Topaz Clarity Review

1. One of the better features of Topaz Clarity is the lack of haloing that occurs when the contrast is messed around with. We loaded an image in and, for the purposes of the test, ramped up the contrast on Clarity and in Camera Raw in CS4. We certainly got haloing from Photoshop, but none from Clarity, which is great. Variable Strength.
2. Blue topaz makes a perfect gem material for artistic carvings. Lydia Dyer, courtesy of John Dyer & Co. Color Red is one of the most sought-after topaz colors and represents less than one-half of 1 percent of facet-grade material found. The color the trade calls imperial topaz is highly prized and very rare.

My colleague Ryan Mense just gave us the announcement from Topaz about their new AI based filters called Topaz Adjust AI, and I wanted to give them a try.

The world of post-processing in photography is evolving with rapid advancements in all sectors of the field. When it comes to fine art photography, we believe one of the leading companies creating great tools for post-processing is Topaz Labs, and today we're excited to share with you their newly launched tool in our Topaz Clarity review.

I'm always conflicted about AI in photography, preferring to make my own adjustments. On the other hand, AI is getting better, and can sometimes give you a starting place from which you can adjust more. It also can draw new photographers into the beginnings of serious editing, and if these AI filters are just that, a start, and not just a matter of automatic button pushing, it's all to the better.

Topaz has brought their considerable experience to this software, and it shows. Topaz Adjust AI will work as a dedicated app, or as a Photoshop plugin. Installing the software does both.

The software can run in a completely automated mode, where you click on a 'look' and the software delivers it via AI. There is a fully manual mode, with no AI adjustments. There are controls for things like highlights, clarity, shadow depth, and the sort of adjustments you may be used to in applications like Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw. Using a split screen or smaller side by side full image display, you can immediately see the result. The third mode is an HDR AI mode, with clarity and detail sliders.

I started my use of Topaz Adjust AI with a single image I recently took at Watson Lake near Prescott, AZ. (It's a great place for landscape photographers, by the way.) Here's the original:

I did like the effects I got from the AI side of the program, but as I looked more closely I saw certain parameters I wanted to adjust on my own using the AI settings as a starting place. I feel as if I got the best rendering of my image that way. By comparing the original to the AI based suggestions, it was easy to see what changes were being applied.

There were multiple undos available with Topaz Adjust AI so I could tinker all I wanted.

There are also some nice options for creating monochrome images.

I should note that you can achieve many of these looks by using the tools in Lightroom or Photoshop, or your favorite raw editor. However, the addition of AI from Topaz can certainly save a pro time, and get a less experienced photographer closer to a compelling image. When you first load a photo, Topaz Adjust AI takes several seconds to ingest the data. From that point, choosing different looks is quite fast, maybe 3 seconds on my 2012 Mac Pro.

Topaz is not the first to harness AI for image processing. Skylum has been offering products like Luminar that have similar features. Like Adjust AI, sliders can modify the depth of the effect, which I think is necessary with software like this. AI programs tend to default to the most colorful renders, and I find myself taking things down a notch to edit to my taste.

What I Like

• Works with raw files and gives you a lot of control of individual parameters in the manual modes
• The Auto AI modes do a nice job and give you control to adjust and save looks that you have created
• GUI is intuitive, and does not require you to keep your head in a manual to get things to work
• Competitive with similar programs (like Luminar) but different enough that many photographers will want to add this to their workflow even if they own other similar programs

Download Topaz Clarity

What I'd Like to See

• Faster processing of the original image. (Photographers always want faster)
• More presets

Topaz Adjust AI is a fine application and plugin. Topaz has a lot of experience in image editing and it shows in this software. To answer my own question as stated in my headline, yes, Topaz Adjust AI is a worthy editor or editing assistant. There's a lot of AI hype, but Topaz works well regardless of your level of editing experience. The application of artificial intelligence can save experienced and beginning photographers some time. For people like me, who would rather create my own looks for individual images, all the controls are there. Still, the automation can work wonders, save time, and can always be modified to taste.

Until July 8, 2019, Adjust AI is on sale for $59.99, returning to a list price of $79.99 after. You can download a free trial offered through the Topaz Labs website to try before you buy.

posted Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 1:55 AM EST

Want to give your photos a bit of a kick without introducing ugly halos? A new plug-in from Topaz Labs aims to do just that, providing detailed control over a wide range of image attributes, as well as a generous range of presets that get you quickly in the ballpark. For a limited time, the new plug-in is available at a pretty significant launch discount, so if you're planning to buy, now's the time!

Topaz says that its new Topaz Clarity plug-in includes a 'breakthrough' halo-free algorithm. Recognizing that you may want to treat different areas of your images separately, the company has also included the ability to mask your image in the plug-in. A generous selection of presets makes it simple to dive right in and see what's possible.

But what can you adjust with Topaz Clarity? Quite a bit, it turns out. Clarity controls allow contrast to be tweaked separately at four levels (high, medium, low, and microcontrast), and you can also adjust blacks, midtones, and whites. In addition, there's an HSL filter providing control over hue, saturation, and lightness both globally, and independently for red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple, and magenta.

Over a hundred presets let you skip all that tweaking, or serve as a base for your own adjustment. They're grouped into 11 different areas: Architecture, Documentary, Fashion, General, Landscape, Macro, Nature, Portrait, Wedding, Favorites, and Snapshots. As for the masking, you can apply masks separately for the Clarity and HSL sliders, and when brushing in your masks, you have a choice of normal, edge aware, or color aware masking.

With around a dozen different plug-ins to choose from, Topaz clearly recognizes that users might be a little confused about just where Clarity fits into the overall scheme of things, and how it differs from existing products. The company has addressed this in a blog post, focusing on the differences between Clarity and three existing plug-ins: InFocus, Adjust, and Detail.

Topaz Clarity Review 2019

Topaz Clarity Key

Clarity's aim is to adjust contrast and overall image snap, and it also tunes hue, saturation, and lightness. InFocus aims to combat blur, meanwhile, and is intended as the first step in your workflow. Topaz Adjust is the closest to the new Clarity plugin, but it's more of a one-size-fits-all plug-in, including many more features such as detail control and what Topaz calls 'finishing touches' -- things like vignetting, grain simulation, and so forth. Although it's intended to sit at the same mid-point of your workflow, Clarity aims to control fewer variables, but to do so with better results. Finally, Topaz Detail is intended as the final step, sharpening your image before export and/or printing.

Topaz Ai Review

Like Topaz' other plug-ins, Clarity is compatible with both Windows and Mac systems, and supports Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements natively. Mac users can also access the plug-in from Aperture or iPhoto via Topaz Fusion Express, and the same app provides Lightroom compatibility on Mac and Windows. On the latter platform, you can also use Clarity with other apps compatible with Photoshop plug-ins, such as Corel's PaintShop Pro and PhotoImpact, Serif Photo Plus, and IrfanView.

Topaz Clarity Serial

Available immediately, Topaz Clarity is priced at US$50 on both Windows and Mac. For the next week or so, through May 31st, the plug-in can be purchased at a 40% discount for a final price of US$30 or thereabouts. To get this pricing, use the coupon code 'claritynew' at checkout. A free 30-day time-limited trial is also available.

Topaz Clarity Review Video

More details can be found on the Topaz Labs website.

Topaz Clarity Plugin