Ann, Did you already post your system & graphics processor info above so folks know what you’re using?
I found the same to be true. 2.4.2 was the best and the upgrades since then have been terrible. 3.0 put big halos around the edges and shifted the image to the right and downward. I tried 3.1 this morning and while the halos/fringing is about 1/2 the amount, it still shifts the image to the right and down. I also found that the sliders made little to no difference in changing the amount of noise or sharpening in any of the modes. I’m sharing links to the images as it wouldn’t let me upload them (yes, they were screen snip jpgs).
- Image of bird in Photoshop before running Sharpen AI
Dropbox - Link Expired - Image of bird in Sharpen A1 3.1. - notice the light blue halo above the wing and back of the bird, the bottom of the beak, the ring around the eye (as well as other edges) are pixelated
Dropbox - Link Expired - Image of bird in Sharpen AI 2.4.2 - notice no halos, notice no pixelating and the whole image looks cleaner - edges are nicely defined and sharpened. Also notice that I only had to use half the Sharpening amount to achieve this.
Dropbox - Link Expired
I don’t have any images from 3.0 anymore. I deleted all of them because they were so awful. The only downside to 2.4.2 is that it is VERY slow at applying the changes you choose.
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Yes, the latest models I find noticeably faster! And I don’t have a high-end pro or gaming system. So I feel your speed pain…
There are quite distinct differences that you’ve pointed out…
The “original” in Ps is somewhat soft and (if enlarged) has fair amt of noise in the sky.
Your 3.1 example is quite a bit sharper. But, man, it’s as if the bird has been shifted to the right and then sharpened. If I saw it w/out knowing the sharpening method I’d think someone with a shaky hand moved it in the process of sharpening it.
Your 2.4.2 example may have slightly less of that apparent shift. But, I’m wondering if you notice it less b/c it doesn’t seem quite as sharpened as the 3.1 output/preview so the shift, pixelation and slight color noise addition (especially near wing & back area you pointed out) are much less noticeable.
It strikes me as being like that effect where when we denoise (in DAI) then use the ‘bring back original details’ slider … in the process of trying to recover some of that original detail it also brings back unwanted noise (depending on the level of the setting). This SAI seems to be a moral equivalent in that it is sharpening your bird more but also impacting the sky & whatever shift the AI is introducing to create a contrasty edge perceptually.
QUES: What happens (assuming you’d like the critter’s eye(s) and feathers sharpened more) if you use SAI 3.1 (which seems the sharpest of your 3 examples) and then mask (for now I’d suggest doing it in your Ps layer stack vs in SAI/DAI…) out the sky edge along the bird with a moderately hard brush edge - like maybe around 60% (to feather from the sharpened bird to the sky)? Does doing that get you the best of sharp critter/no edge artifacts?
I realize that’s more steps for you. But with a Select Subject & Filter > Minimum it could probably be done fairly quickly unless you’re processing many separate birds.
I’m using Windows 10, but I don’t know which graphics processor. It is several years old.
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With Sharpen AI open… pls. go to the Help > Graphics Processor menu option. Click on it.
When the box opens with the info about your system there’ll be a “Copy” button. Pls use that to make a copy & paste it here. Knowing more about the system you’re using might help to better troubleshoot & solve your issue.
Jill (?),
I tried some more noodling with your bird image (hope you don’t mind) to see what would happen if I experimented with what I suggested in post 63 above. BTW, you do great bird pics!
1st, I can state unequivocally that the SAI processing has shifted your original image southeast (to the right and down toward the 5 o’clock position on a clock) relative to the position of the bird in your original shot.
Here’s what I did:
Made a snip of your Original above & opened it in Ps 2021 (rel. 22.3) - even if it’s a copy of a copy you can see the bird & branches are somewhat out of focus & there’s noise in the sky:
I opened that into SAI 3.1.0 plugin w/in Ps & viewed the previews in Comparison View. I personally liked what the Motion Blur model preview did for it - wrt sharpening & retaining the closest approximation of your exposure & color tones/contrasts - you can see my settings on the right side of the interface. My photo style biases somewhat underexposed - so if that option is too dark for you, try Out of Focus:
I applied the processing to be handled with Motion Blur model to send back to my Ps layer stack:
On that SAI output layer I added a White Mask. Then chose a 8px black Airbrush set to 100% Opacity & 60% Flow to paint with on the white mask. I zoomed in quite close. Then painted right on the edge of the feathers, beak, etc. just around the bird (almost as if I was doing a Refine Edge). It brought back some of the bits that the SAI sharpening either blew out the highlights of or distorted in some way. I even brushed like that where the tail overlapped the branch and it created less halo-ing b/wn the tail and the branch & restored some needed feathers there. You can’t go out too far from the feathers periphery or you’ll re-introduce the sky noise that SAI eliminated. Depending on where your focus point was there would typically be less sharpness along the edges of a critter like that - you’d want a very sharp eye (& depending on your aesthetic - sharp feathers on the wing, head) & beak. Here are a couple zoomed in snips (post masking):
See what you think…
There’s still a bit of funkiness under his/her chin but not sure that’s an SAI issue or if any sharpening if slight motion there would produce that. Depending on the display size for your images that may/may not be noticeable.
File a ticket with Topaz Labs support. That will help for sure, not so much this forum.
I guess you are in minority. Why not file a ticket with Topaz Labs support? What you are going to gain from this user-to-user forum?..
Ann will still have to provide info about her system if/when she opens a support ticket. They can’t assist w/out that… and - happy days - she learned where to find the info to provide from the users forum, Ivan! 
Looking at your image I think that Topaz Denoise AI would be more useful, and only thereafter you may (or may not) need to do an additional treatment by Sharpen AI.
Fine, when she sends to them per their request. That will be legitimate professional support. Otherwise, if she sends here. I bet somebody like DonAI can only say “update your video driver to the current versiosn”, and that’s it.
Well… To get the correct answer, you need to ask the correct question to correct people.
I use the graphics info under sharpen and it is below. However, my Windows 10 version is not 2009, it is 20H2. I wonder how this could be wrong?
Application & Version: Topaz Sharpen AI Version 3.1.0
Operating System: Windows 10 Version 2009 <------------------------
Graphics Hardware: AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
OpenGL Driver: 3.3.14830 Core Profile Forward-Compatible Context 21.4.1 27.20.21002.112
CPU RAM: 32716 MB
Video RAM: 6128 MB
Preview Limit: 8000 Pixels
I’d have thought that was the kind of image to put through DeNoise first.
I haven’t detected any haloes so far. Maybe it’s a Photoshop thing ( I use On1 Photo Raw)
This is an image that looked perfectly OK, but I put it through SAI 3.1 and it cleaned it up pretty well. Note that this was at 200mm on a mid-range Sony lens, so the feathers on the head are never going to stand out!
Motion Blur/Very Noisy is what I’d go for. Note how Out of Focus introduces coloured artefacts in the owl’s eyes. I rarely us OOF, even when it is.
Masking is indeed still an issue. I reported success earlier, but this is what happened with just one click in edge aware mode
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I tend to run images thru a denoise b4 sharpening too; for my own shots.
Gee there’s color around the hairs (?) on the leg (?) of the owl too on the Out of Focus option.
Yes, I noticed that as well. But the bird WASN’T out of focus anyway. Any blur would have been down to camera shake, since this was a hand-held shot.
I was kinda impressed by the noise reduction.
Yes. I thought SAI did a nice job sharpening the eye, beak and body feathers & getting rid of the sky noise. Without over-sharpening the critical features on the bird.
I don’t do a ton of wildlife photog but have always been “coached” in classes to be sure the animal’s/critter’s eye(s) are crisp & sharp and ideally have a catchlight (I guess so as not to look dead and flat…). I’m always jealous of people who have the photo capture skills to do well with faster-moving wildlife. As well as make great compositions in the process…
Thanks, I do see a shake on your original which is efficiently reduced by “motion blur” but not by other modes. Noted the artifacts in the “out of focus” mode - thanks, very helpful!
I suppose I am a travel photographer, but one who hasn’t travelled in over a year. Wildlife is a by-product of that. I did manage to get a catch light in that shot.
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