Overview

Topaz Detail is uniquely designed to give you full creative control over all aspects of detail enhancement without creating edge artifacts.

Easily add a sense of depth, achieve unbelievable crispness, and define previously obscured details in your images with the innovative technology in Topaz Detail.

Before and after - detail enhancement with no artifacts. Photo credit William Braucksiek.

Topaz Detail internally separates the image into three detail sizes - small, medium, and large details - and offers exceptional control over the precise manipulation of each detail size. This offers limitless possibilities for photographers, who can accomplish anything from high quality image sharpening to creative detail manipulation with just a single plug-in.

Features

Topaz Detail is ideal for any photo where detail enhancement or reduction is involved. It quickly and effectively solves any detail-related photography problem faster than any other method.

• Get unprecedented control over small, medium, and large image features and detail

  Topaz Detail allows you to find the perfect balance of detail in your images by giving you ultimate control over the detail enhancement process.

  

  "The Visitor". Photo credit Brian P. Slade.

  Effortlessly make your photos pop by taking advantage of the best detail enhancement technology currently available.

• Apply crisp and clean image sharpening without fear of oversharpening

  A recurring problem currently with all sharpening techniques is that they create sharpening artifacts known as "overshooting" or "halos". Topaz Detail uses very recent advances in micro-contrast imaging technology to completely eliminate these sharpening artifacts for highly effective and very natural sharpening.

  

  
  

  Topaz Detail completely eliminates the concept of "oversharpening". No matter how far the image is pushed, there won't be a single edge halo.

• Create stunning black and white photos quickly and simply with selective toning option

  In addition to halo-free detail enhancement and sharpening, Topaz Detail also offers selective tone control that increases luminance based on color families. This makes it easy to convert color images into stunning black and white photos.

  

  
  
• Take advantage of an extensive presets system Use one of the many included default presets to speed up your workflow and learning curve. Then, save your own presets and download more from other photographers for unlimited possibilities.
• Enjoy professional workflow advantages Don't compromise on your workflow. Topaz Detail is fully 16-bit compatible, optimized for multiple processors, and Photoshop CS4 64-bit compatible. It also works with Aperture, Lightroom, and iPhoto.

Workflow

Topaz Detail enables photographers to easily take full control over image detail manipulation. It accomplishes this through a streamlined workflow and highly functional user interface that is both fast to use and easy to learn.

Step 1 - Open image in Topaz Detail

Bringing your photo into Topaz Detail is as easy as going to the Topaz Detail menu item in an assortment of image editors, such as Photoshop, Elements, Paintshop Pro, Irfanview, iPhoto, Aperture, and Lightroom. (See the Compatibility page for more information on using Topaz Detail in individual image editors.)

Step 2 - Apply Presets

Topaz Detail offers a number of built-in presets to use on your photos. Although each photo is unique and can be affected by the same preset in a different way, presets provide a great starting point for most photos. Sometimes, one click on a single preset may be all you need to create a stunning photo.

If you adjust the settings and find something you like, you can then save your work as a custom preset. This preset will be available for you to use on any future photos that you process through Topaz Detail. You can also share your presets and download other photographers' presets for unlimited possibilities.

Step 3: Adjust Sliders

The power of Topaz Detail becomes apparent after the first time you touch the adjustment sliders. These sliders plug directly into the powerful detail enhancement engine under the hood and gives you complete control over the level of detail and sharpness you want in your final result.

The Detail sliders directly manipulate image detail according to the size of those details. Adjust small, medium, and large details completely independently of each other for the perfect detail amount without the "overprocessed" look. The Deblur sliders interfaces directly with sophisticated deconvolution technology to actually reduce the amount of blur in your image caused by lens imperfections or slight camera shake. Finally, the Tone and Color sections offer precise control over other aspects of the image. Many photographers use them in combination to create stunning black and white photos.

Topaz Detail puts a complete toolset of powerful detail enhancement and sharpening technology at your fingertips for a very modest price.

How It Works

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."- Arthur C. Clarke

Topaz Detail is not magic, but it does manage quite an impressive feat: detail enhancement, micro-contrast improvement, and effective sharpening with absolutely no halos or edge artifacts. In other words, no matter how much you sharpen your image or pop the details out, you will almost never get any image halos or unsightly artifacts in your image. To the best of our knowledge, this has not been done in any other software product.

Internal Topaz Detail processing flow. Click to enlarge.

Topaz Detail accomplishes this by internally separating the image into a couple of different parts: small details, medium details, large details, and color. Then, sliders are used to independently change the strength of these parts, which results in more or less detail in exactly the places that you want without any artifacts whatsoever.

Here's what happens behind the scenes:

1. After bringing your image into Topaz Detail, pre-processing starts. In this stage, Topaz Detail separates your image into the four segments: small detail, medium detail, large detail, and color.
2. The user adjusts the strength of these segments using sliders (or presets). Each individual segment is affected appropriately.
3. After the user is satisfied, Topaz Detail re-combines all four segments into one image, which is outputted back into Photoshop.

Examples

Photo credit Peter Hernandez.

Roll over for image before applying Topaz Detail.

The leaf details in the above image are still natural but much sharper than the original, and there is not even a hint of edge sharpness overshooting or artifacting.

Roll over for image before applying Topaz Detail.

Topaz Detail breaks every image down into three separate detail types - small, medium, and large - and offers full control over each detail size. It can greatly accentuate the features of any image and give it that elusive "pop" without any nasty artifacts or unwanted effects.

This is especially good for landscapes, architecture, and cars.

Topaz Detail accentuated the mood and details in this interior shot and gave it a glossy, polished quality.

This car was processed in Topaz Detail for more depth and more attitude. Especially notice the change in the front wheel.

Compatibility