# Topaz software



## EDL (Sep 11, 2013)

Topaz DeNoise was suggested to me as a good solution for removing noise, so I went to their website...and, wow!  I didn't know they had so many different products.  I just recently dropped a fair bit of coin on new lenses and gear, although it's on the list, software isn't something I've spent a great deal of time checking out.

I see on their page they offer their full suite for $379.99.  Would you buy that, or just pick and choose some of their products?  (I'm thinking Christmas present here).

Thoughts?

Photoshop is definitely on the list too, but ooof, it's pricey!


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## KmH (Sep 11, 2013)

Photoshop is now only available by subscription.
Photoshop CS 6 full retail price was $699. CS 6 Extended was $999.
Upgrade pricing was $199 and $349 and upgrades were released every 18 months to 2 years.

Single applications are $19.99 a month or you can subscribe to the entire Photoshop Creative Cloud suite for $49.99 a month.
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.edu.html?promoid=JQPEQ

The noise reduction available on Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop CC Camera Raw are so good after market de-noise software is no longer necessary.
I only use Topaz Adjust, but still have and occassional use my Imagenomic Noiseware Pro.

Anyone that has a registered commercial version of Photoshop CS 3, 4, 5, or 6 can take advantage of this from 9/17/13 to 12/31/13 -  http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...p-plus-lightroom-10-00-month-new-members.html


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## tirediron (Sep 11, 2013)

I would probably buy the NiK suite, now only $149 since they've been taken over by Google.


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## EDL (Sep 12, 2013)

KmH said:


> Photoshop is now only available by subscription.
> Photoshop CS 6 full retail price was $699. CS 6 Extended was $999.
> Upgrade pricing was $199 and $349 and upgrades were released every 18 months to 2 years.
> 
> ...



$699???

The last time I looked at Photoshop it was $1800.  Maybe that was some group of products?  I'm not sure I understand all the products in the Photoshop, um..."group".  It's been a while since I looked at it and I recall being a little confused as to what was what on their site.

Personally I don't like the whole "subscription" thing.  Maybe I'm a bit stuck in my ways, but I prefer a disk, paid for and shipped that I load on my PC and then get updates from them as they come out, if I want them.  Not all updates are wanted all the time (I actually prefer some older versions of some of the software I use over the newer versions).  I'd prefer to pay for it once instead of having to keep paying every month as at some point you will end up paying more and more for something that was available for a single price and could be used, technically, for ever.

Maybe I'll see if I can find a used copy of CS5 or 6 at some point.  

Funny too considering IT is my profession, lol.


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## EDL (Sep 12, 2013)

Oh, one other question...is Lightroom, or Potoshop or some other editing software needed in order to use the Topaz products, or can they operate stand alone?


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## CaptainNapalm (Sep 12, 2013)

I've been using photoshop elements for a year now, bought it for $79.99, and decided to get a free trial of the topaz Denoise software to specifically handle noise reduction.  Unfortunately, it didn't reduce notice all that much better than elements so I got rid of it.  Just buy pse or Lightroom and you'll get all the noise reduction you probably need.


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## EDL (Sep 12, 2013)

What's the difference between Elements, Lightroom and Photoshop?  I think this is part of my confusion on the various Adobe programs.  The differences between them, if they are just modules that go with other pieces, standalones, etc.


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## KmH (Sep 12, 2013)

Elements is consumer grade and only has about 40% of Photoshop's capabilities.
Elements includes an image organizer and about 50% of Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) - a Raw converter

Photoshop is professional for graphic artists, including photographers. Photoshop includes a browser (Bridge) that can be used with the rest of the Creative Suite applications, and Camera Raw (ACR).
Photoshop and Elements are raster graphics editing applications that both have some vector graphics capabilities.
Digital images are raster graphics files (bit mapped pixels that can be become pixelated if scaled to much)
(Adobe Illustrator, is Adobe's vector graphics application. Vector graphics are mathematically defined and can be scaled infinitely)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raster_graphics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics

Lightroom is designed for photographers, and is designed to be a front end application for Photoshop. Lightroom's main function is image database management. Lighroom's Develop (image editing) module is also ACR.
Lightroom is a parametric application. That means Lightroom cannot alter pixels. Lightroom edits are line commands stored in a XMP file that affect the math algorithms used to render the Raw file.
Lightroom lacks virtually all of the raster and vector image editing capability Photoshop or Elements have.

There are some slight differences between Camera Raw and Lightroom versions of ACR.


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## ann (Sep 13, 2013)

Sign up for a webinar on the topaz site. They always offer a big discount on the product your viewing.

You can also get a standalone os from them that support all their products .

Their upgrades are always free, which is nice.

I also have Nik which is a good buy especially since they lowered the price which brings the whole bundle to less than one of the programs cost before Google purchased the company.  At this point , we don't know about upgrades or if there will be any.

OnOne also has a nice standalone product.

Each has it's own strengths (IMHO), I use all three as it makes my life easier.  PS has a serious learning curve and since i don't use software every day and somethings go months before working on my images I find the plug ins easier for me.

They all have free trial downloads, try a few and see what works best for you,.


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## EDL (Sep 14, 2013)

Ok, maybe I worded that wrong?  I don't have PS, or Elements or Lightroom or any of that.  Can I just load the Topaz suite or NiK suite on my PC and use them without any other graphics programs?


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## ann (Sep 14, 2013)

Not Nik,

However, Topaz has a program that acts as an OS, so you don't need PS, or any other program.  You can then get individual programs to do a variety of things (they have 14 different programs.) Adjust is very popular and a new one called Clarity is terrific.

OnOne has a standalone program as well, however, they are getting ready to release a new version so you may want to wait until late OCt. to check it out.

There are free trials for all of these, however, remember with Nik you have to have another program as it is a plug-in. Not so with topaz (if you get the Pfex program , which is the OS).


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