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Test Drive: Topaz Labs Adjust AI Share This on LinkedIn   Tweet This   Forward This

20 June 2019

Topaz Labs has introduced Adjust AI, its intelligent image enhancer, to "give your photos more" using artificial intelligence to sharpen detail and saturate color. With one click its AI-powered modes bring out "colors, shadows, details and more to make your photos as vivid as intended."

The application functions as either a plug-in or in standalone mode.

HIGHLIGHTS

Among the image enhancements Adjust AI provides are:

  • Topaz Clarity: With Topaz Clarity, you can manipulate macro, midrange and overall contrast without halos or noise.
  • Topaz Detail: Topaz Detail intelligently identifies details in images to better define small, medium and large-sized details inside shadows and highlights.
  • A Preset Collection: Adjust AI's curated preset collection includes a range of modern, trendy looks to apply to your photos. You can adjust the strength of the effect by changing its Opacity.

Custom Controls. Brightness, Color, Clarity, Detail and Split Tone.

DETAILS

According to the Adjust AI FAQ, PNG, TIFF and JPEG are supported by the application. Raw files "contain data that Adjust AI may not know how to read yet" however it can read "many different kinds of Raw file types" like DNG, CR, ARW and ORF files.

No system requirements were listed but the FAQ also warns that processing can take some time. "Adjust AI uses resource intensive AI technology that inherently takes a long time to analyze and correct each image you process through the application.... That's a big tax on your computer system, so be patient!"

A TEST DRIVE

We installed the 668.31-MB application on our Mid-2010 17-inch MacBook Pro running Sierra 10.12.6. We've run other Topaz Labs software on this machine even though it doesn't meet the recommended specifications.

After launching the program and confirming our email address we were able to drag-and-drop an iPhone JPEG into its main window.

Processing wasn't instant but only took a few seconds for the 3264x2448-pixel image. However it also took a few seconds to render the previews for each set of looks we selected from the popup.

There are six categories of "looks" you can apply: Featured, HDR Looks, Stylized, Soft Effects, Film Looks and My Collection. Each has several options except for My Collection which is where your own presets will be stored.

The elevator scroll on the right didn't work but we were able to scroll through the previews by mousing to them and using the scroll wheel on our mouse or the normal trackpad gesture.

The names are not particularly illuminating.

Film Looks, for example, offers Cold and Calm, Ethereal, Friendly, Green Glow, Idyllic, Matrix, Romantic and Wick. Not emulsions we're familiar with.

But it's the look you're after so you'll have to apply each preset to see what it looks like.

A Rose

We picked a red rose for our first test because not only is red hard to get right but the iPhone capture really didn't get it right.

We thought HDR looks would give us the best improvement and a couple of them did. We found Sky and Water Boost and Seafoam rendered the red rose with the most detail. Most of the other presets resembled Romantic's rendering, which was simply without detail.

Custom

We clicked on the Controls button to try a manual correction. And we started from the HDR Style auto adjust options instead of the Standard ones.

Adjust AI Interface. View options on top of main panel with presets and custom option to the right.

Panels included Brightness, Color, Clarity, Detail and Split Tone. There are sliders for each tool in the panel as well as numeric fields that also manipulate the value.

Save Options. Format, Name, Path, Quality, Color Profile.

A little fiddling around and we were able to do better than any of the presets, restoring a bit of tone to the red rose as well as some detail without losing the greenery behind it.

The Controls option lets you Add your configuration to the My Collection panel in Presets. There are also global Undo, Redo and Reset buttons.

A Raw File

We were able to open a DNG file created with DNG Converter from a Nikon .NEF original.

Using the Standard auto adjust in the Custom panel yielded a very green image while the HDR option produced a much cooler image.

So we worked from the HDR option to get a more pleasing result.

One issue we had, though, was that while moving some sliders (like Color Temperature) there isn't an immediate update. So you're really shooting in the dark. You move the slider, wait for the processing to finish and see how you did.

Save

We were happy to see our copyright metadata preserved with the Save As command.

EVALUATION

Adjust AI seems to be designed more for the preset generation hoping to add some kind of special sauce to their images than those who prefer drawing an image out of Raw data. It wasn't really designed as a Raw editor, though we're glad it handles Raw files.

The presets are vaguely named like paint colors or vape juices. You really have to scroll through them to see what they'll do to your image. And depending on the age of your machine, that might take a while.

They'll certainly make your camera images look different. But in our case at least, we preferred the original. And we greatly preferred our own edits to either.

Take the AI out of Adjust AI and this approach to enhancing your images leaves a good bit to be desired. But the AI is in there, after all, so Adjust AI can only get better.

PRICE, AVAILABILITY

A special introductory sale price of $59.99 ($79.99 regularly) expires July 8. A free trial is also available for download when you submit your email address.

Introducing the new Adjust AI

Transform your photos in just one click

With just one click, Topaz Adjust AI leverages the power of artificial intelligence to transform your photos into something incredible. Our AI-powered modes bring out colors, shadows, details and more to make your photos as vivid as intended -- all in one step.

Whether you're a pro-photographer looking to speed up workflow, or a beginner that doesn't want to spend hours learning how to edit photos, Adjust AI can make your photos pop.

The Ingredients You Need to Make It Pop

Want to quickly fine-tune your image? Adjust AI includes cutting-edge enhancements you can't find anywhere else! Simple to use, but powerful in ability, these modules will become irreplaceable steps in editing your images!

  • Topaz Clarity: With Topaz Clarity, you can manipulate macro, midrange and overall contrast without halos or noise, all while keeping a natural feeling and tonality in your image.
  • Topaz Detail: Topaz Detail intelligently identifies details in images and allows you to better define small, medium and large-sized details inside shadows & highlights.

A Modern, Curated Preset Collection

Apply contemporary, one-of-a-kind looks to your photos in just one click! With Adjust AI's curated preset collection, you can get inspired by a range of modern, trendy looks and apply creative styles to your photos.

Price, Availability

You can get Adjust AI during this special introductory sale for just $59.99 ($20 off the original price!). The sale ends July 8, so don't miss out on this one-time offer.


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