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Topaz Photo AI v1.1: Improved RAW noise reduction, better noise detection, and many performance enhancements

AUTHOR:
Brian Matiash
Published:
December 1, 2022
Time to read:
12 Minutes

Article Outline

Introduction

Topaz Photo AI v1.1 enhances the user experience, adds more reliable Autopilot accuracy, and—most importantly—provides significant image quality improvements. Optimizations to Topaz Photo AI will make batch processing even faster and require less system resources. And users will now have greater masking control and smoother strokes with AI Brush improvements.

Update to the latest version [ macOS | Windows ] of Topaz Photo AI to take advantage of these helpful new features.

Improved RAW noise reduction

© Brian Matiash

The new “Strong” RAW noise reduction model provides even more natural and cleaner results, especially with RAW images suffering from heavy noise. Because this new model is much larger, it will provide much better results across a wider range of image noise. The Strong RAW model will also do a better job of restoring natural color and preserving details in the shadows, allowing you to continue your RAW editing workflow using the best starting version of your photo.

You can manually select The Strong RAW model by expanding the “Raw Remove Noise” filter, and you may need to tweak the settings as we continue to refine the auto-parameter performance.

More accurate Autopilot noise detection

Autopilot has gotten even more accurate with its ability to detect the amount of noise affecting your photos. We trained a new model dedicated to recognizing the strength of noise in a wider range of scenes and configurations compared to previous models. This improved accuracy allows Autopilot to make better decisions about which adjustments will maximize your photo quality.

Masking and AI Brush enhancements

© Brian Matiash

Refining subject masks is now more accurate, allowing you to fine-tune exactly where sharpening will be applied. When using the AI Brush, you will now be able to control the brush size by selecting one of four options: Tiny, Small, Medium, and Large. You can also use the [ and ] keyboard shortcuts to toggle between  brush sizes.

AI Brush is also much faster to use, especially when masking large images or while zoomed out.

Enhancements to the user experience

While Topaz Photo AI v1.1 gets even better at improving image quality, it also feels A LOT better to use. We’ve updated how image previews get rendered, resulting in buttery smooth interactions when you zoom and pan.

Instead of snapping to position when moving your image, you can now smoothly pan around for a more polished experience. That same smoothness carries over to zooming, as well, further enhancing your experience of using Topaz Photo AI.

Lots of performance optimizations

Topaz Photo AI v1.1 will now feel a lot snappier when compared to previous versions, especially during resource-intensive tasks such as batch processing. Memory usage has been refined (without affecting quality or detail) because Topaz Photo AI now displays the image more efficiently.

We also improved how images are cached. In previous versions, a cached image may have required 200+ MB of storage, but should now only require ~10-20 MB. And exported images will no longer be cached, saving the CPU processing time required to compress them, in addition to the system memory required to store them.

We were also able to cut peak system memory usage by up to half by reducing the number of copies of an image that the app creates during processing.

 Peak memory usage improvements: Topaz Photo AI v1.0.6 (left) and v1.1 (right)

Previewing images will also be more efficient and save memory because Topaz Photo AI no longer creates two copies when using the side-by-side view, nor will it create copies of the region being shown when you pan the preview around.

Try Topaz Photo AI for free today

If you haven’t tried Topaz Photo AI yet, be sure to download your free trial to experience all of these major improvements and see what incredible image quality on autopilot really looks like.

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AUTHOR:
Brian Matiash

Brian Matiash is a South Florida photo educator who serves enthusiast photographers looking to grow their landscape, travel, and wildlife skills. Learn more on his website and YouTube.