Since creating this video Luminar Neo has been updated and improved. You can get the newest version on sale here: bit.ly/NeoSale and maybe save more with coupon: ATNEO10 (sometimes Skylum de-activate the code if there's already a promotion running but worth giving a go!)
Hi again Anthony! You're right, the 'Face Enhancer' button in NEO's ' 'Supersharp' option it is absolute rubbish, as it distorts the face! 😾 Regards from Felix the Cat! 😺
Hi Again Anthony! Update! You are correct about using Topaz, I tried an out-of-focus portrait just using Luminar NEO's portrait tools, and the 'Eye Enhancer' and after closing and re-opening the tool it only made the irises look too bright, even 'radioactive,' so it's not recommended. As you know, I don't have Photoshop, but I think Affinity Photo is recommended as a good substitute, it's far cheaper too! 😺 Regards from Felix the Cat. 😺 Ps. Did you get my emails I posted two days ago? 😼
Does this hold even for landscapes? I understand portraits have different needs, but if it does a nice job at landscapes an the such, having all in one place would be nice.
If I need to work with landscapes, Gigapixel is insanely good as it rerenders areas of lost details (grasses, leaves, rocks etc.) Combine that with Sharpen AI and Denoise and the improvement in quality can be astounding!
I use Luminar Neo, too, and I have no idea why the face enhancer in supersharp ai changed everyone’s faces. Like, not even subtle changes, it just straight up made them into totally different people! It’s so weird, what photographer would ever want that?
Very interesting video Anthony. As a user of Topaz Ps & Luminar I do tend to use all 3... I have Luminar Sharpening as thought it was better than Topaz sharpening. Must say I enjoyed the video & makes me think, well done. Thank you Colin Devon UK
New to Luminar NEO? Skylum reached out to me with a temporary discount code you can use in conjunction with their Summer sale. bit.ly/Luminar-NEO use code AFS-YtXN8E
BIG NEWS! Skylum has just launched a summer sale where you can save a massive 81% off Luminar Neo here bit.ly/NeoSale But the cool thing is in addition to that they've given me a coupon code to share with you so you get to save ANOTHER 20% (use code AFF-T5C1C0 ) I really hope that helps you out! It should work for both the perpetual licence and the subscription too. Enjoy😄 Best wishes, Anthony
Hi Anthony! No need to use Photoshop, I found that Luminar NEO's Portrait panel has the tools for sharpening eyes. Instead of resorting to Topaz and PS try using the 'Face Adjustment' panel and then the 'Eye Enhancer' tool instead, it works a treat! 😺 Regards from Felix the Cat. 😺
@@AnthonyTurnham Hi again Anthony! If it doesn't work the first time, then close and re-open it util you get the sharpness you desire! 😺 Regards from Felix the Cat. 😺
If portrait editing is something you do regularly you might want to check out Skylum's newly announced portrait editing software. It's aimed at professionals though so it's not going to be right for everyone. You can find out more here: bit.ly/ApertyPortrait Please note they've only got a limited number of pre-release licences available. I also did a video about it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-geT97U7ZEtU.html
Props for objectively trying out Luminar and pointing out when it doesn't work out. Topaz can also leave unprocessed spots as seen with Neo - high on the beard on the right side of your face. I'd love a tiny bit more control over the process with both of themSoon, I'm sure! Also, two recommendations: PortraitPro for advanced and controllable Face Enhance, also with a mind boggling realtime re-lighting feature. For Photoshop, the Retouch4Me set of plugins is fantastic, specifically Fabric, Dodge & Burn and Heal.
Tony, thanks for your excellent demonstration to share with us. I couldn‘t agree more with you. I’m both Luminar Neo and Topaz bundle user and found that they supplement each other so well that I can do most of my editing work without resourcing from the other apps.
This study in sharpening results is very interesting. For me, the 3 variations that Neo produced and you placed side-by-side were such a great comparison. Neo appears to be a 3-choice in sharpening strength, while Topaz seems to be a 3-choice in sharpening methods. Not a surprise that Topaz is still the king, but Neo wasn't all that bad, IMHO. Thanks so much for showing us how the pro in you saved the day!
I found an old antique blurry paper pic when I was a kid very much would like to enhance it captured as digital have tried several apps on line and they don't do much
Have you watched this one? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k8FRNYk-34E.html It's me walking through restoring an old photo. Might be of help to you....
I am a great fan of Luminar and been using Luminar 3 , 4 and now Neo and have been very impressed with their advances over the years, I was surprised that Topaz was so significantly better than Neo - as I thought Neo had cracked it. I hope the team from Skylum are aware of this and make the necessary improvements. I really don't want to run several post production tools to get a good result, Im happy to plough extra into one to save the hassle. A great video and thank you for letting us know.
Yeah, Topaz have been doing this software with AI improvements for a long time so it's no surprise they're still the best in the buiness. If you're after a one stop solution for sharpening, upscaling AND denoise all powered with AI Topaz do this: bit.ly/TopazPhotoAI It's one app that combines all their technologies into one! It's bloody good and I intend to do a video on it in the near future!
Yes. It uses the technology from gigapixel, along with Sharpen AI and NoiseAI so it's kinda like 3 in one. It's nice because there's no more app switching to get the result you want.
I discovered a year ago that using Gigapixel to not increase the size but just to sharpen is by far the best tool available to me. I have found sometimes that the algorithm gets a bit thrown by a ratio of 1:1 so I sometimes use 1: 0.99 or 1.01 as this seems to cause less problems. It also brilliantly denoises images!
Join the crowd Anthony!! I'm a terrible photographer too, LOL. Actually, I do have to put some blame on my lenses since I don't have any L-Glass but the affordability of this software more than makes up for it!
Huh. I have Neo with all the plugins, and I mostly take shots of my dogs, who are TERRIBLE at holding still - that one incredible shot is almost always out of focus. Do you think I might have a better chance of getting a nice result with one of the other tools? (The face enhancement features obviously won't work ... )
Personally I have the best results with Topaz. The algorithm to deal with motion blur in Sharpen AI could be just the ticket for those dog photos! 🐕 Depends how blurry they are but my hunch is that's where you'd have the most success.
I'm not a professional photographer, I find that all these programs needed for these enhancement become prohibitively expensive, great results but not a viable option for me, is there any point me watching?? But I did anyway!
Yeah it's the absolute worst hey. Can't imagine what it must have been like for the film generation, waiting days or even weeks to develop only to find out the pictures were spoiled and there would be very little room to recover them. Topaz make amazing products. I don't personally use their Sharpen software yet but their DeNoise is a godsend. Nothing comes close
Great video, thank you for sharing. If I wanted to go with Topaz but wished to keep the cost to a minimum and not all the programs for $200 but just one, either Gigapixel for $100 or Sharpen for $80 which would you suggest to fix this issue "mostly"? Is Neo even better "value" if you were to factor in cost -to- benefit?
Good question. My favourite plugin from topaz is Gigapixel because it also sharpens as part of the rescaling process, and the results are great. For this type of work Topaz outshines Neo. But in terms of value, Neo is excellent because as well as the Upscale and Sharpening tools it's also a fully fledged photo editing program. But, you need the subscription rather than buying outright to access those extensions in Neo.
I've been amazed at how well Gigapixel fixes a bad photo. It's actually my first go-to software if I'm dealing with blurry, too soft, grainy/noisy all around bad pics. It doesn't always work, but when it pulls it off, it's terrific.
Hey Tony, what's the difference between using Topaz Photo AI and Topaz's individual tools like Sharpen, Gigapixel and DeNoise, since Photo AI has all three of those features in it?
Hi David, that's a really good question. I prefer the individual dedicated tools rather than Photo AI as I've been able to get better results using them individually - however I think I'd needto test more examples to have a definitive opinion on that. Just my findings on a selection of images I've tried both approaches with.
@@AnthonyTurnham I have the whole suite, but have been using AI. I will try the individual apps to see if I get better results, but I do like the all in one simplicity of the AI program.
Hi Robert. I really like Photo AI but have often had better success combining the individual tools like Sharpen AI + Gigapixel. I may do a comparison video in the future though as PhotoAI is a fantastic one-stop shop solution.
@@AnthonyTurnham It just makes it more confusing and harder to come up with a simple workflow. Tired of jumping down rabbit holes every time the 'latest and greatest' software is launched. It's the same with cameras and lenses. --Maybe it's not the gear -- maybe it's the photographer? Well, that's enough from. Thanks for what you do. I really appreciate it.
Thanks for the tips Anthony--I never thought of using Gigapixel for face recovery. I'm a total Topaz fan, owning every one of their products. One tool you didn't mention that I thought would be a shoo-in for this job: Topaz Photo AI. Though I'm in awe with what Sharpen AI and Denoise AI can do, having them both wrapped together in Photo AI is a godsend--and it does an amazing job on faces! I'm also a big fan of Luminar Neo too, but in this case their sharpening AI is not at the same level as Topaz's (especially when it comes to faces!).
