Topaz InFocus Review
This is the beginning of what will become a more robust Topaz Detail Review. When you are ready, you can order Topaz from the Topaz Store page. I recommend you get the full Photoshop Bundle, because it comes with many great products for an amazing price. The Coupon Code “STUCKINCUSTOMS” should save you a bit more money too.
Other Topaz Reviews
Topaz has a few other products that I use — please go see the Topaz Adjust Review and the Topaz Detail Review.
Topaz InFocus Review
This is a placeholder for upcoming, more full review. It takes me a long time to test these things because I like to process dozens of photos so I can show several examples. However, here’s some key info for you:
- Not just “Sharpening”… there are many products that do this. But…let’s say you have motion-blur. Or a child running… or a fast-moving car… “Sharpening” that will not help. You really need a different algorithm to run through the photo and bring it back to looking “still”. There is a setting in InFocus that allows you to do that.
- Super-Sharpening – It also, in addition to the above de-action-blurring feature, do very nice sharpening and local-contrast changes.
This photo was already as sharp as humanly possible when I took the thing! But, at a distance on these high-megapixel cameras, there's often some softness. You can see how far zoomed I am in here, and how sharp this tool makes the final image.
And here is a zoom in of the main Topaz InFocus dialog. You can see how I made arrows to some of my favorite sliders and their effects on that distant couple on the ancient Roman wall.
Why it’s cool:
Is it worth it? Yes. I think it’s different enough from the other Topaz Products to make it very interesting… that de-blurring is so cool… a real photo-saver. That’s pretty huge to me!
Should you buy it?
This is a tough one. If you already have Topaz Adjust or Topaz Detail, then you will find this is a little more than an “improved” version of the sharpening and line-definition. Often, in my processing, a lot of the contrast and lines get washed out with HDR. I like to add back in detail and sharpness late in the process. Since I often use Topaz Adjust or Topaz Detail for this, then I don’t have a lot of need for Topaz InFocus. However, when doing very detailed work, Topaz InFocus does something very nice that the others can’t seem to accomplish.
Perhaps the best feature of InFocus, to me, is the correction of the “artifacts” around the lines of detail. Not every photo is sharp. There’s always a bit of noise. So, it’s very welcome that InFocus does not try to sharpen (and worsen) that noise area!
This is the overall image. Most of you may know my thoughts, generally, on super-sharpness. My basic thought is that most people see it at this "web size" and never zoom into 100%. But, for those 5% that do, sometimes using a tool like InFocus can help with definition.
This is the "Before" image. You can see it actually looks pretty good, yes? I find that "blurriness" is relative. And not until you see the "after" do you realize that, well, hey... it was kinda blurry!
And this is the After image. It's a pretty good representation of the software. Notice that second yellow arrow on the "artifact" slider. It's my favorite slider for this tool!
Different Sliders for Different Photos
I find that I use different sliders depending on the situation. Those dropdowns and slider “names” are really just guidelines. Each of them performs a different algorithm that will mix in a special way with YOUR photo. Below is a good example of this. I was messing with the top portion to make things get “unblurred”, but I didn’t see a lot of change until I began moving the lower options.
In this photo from Notre Dame, I really wanted to accent the details of these incredible colors and shapes in one of the rear rooms. I couldn't get them right until I started experimenting with all the sliders until the right mix was achieved.
Any questions about the nature of these reviews? Visit my Ethics Statement. It’s all quite simple!<
