•Fixed HEIC files being incorrectly oriented
•Fixed Standard Sharpen clarity slider not doing anything
•Fixed crash when combining crop and masking
•Fixed alpha channel not being oriented the same as the image
•Fixed CLI not accepting directories as arguments
•Fixed edges of original image showing behind preview on images with transparency
•Fixed RAW images having incorrect size due to order of lens correction and metadata cropping
•Fixed issue where Autopilot values were incorrectly cached between cropped and non-cropped images
•Fixed crash when re-entering cropping after refining the mask
•Fixed Olympus Stylus 1 and 1s camera profile mappings
•Fixed some images with unsupported lens correction data showing wrong image after cropping

1-megapixel source photos attached!

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I was just notified that Photo AI is on sale ($40 off) through 1/17.

6-megapixel sources attached.

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v1.2.1

Released February 9, 2023 (Photo AI is on sale for $40 off through 1/17)

Changes since 1.2.0:
•Added Apple Photos extension with full support for non-RAW images
. Full support for RAW images will be added later this month
•Added sliders to Enhance models for more control
•Tuned Autopilot’s selection of Enhance models
•Changed Enhance model settings to get quality parity on GPU vs CPU
•Lightroom Classic should now stack images above the original after returning from Photo AI
•Fixed CLI help not working on Windows
•Fixed CLI hanging on Mac
•Added installer caching to the Windows installer which should help avoid some repair issues
•Updated login success page style
•Fixed typo in face detection tooltip

Cropping:
•Changed crop so that it works on a centered crop selection
•Added a shadow to areas of the image outside of the current crop while cropping
•Fixed some cases of pixel shifting
•Fixed crop not quite lining up exactly
•Bottom bar is now disabled while in cropping mode
•Changed the drag areas for crop to be easier to grab
•View mode should now return to the previously selected one when finishing cropping