Product Updates
Since May’s roadmap update we’ve improved the Remove Noise model for non-raw files and fixed many smaller issues.
Improved Remove Noise for non-raw images
The new Remove Noise v2 offers substantially improved noise reduction for non-raw image formats like jpeg, tiff, and png. The new models generally produce less artifacts, preserve more detail, and offer more controllable sliders than before. Based on our quality testing, Topaz Photo AI now performs 13% better on average with default Autopilot settings on noisy images.
There are now four options in the (non-raw) Remove Noise filter:
- Normal v2: Preserves maximum detail on images with a low-to-moderate amount of standard ISO noise.
- Strong v2: Removes moderate-to-high amounts of standard ISO noise while preserving detail, but does not deal well with already-processed images.
- Normal: Older model version that will be replaced in a few releases.
- Strong: Removes non-standard noise, like when a noisy image has been upscaled, pre-processed, or otherwise damaged. Blasts away noise but also removes more detail.
You’ll see an improved ability to retain natural detail in the v2 models for most images:
v2 will also better preserve many textures:
Autopilot will attempt to select the most appropriate model and then determine the parameters to use. However, Normal and Strong v2 will now respond much better to parameter changes, so you can adjust your results with much more control than before:
You won’t see these options if you directly import a raw file, as we use a distinct denoising engine and AI models specifically designed for raw images. We will update Raw Remove Noise within the next few months, but in the meantime you can access the new models by first converting your image into tiff or jpg. Read more in the Remove Noise docs.
Other improvements
We’ve also fixed several other important app issues over the past month:
- Fixed Face Recovery sometimes only applying to half a face, not showing in the preview, and working improperly when switching scales
- Autopilot now sometimes selects the Lens Blur model and recommends higher Sharpen Strong values
- Login prompt has updated messaging and no longer activates every launch in certain circumstances
- Fixed downscaling and lowered limit from 0.5x → 0.2x
- Improved raw handling by adding new lens correction profiles, fixing various color issues, and fixing several issues with XMP sidecar files
- Keywords are no longer truncated when saving to formats that use IPTC metadata
- Added
←
/→
hotkeys for switching between images andEsc
to close Preferences panel - Fixed app freeze when manually checking for updates fails
- CLI now respects Autopilot preferences and can preserve folder structure with
--recursive
flag
For a full list of changes each week, read the release threads for v1.3.7, v1.3.6, v1.3.5, and v1.3.4.
Next
Within the next few months we plan on improving model output quality, reorganizing the right panel, and improving the export workflow.
- Add a Refine Text filter that mildly restores detected text and removes artifacts caused by other models (in beta)
- Improve RAW Remove Noise by reducing artifacts, enhancing strong noise handling, and adding ability to recover original detail.
- Improve blur reduction (Sharpen) model quality
- Fix occasional blurry patches caused by tile depth issues
- Reorganize the right panel controls, allow editing detected noise/blur levels, and add Autopilot customization options
- Improve the export flow
- Improve batch processing stability and performance
Later: new tools with generative AI
Topaz Photo AI exists to give superpowers to professional image creators, so we’ve been exploring the potential of newer generative AI methods to give high resolution and realistic output for professional use cases. There’s several promising directions that we wanted to get your feedback on. Which new features would you find most useful in your work?
- A targeted enhance function that generates highly detailed and realistic results of a single object within a small selection
- Select and remove an object with a single click, and fill in the area with believable results.
- Add natural bokeh to your image based on the detected depth of field of your image
- Improve the visual quality of phone photos that often contain splotches caused by suboptimal on-device processing
- Improve blurred or severely degraded text by selecting it and typing in what it should read
We believe in focusing on the most useful tools for professional use cases, so we’d love to get a chance to see your current workflow and have the opportunity to ask you questions about where we could be most helpful. If you’re interested in setting up a Zoom call with us to discuss your workflow, please contact us and we’ll schedule a time.
We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback! Thanks for using Topaz Photo AI.