RELEASED TODAY: Topaz Photo AI 1.2.8

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Photo AI just reached version 1.2.2 in its aggressive weekly update schedule (with the following changes since v1.2.1).

The current $40 off sale ends TODAY.

•Apple Photos should now save RAW files with better colors than before
•Metadata should now be copied from sidecar XMP files if one is found
•Changed default Face Recovery value to 80 instead of 100
•Locked position of opposing sides when moving crop handles
•Baseline Exposure value is now read from DNG files and used when possible
•Updated “Up To Date” dialog
•Removed exiftool executables since they are no longer required
•Fixed Help > Give Feedback URL

Attached image was done in v1.2.1 just before 1.2.2 was released. 4X enhancement of a 2007 lo-res digital image:

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v1.2.3
Released February 23, 2023

Changes since 1.2.2:

•Added compression slider on PNG exports
•Added support for opening files with extensions jif, jfi, jfif, and jpe
•Lightroom Plug-In should now copy Rating and Keyword metadata correctly
•Fixed files with non-ASCII filenames and folder paths not saving metadata on Windows
– Anyone who turned on the beta UTF8 region setting as a workaround can safely disable it
•Fixed issue with face refinement being blurry
•Fixed issue where Enhance slider values were reset automatically
•Fixed open image shortcut not being disabled correctly while in plugin mode
•Fixed not being able to flip a custom crop ratio more than once
•Fixed aspect ratio not changing the first time after unlocked custom aspect ratio was selected
•Fixed crop not preserving correctly after flipping the ratio
•Fixed crop aspect ratio going out of bounds in some instances
•Fixed crop box moving erratically when dragging trackpad along sides
•Fixed some issues with installer on Ventura not being able to write to the Home directory
•Fixed issue where “dllhost” would show up as a host editor on Windows
•Updated ExifTool to 12.56

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v1.2.4

Released March 2, 2023


Changes since 1.2.3:

•Added basic masking brush
– Switch between AI brush and the basic brush while in refine mode with the “b” hotkey, or use the toggle on the right panel
•Added opacity slider to mask overlay color selection
•Added support for more DNG types (HDR, Monochrome)
•Fixed scroll bar on right panel being too large in certain cases
•Navigator will no longer hide the old mask when generating an updated mask
•Fixed crop being able to go out of bounds when unlocked
•Fixed issue where dragging crop boundaries against an edge quickly would extend opposite side’s bounds
•JPEG quality value will reset to 95 on next save if left under 30
•Windows installer should now handle symlink errors
•Minor UI tweaks
– Sliders can now be incremented with arrow keys when the text field is selected
– Added app icon to the title bar area
– Made icon smaller on activation screen
– Added feedback button to title bar when no updates available
– Added more links under the Help menu

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v1.2.5

Released March 9, 2023

Changes since 1.2.4:

This week has various masking tweaks as well as some other minor fixes and changes. In the background there is still a lot of work happening surrounding RAW color and metadata but it may take a few releases to show up.

•Mask refinement mode now force single image view mode
•Masking brush can now go down to 1 pixel
•Fixed issue where masking off the edge of an image would not fully draw the stroke
•Windows shortcut should now support drag & drop of files
– Note: This removes the auto-repair functionality in order to support drag & drop
•Fixed logic for when increase and decrease shortcuts for masking brush are enabled
•Fixed the update download progress bar staying open until the app is closed
•The minimum saved JPEG quality between sessions is now 50 instead of 30
•Added more detailed error when file fails to save due to name length

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v1.2.6
Released March 10, 2023

Changes since 1.2.5:

•Fixed images with unicode characters in the output path not saving on Windows
•Fixed width of update indicator when there are 2 or more updates available
•Fixed Demo button not showing up in trial/expired license mode

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v1.2.7

Released March 16, 2023

Changes since 1.2.6:

•Added preferences panel that replaces scattered settings around the app
– Includes Autopilot settings and various general settings
•Added new optional settings in preferences
– Additional control over which faces are auto-selected
– Added ability to change default Face Recovery strength
– Added a toggle for closing images once they are saved
•Lightroom Plug-In now copies over additional metadata
– Now copies label, title, caption, gps, and altitude tags
•Added bit depth options for PNG
– Preserving file type while saving a PNG will use same bit depth as original
•Switched to using Huffman compression for PNG
•Updated lensfun definitions
•Remove requirement of installing Vulkan on Windows
•App now cleans up old installers on Mac
•Changed error prompt when the current version isn’t owned
•Changed “Cancel Processing” button to be red so it doesn’t visually merge with the “Close Window” button
•Toggling Face Recovery resets to Autopilot suggested faces instead of selecting all
•Fixed Wacom tablet not releasing preview after panning
– Note: You may need to update your Wacom drivers if the issue is still persisting in 1.2.7
•Fixed crop going out of bounds when XMP crop wasn’t between 0 and 1
•Fixed temp files staying around when a save error occurs
•Fixed TensorRT models being slow on certain machines
•Fixed some Autopilot preferences not applying to already open images
•Fixed Autopilot settings sometimes not applying correctly due to auto-upscaling
•Fixed Hasselblad X1D not using the correct camera profile
•Fixed Autopilot progress going backwards sometimes
•Fixed View menu zoom options being enabled when no image is open

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v1.2.8
Released March 23, 2023

Changes since 1.2.7:

•Removed “Help Improve Autopilot” preference
. Turning the preference on will no longer upload in any version of Photo AI
•Fixed 100+ cameras not mapping to correct camera profiles
. There is still work being done to update the profiles themselves
•Loosened check on monitor colorspace conversion so more monitor colorspaces should look correct
•Copy additional metadata when using the Lightroom Plug-In Extras flow
•Currently selected preferences tab now persists within the active session
•Added Open Recents option in File menu
•Fixed scrolling the file list view with trackpad on Windows only being able to scroll right
•Changed minimum value of Face Recovery slider to 1
•Fixed some update snoozing issues
•Small UI/wording tweaks
: Welcome screen now mentions that you can drop folders
. Preferences panel now has Cancel/Save buttons
. Cursor now shows as waiting when manually checking for updates
. Added tooltip to Original View toggle
. Fixed a layout bug where update information would have lots of extra spacing
. Replaced the sub-menu on the left side of file list to be a collapsible toggle

Known issues:
•HDR or Monochrome DNGs which previously did not open may have issues when saving as a DNG
. To get around this you can save as JPEG, PNG, or TIFF which shouldn’t have the same color issues

This update came out the same day an elderly relative sent me an iPhone snap of an old family photo hanging on the wall... As someone who prefers to scan originals in hi-res, this was painful, so I ran it through Photo AI to recover the faces (after fixing the geometry in Photoshop).