Understanding usage of AI products vs. adjustments

Good read, makes me even more impressed about the underlying AI technology. But one thing in particular that stood out to me was this paragraph:

“So, is DeNoise AI better than AI Clear? What we can tell you is that they are totally different types of AI network. Personally, I like to play with the Remove Noise and Enhance Sharpness sliders and see the outcome in different images. In our experience, DeNoise AI will typically provide a far better output than AI Clear. But you never know! We encourage you to give both a try.”

We were just told that AI Clear is now deprecated and currently it is no longer available for purchase. This is the part I cannot wrap my head around. I have to imagine that the reversal of this decision is inevitable.

One point that has been raised here and elsewhere is the apparent duplication of functionality in when you look at these new standalone AI programs and the Studio adjustments. I’m getting the impression that AI may be superceding many of these older applications because it is just plain better (but requires a computer with better graphics processing). AI Clear seems to have fallen to the same fate since Denoise AI can do all AI Clear does and more.

I must say since I have started using AI Clear (now Denoise AI) since the beginning of the year my photos seem to have a distinct bump up in clarity. By starting post processing with a photo that already had noise cleaned up and made slightly sharper, I’m getting a better final product. Since I do wildlife photography my photos try to maximize detail and clarity and this is noticeable using the AI software.

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What makes AI Clear more appealing for me is that I can run it within Studio on my Macbook Pro early-2015 (which I use to run all of my photo editing software); and while performance could be much better, it is adequate and serves my needs. But DeNoise AI is much more resource intensive and runs much slower on my Macbook Pro; it runs, and I suppose it’s usable, but just barely (depending on my patience level that day). In most cases I’d rather use AI Clear and get 85-90% of DeNoise AI’s results (which isn’t always necessarily true; in some cases, AI Clear can deliver better results) and be able to run on my Macbook, rather than go shopping for a new desktop. Another reason why they need to keep AI Clear IMO.

3 of those in your bullet list are about to be collapsed into 1

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Hmm … given that Sharpen and Reduce Noise are no longer listed in the Adjustments section of the Product Category page (which happened to AI Clear a week or two before it became unavailable to purchase), I’m guessing those 2 adjustments along with AI Clear are the 3 that you are referring to :slight_smile:

https://topazlabs.com/product-category/adjustments/

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Sharpen rolled into Sharpen AI. Reduce Noise and AI Clear rolled into DeNoise AI. So it would not be those 3 that I was referring to.

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