Another clear helpful video. Thank you. However, you forgot to mention that you can see the affect of the Lightroom Denoise slider in REAL TIME as you move it left and right. Personally, I've found that setting the slider to 100% almost always gives a worse result than around 50%. You should really be moving the slider to find the best setting. Also, Topaz adds sharpening automatically. In Lightroom, you should have added some sharpening to make the test more fair. So, if you play with the slider AND add some sharpening, Lightroom would give the same results. And there's no slight color shift with Lightroom, whether you use Denoise at the beginning or the end of the edit. You get the exact same results whenever you do it.
I was gonna say the same thing: Topaz adds sharpening, whereas Lightroom's denoise process does not, therefore it's not a direct comparison. Best to add some sharpening to the Lightroom image after it denoises, to get a fair comparison with the Topaz version. Also, the Topaz image seemed to change the colour of the feathers a bit, whereas Lightroom kept the colour intact. Aside from that: great video and helpful comparison!
The ACR version starts at 50% and defaults back to it with a double click on the slider arrow. The Adobe blog article on it suggests to set it "to taste". I think it may depend on the image and on a poor one, setting it too high can result in a plastic look but on others, 100% seems fine. I need to print some to compare results at a realistic resolution rather than insane pixel peeping! I agree that to compare you need to match the sharpening.
Same here: added a little sharpening and got a superior result from 60% Lr Denoise on a B&W portrait - kept the detail, with slight/ appealing noise. Has the other advantages too (camera profiles, colour fidelity)
I've experimented with Lightroom Denoise AI a fair bit in recent days and have only ever seen it default to 50 - this is with images with lots of noise and images with no noise. I also find that keeping the slider aroubnd this 50 area (never more than 70) produces the best results. Having the slider at 100 is far too agressive and results in waxy looking images (people in particular look terrible). With lightroom set to around 50 I have found it beats Topaz with every image I've thrown at it, although it is slightly slower.
Same here, default is 50% out the box, if you adjust the slider to a different value, next time you run Denoise AI, it will default to the last value used.
Thanks for that Anthony. Timely as usual. I pulled the trigger on Topaz Labs AI denoise earlier this year and have been happy with it. Now that I have the equivalent in LRC I doubt I will be using Topaz much anymore. LR did a pretty decent job of it.
First of all, don't be a NOOB and use the 100 which you have tested once in the past and then thought it was the default. LR remembers the last setting you chose, the actual default is 50, which then makes the image much sharper. Invalid test on false premises... This video needs to be taken down because it reflects very poorly on the editing skills of AM.
My Lightroom DeNoise DOES default at 50% and often I get best results there or even lower. Higher can make things look artificial. You also have to add sharpening separately afterward, while Topaz adds it. Comparisons need to factor that in. I am a Topaz fan but am really impressed by LR and use it often. Still, I go back to Topaz with really difficult, and especially slightly soft images.
Topaz Labs Denoise DOES look sharper on the video. But its only slight and that's before the normal sharpening one would do. I think that Lightroom's Denoise now makes the other apps obsolete (for me). And the reason is: 1) It's free 2) It's almost as good (as far as what will go on the internet is concerned) 3) I get a DNG back (rather than a TIF) 4) The DNG is next to the original (Unlike DxO which puts the files in another folder that I have to move to be next to the original)
It's even worse that LR Denoise only loses because of the incompetence of AM to double click on the setting to reset it back to its default of 50 - instead of the chosen horribly too strong 100...
For me, there's another big advantage to Lr, at least compared to other apps that work on Raw files: 5) Lr denoise preserves any built-in lens corrections, Topaz (when run on a Raw file) does not. Many modern lenses, notably those for Micro4/3, rely heavily on software distortion correction. Lr automatically applies these corrections, even in the denoised DNG, but AFAIK other vendors' apps do not.
I have to laugh at people who say it's free. It's costing you $10 per month whether you use it or not. The new Denoise will not run on any perpetual version of Lightroom.
100 denoise is too much for Adobe Denoise so you are loosing detail(everything above 70 gets you a waxy look). Also you could have just increased the sharpness in Adobes file to get sharper result. But no matter how you put it it's splitting hair and I see no reason whatsoever to use anything other then Adobes solution.
Well as far as i know the lightroom/Adobe RAW enhance feature still requires a raw photo. Topaz can handle this or that, this could be a very important detail depending on someone's workflow. For example, if I need to stack images before using a denoise process (in order to increase signal to noise ratio first), this isn't possible in lightroom.
I'm amazed how everytime I think I know everything & every shortcut in Lr, I still learn something new almost weekly! Mannn could I have used that f2 function YRS ago as I went through so much pain keeping track of comparing virtual copies and trying to remember what I did differently to each copy, especially while learning & not really knowing what would produce a better result lol
I’ve done similar comparisons on multiple images between LR, Topaz Denoise, and DXO 3. In every case DXO 3 did the poorest and I could see very minimal differences between LR and Topaz. I do like the flexibility of Topaz and for “special” pictures I tend to use it. However, I am now using LR Denoise more often in my usual workflow.
Thanks again for great video. For my 2year old computer LR denoise takes 15 minutes and make usage impossible, where Topaz runs 20 seconds. No brainer, Topaz is clear winner from a usability / time perspective.
LR doesn’t do the slider, if you used it at 100 in the image before the slider stays at 100. You have to decide yourself what number you put the slider on. 50 and some sharpening afterwards, gives the best result, better then Topaz.
On my 2-year old laptop LR Denoise AI takes up to 5 minutes to process a RAW image, which makes it virtually unusable. In marked contrast, Topaz Denoise AI takes about 20 seconds max to process a TIFF file. Apart from this processing time difference, I think both applications do a very similar job in removing noise whilst retaining detail. It seems the applications have significantly different GPU requirement. Hopefully, LR De Boise will improve its processing speed with future updates.
I have an old non upgradable version of Topaz Denoise AI and it’s displaying every time I open it a non removable popup to buy the new version 😩😤😠 I’m glad to see Lightroom is finally offering something similar. It’s not worth the hassle opening Topaz anymore. I’m curious about the other offerings…. Good work! Thank you Anthony!
I appreciate the direct nature of the video and the 'just the facts' presentation. We were talking about this in Photo Club just last night, and I remarked that it seems like everyone has some massive update to their Denise AI - like some new technology or algorithm just got out in the wild. I am not sure if it is just the video compression, the the LR image showed a bit of banding on the left side while I was watching at 4K.
Based on my own tests with all the Denoise apps, Lightroom to me does a much better job, it’s straightforward to use and the results are natural or organic no unexpected weird artifacts or dumb sharpening leaving me with the option of dialing in my own sharpness if needed. Not sure how Adobe pulled it off, but it makes the most sense when it comes to Denoising.
I've had the same experience. LR denoise gives me far better results than anything I've gotten from topaz. Topaz tends to look unnatural to me, or creates weird artifacts etc.
@@librarycollection3795 I've tried photo ai too, and it seems to work great on some photos and terribly on others. I'm finding LR denoise works very reliably on all images I've thrown at it.
I've done my own comparisons at home and I think LR does a slightly better job. I would never use the LR slider at 100%, it removes detail and looks artificial. Mine defaults to 50% and I've often used 56%. I think if you'd backed off that slider in LR it would have been a closer comparison and shown more detail. Also of course Topaz Denoise adds sharpening as part of the noise removal, which LR does not. I've used Topaz Denoise AI for years and generally been happy with it, but in most cases I think LR Denoise does a better job.
thank you for the effort and the sharing. i am an appreciative subscriber. i use topaz denoise and have been satisfied. that said, since the LR denoise is within the app, i would probably give that a go if speed was a concern. thumbs up.
Thank you for this comparison. In all fairness though the sharpness in Topaz Labs Denoise AI was tweaked but not in Lightroom Denoise AI. I think if the sharpness were to be left as is they would be pretty much the same.
Yes, Anthony, I too think we are "splitting feathers/hairs." But I do agree that TL DI is a little better. In my comparisons it most always wins out. As always, another great video! Thanks!
It only wins out here because of the idiotic settIng of 100 chosen by the "reviewer". In my tests Topaz was hopeless because inconsistent across the subjects...
Topaz looks a touch better I agree but wonder now if the price for topaz is worth it if I can get 90% of the results in Lightroom. Also Lightroom will certainly have adjustments and additional models at some point in the not very distant future. So now can Lightroom replace my Topaz Denoise and Sharpen apps so I don't have to pay for upgrades for those anymore? Maybe...
The biggest difference is that the color (probably white balance) is very different. LR Denoise appears to have altered the colors, which makes direct comparison slightly harder.
TIn your example Topaz is much better to me, especially for bird photography, details in feathers are very important and a tiny bit of noise is better than too flat, thank you for this video well done!
I used all three denoise programs over the past week pretty extensively (PureRaw, Lightroom DeNoise and Topaz DeNoise) and by the end of the week I just went straight to using Topaz DeNoise and never liked the results of the other two. My Lightroom DeNoise defaults to 50% and I never felt the need to increase that. I did run Topaz out of Photoshop so my RAW edits were already done and Topaz was the first thing I did in PS. One quirk I found with Topaz was that if I edited a color slide film scan (scanned using my Nikon Z9), it would consistently only apply the changes to 3/4 of the image, leaving either the right or left 1/4 of the image noisy. Fortunately that was usually a blurred background so I could just apply some Gaussian blur to that section. I notice that the Lightroom Denoise image in your example has a ton of magenta mottling in the background that is not there with Topaz.
Good! But if you want to compare the two versions, you have to compare with the same setting. On Topaz you use quite a lot of sharpness in the setting, while in Lightroom you reduced the sharpness to zero. Then two images with completely different sharpness are compared and Denoise is sharper. I do the same and reduce the sharpness before using noise reduction. But sharpens after this. Then you get a comparable picture. I don't do that, but the comparison would be better if you had put the sharpness before the noise reduction in Lightroom.
In my limited usage of the new denoise feature in LR the default level is whatever you last set it at. The first time I used it the setting was definitely 50%, but if I moved it from there it will use that as the new default. So, it's really not a default other than LR gives you a 50% starting point on the first application of the feature. I don't know if that is something that can be changed in the settings, but have not changed anything since updating LR. It would be curious to see if you used something less than 100% in LR, such as 50-70% if it would still look slightly less sharp than Topaz Labs Denoise. I think with the 100% setting you used it probably softens it up too much.
You added sharpening with Topaz Denoise and left LR on 0, I find when using the sharpening in LR then masking it out to only have it on my subject I get better results and on par with DxO pure raw 6.
LR looks better from this end. I going to try LR denoise at 100% just once for a look. Older computer LR said 4 hours to do one image, so much fun. Thanks for your videos Anthony.
On my PC this process is done entirely in the GPU with 0 activity in the CPU so I need to update my graphics card, not the PC as a whole. Still they're expensive enough.
It's obvious from the video that more details are visible in the DeNoise AI versions of your test image. But, most of us know that DeNoise AI also sharpens a bit, so we may be looking at images with slightly different high frequency contrast. the Low light mode is the only one where the sharpen slider can be set to zero - and even then it is known to sharpen. There seem to be no sharpening with the Lr AI Denoise, so to compare more fairly I think a small amount of sharpening should be added to the Lr result.
I find myself increasingly preferring Lightroom Denoise on my Canon raw images. The Lightroom Denoise GUI is inadequate, but with practice, I have found it consistently outperforming Topaz Photo AI (fewer artifacts). It is important to experiment with that crude slider (50 is a better starting point than 100). Once Adobe sees fit to include a proper set of controls, it will be easier to appreciate the full potential of the algorithm.
I'm still a Topaz fan basically demonstrated in you video here. I see in the comments a number of folks like the Lightroom better - often times because they don't have to fiddle with sharpen adjustments, whatever. Fine. However, Topaz is continuing to develop their program Photo AI all the time. Lightroom is just now, after Topaz had been out for years, getting around to providing a quite good denoise.... Perhaps you should compare noise reduction in Photo AI (all other settings cancelled out) and see if there is much difference.....Thanks for this comparison.
Hi Anthony I've watched a lot of your videos and like them. I have had difficulties seeing differences in some of your before/after, approach 1 vs approach 2 comparisons. I'm sure RUclips's compression doesn't help. A suggestion - use Lightroom's Compare side by side feature rather than switching back and forward between the two versions of an image. Zoom in where you think there is a difference. Another option would be send two images as layers to Photoshop and use a Difference blend to see exactly where any differences are. Apply a Levels adjustment on top to amplify the difference values. Even if you didn't show this in the video then at least it would tell you where to look. Perhaps this is too artificial, if you can't see something with the naked eye it might not matter.
Adobe denoise is the best denoise software so far ever created. No added sharpening and it reduces the noise by about 2-3 stops of light without losing details and making a picture look mushy. Making a ISO 3200 image look like image shot at ISO 800 or 400 if you keep denoise slider somewhere between 40-60 %. Also, creating a new DNG may be slow if your picture is originally on a slow HDD. Sometimes it's just a transfer speed issue.
Interesting note on processing speed , my PC is old and LR Denoise is unusable as I get estimated processing times of over 200mins yet Topaz denoise works absolutely fine with most images taking a couple of mins at most .
I have done a few tests, and it seems to differ from photo to photo, but when you think about what you pay for… If you don’t have Topaz, DXO or any of the others, is it really worth buying a plugin? I don’t think so, but if you like me have both Topaz and DXO 3… I’m still testing, but I’m not sure I will continue to pay for plugin upgrades at this point. Time will tell 😊 Wish you a great weekend ☀️
I agree. It varies from one shot to the next. Now I need to print some comparisons to see them at realistic resolution rather than pixel peeping on screen.
Hi Anthony. Thanks for another greatly explained video. Can you explain why the LrC denoise makes me wait 14 minutes instead of 14 seconds . I hear more people struggle with this problem.
@@jblookonimages6749 Thanks JB. The answer I find on the internet is that I should buy another (better) graphics card for my computer but I can't believe that everything worked fine with LrC always and after one update my equipment is outdated. By the way I bought my computer six months ago...
Anthony, you had zero sharpening on the Lightroom DeNoise file. I find when sharpening is used before noise reduction, LR DeNoise is really good. Try adding LR sharpening on this file and then compare them.
I suspect that topaz Denoise is doing some sharpening as well in my testing. When I add a mask to the subject in LR and add a bit of sharpening they are identical.
12400f and rtx 3060 12gb adobe denoise ai 10sec, it is magic, i have used on d750, d3300, sony nex 3n raw files with great results if the photo is in correct focus and correct shutter speed (no shake) and correct exposure, 12gb of vram are all used
I ran a test on a 20mp shot at 12,800 iso with both TDenoise and LrDenoise on my PC, the most interesting thing was Lr is totally using GPU only and my rtx 2060 was running at 100% took 2minutes 30seconds but Topaz is CPU only and my i9 9900 did it in 20 seconds. So if you are running a big rtx 4090 or similar Lr will blow thru it pretty quick.
Something you did with Topaz Denoise AI is that you added sharpness. This you did not do with the Lightroom Denoise test after creating the new image. I think this is something you should have done with this new image with Lightroom. This does not mean that tweaking the sharpness in Lightroom that the image would look better necessarily because some noise might be reintroduced. Just a thought.
I prefer the lightroom denoise. Then don't forget you can continue processing in lightroom, including sharpening. It's better and included in the monthly subscription. there is no need to pay for less effective plugins.
Topaz definitely shows more detail. I'm preferring DXO PureRaw 2 deep prime against LR AI noise reduction. PureRaw yields more natural details, has a faster processing time and smaller DNG file sizes. (based on Fujifilm XT3 raw files)
A question: if you were to add a tweak in sharpening to the LrR denoise, perhaps it would be closer to each other? As you said, splitting hairs but for that prized image, it might make the difference. Love your videos...
Everyone keeps stating that the Lightroom slider is a default for the particular image. In my tests with 5 different cameras it appears to be a sticky setting. It always opens up to the last setting used.
I find all your videos very valuable and informative in general, but I think you're going wrong here in the comparison. In lightroom you take the default setting, and you don't change anything (definitely not always the best choice, I might add) while in Topaz you make several changes. I don't think that's a comparison that does justice to Lightroom. I don't know how Lightroom would have turned out if you had paid a little more attention to the slider setting there, but now you're not giving it a fair chance.
Consistent with both my years old prejudice and this last week's experience. Adobe Camera Raw vacuums [1] at detail preservation. If you want to see what detail preservation is possible then upsample in Gigapixel AI to 32,000 on the long side. Shocking. Yes, you have to pixel peep to see and appreciate the differences, but hey, we used an 8 times magnification loupe to verify an 8"*10" slide, way back. Printed at A3 (16.5" * 11.7"), you're not likely to see these differences, but at A2 (23.4" * 16.5") most definitely. Then you can argue that people should look at your images from 6 times the image diagonal - the old photography school norm or assumption. That's theory and the first thing people do is press their noses up to your picture and look at the details. The Mudbricks [2] have done an OK job, but not good enough for me - they are still behind the forefront and I still need 3rd party apps to fix their flaws. [1] sucks. And yes, this is where the new Denoise algorithm happens [2] the programmers at a firm who's name means mudbrick
Thanks for the great video Anthony! I use Topaz Denoise and was excited when LR came out with their version. However LR denoise make my monitor flash terribly. I have a newer HP desktop, up to date drivers ect. I will use Topaz and hope LR fixes the bugs.
Question Anthony. If you use Denoise AI as a stand alone on a RAW file and then save it as a DNG once it finishes processing does Topaz Denoise AI retain the same, original camera settings that you said Photoshop Denoise does when saving as a new DNG?
Thanks for the video! Do you know why Lightroom's denoise needs to create a brand new DNG file, rather than just applying the denoise results to the original raw file the way that the regular noise reduction does? Also, why is the new DNG file literally 3 times bigger than the original raw file?
Is it not working as a plug-in if you in Lightroom use "File - Plug in extras -- Denoise with Topaz Photo AI? Topaz says this is the best method and it retains profiles.
I find that Lightroom denoise is significantly slower on my computer than the Topaz labs version. I don't know why this can be. Both work well however.
LR Denoise is mostly using cpu at present. Topaz has been optimised for gpu which can be many times faster depending on graphics card. LR will over time shift to gpu I’m sure
Different algorithms, Topaz claims to be AI but the algorithm doesn't show the telltale signs of being one - it doesn't seem to rely on a ML model which would hammer the GPU/ML accelerator
@@richardcarner6813 runs in 30 secs for me. Depends perhaps on raw file complexity maybe? My computer is a few years old. Might be worth testing on a friend’s device
@@longboardfella5306 LR Denoise doesn't use the CPU at all if the GPU has some machine learning capabilities. If it doesn't there is no benefit to using the GPU, it will only be slower because then the transfer of data to the GPU will even slow down the process even more.
On video the pictures look horribly plastic without any noise. I'd keep some in on a semitransparent layer. If Topaz has done so, then it is preferable.
The first time I used LR Denoise the slider was set at 50. Each time I now open it, the slider is at the setting I last used. Mine doesn’t reset to any particular value. It remains where I last set it.
Since Topaz is moving to Photo AI as it's main product, why not compare it to Lightroom Denoise AI? Also, since you applied some sharpening while in Topaz denoise AI but not while in Lightroom, wouldn't you expect the Topaz image to be sharper?
great video. thanks, I'm getting outrageously long processing times using LR Denoise AI - like 30-45 minutes per image. I did recently upgrade to Windows 11. my processor seems fairly fast and I've included the specs. I'm I missing some setting that would speed things up? Thanks. Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz 1.99 GHz Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.8 GB usable) System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
the ram is ok, the processor is slow. we are now in 13th gen, and your processor is 8th gen, so was made in 2017. you should get any modern computer with 12th or 13th gen processor with a graphics card of Nvidia 3070 or 3080 or 4070. or you can get an apple M1 computer, and that should be fine also.
@@peterguman7298Asus pro art laptop and Lenovo legion laptop both brands provide good value for money just make sure it's stated as 12th or 13th gen and the graphics should state Nvidia 3060 or 3070 or 3080, the higher the gen the better. But if you've got the money to spend I would recommend the "macbook pro m1 pro". If you're buying any laptop try as much to get 32gb ram not less.
You cannot fairly compare Topaz denoise with lightroom deoise unless you account for the fact that the latter requires using RAW while the former allows jpeg.
The LR noise reduction seems to work well, but the whole time it is producing the DNG file and finishing its denoise, my screen is flashing. Anyone have that issue?
Yes mine flashes like that. My graphics card, which is where this process is being done, is too slow and I need to look to replace it but it does do it in the end.
@@andrewbealing Thanks... I thought that might be the issue but I just got a new computer with a good size graphic card. Using the AMD Radeon RX 6600 with 8G. Not good enough I guess.
@@bobrutan4735 Hmm that's a shame. I think Lightroom prefers Nvidia cards for some reason and you might want to check in preferences that its picked up the GPU.
Sorry, but your comparison is seriously flawed in two ways. First of all you need to understand that LR Denoise does not have an automatic setting like Topaz. The slider amount was on 100% on this image because you manually put it there on a previous image. Your comment that other people say the default amount is 50% but you never see this is laughable. Why you would set the slider on 100% is totally beyond my comprehension. I can only conclude that you have no idea how to actually use this new Adobe AI Denoise yet you are setting yourself up as some kind of guru. Secondly, Topaz adds sharpening, LR Denoise doesn't. The whole video needs redoing. Please don't carry on with this series of videos comparing Lightroom Denoise with other denoising software until you have admitted your mistakes and get the basics right.
Boy have I gone down the wrong rabbit hole again...I've really missed the point of photography if I end up watching videos where someone zooms in to 3000% to check if the feathres are clightly sharper. Ok bye!
No wonder with the inept setting of 100 - the default is 50, often less is sufficient already. Then Topaz does lose in every regard but especially in consistency across the subject.
Nice video, BUT Dude, it's NOT how you're pronouncing it, "dih-noise", like the song "Bring in 'da Noise." It's pronounced DEE-noise, like to de-magnetize, or de-clutter. A long e sound.
Another clear helpful video. Thank you. However, you forgot to mention that you can see the affect of the Lightroom Denoise slider in REAL TIME as you move it left and right. Personally, I've found that setting the slider to 100% almost always gives a worse result than around 50%. You should really be moving the slider to find the best setting. Also, Topaz adds sharpening automatically. In Lightroom, you should have added some sharpening to make the test more fair. So, if you play with the slider AND add some sharpening, Lightroom would give the same results. And there's no slight color shift with Lightroom, whether you use Denoise at the beginning or the end of the edit. You get the exact same results whenever you do it.
Fully agree with your statements
I was gonna say the same thing: Topaz adds sharpening, whereas Lightroom's denoise process does not, therefore it's not a direct comparison. Best to add some sharpening to the Lightroom image after it denoises, to get a fair comparison with the Topaz version. Also, the Topaz image seemed to change the colour of the feathers a bit, whereas Lightroom kept the colour intact.
Aside from that: great video and helpful comparison!
The ACR version starts at 50% and defaults back to it with a double click on the slider arrow. The Adobe blog article on it suggests to set it "to taste". I think it may depend on the image and on a poor one, setting it too high can result in a plastic look but on others, 100% seems fine. I need to print some to compare results at a realistic resolution rather than insane pixel peeping! I agree that to compare you need to match the sharpening.
Same here: added a little sharpening and got a superior result from 60% Lr Denoise on a B&W portrait - kept the detail, with slight/ appealing noise. Has the other advantages too (camera profiles, colour fidelity)
I've experimented with Lightroom Denoise AI a fair bit in recent days and have only ever seen it default to 50 - this is with images with lots of noise and images with no noise. I also find that keeping the slider aroubnd this 50 area (never more than 70) produces the best results. Having the slider at 100 is far too agressive and results in waxy looking images (people in particular look terrible). With lightroom set to around 50 I have found it beats Topaz with every image I've thrown at it, although it is slightly slower.
I agree.
Same here, default is 50% out the box, if you adjust the slider to a different value, next time you run Denoise AI, it will default to the last value used.
Thanks for that Anthony. Timely as usual. I pulled the trigger on Topaz Labs AI denoise earlier this year and have been happy with it. Now that I have the equivalent in LRC I doubt I will be using Topaz much anymore. LR did a pretty decent job of it.
Topaz is sharper because it applies sharpening and LR does not. Apply a small bit of sharpening to the LR image and then compare.
First of all, don't be a NOOB and use the 100 which you have tested once in the past and then thought it was the default. LR remembers the last setting you chose, the actual default is 50, which then makes the image much sharper. Invalid test on false premises... This video needs to be taken down because it reflects very poorly on the editing skills of AM.
My Lightroom DeNoise DOES default at 50% and often I get best results there or even lower. Higher can make things look artificial. You also have to add sharpening separately afterward, while Topaz adds it. Comparisons need to factor that in. I am a Topaz fan but am really impressed by LR and use it often. Still, I go back to Topaz with really difficult, and especially slightly soft images.
Topaz Labs Denoise DOES look sharper on the video. But its only slight and that's before the normal sharpening one would do.
I think that Lightroom's Denoise now makes the other apps obsolete (for me). And the reason is:
1) It's free
2) It's almost as good (as far as what will go on the internet is concerned)
3) I get a DNG back (rather than a TIF)
4) The DNG is next to the original (Unlike DxO which puts the files in another folder that I have to move to be next to the original)
It's even worse that LR Denoise only loses because of the incompetence of AM to double click on the setting to reset it back to its default of 50 - instead of the chosen horribly too strong 100...
For me, there's another big advantage to Lr, at least compared to other apps that work on Raw files:
5) Lr denoise preserves any built-in lens corrections, Topaz (when run on a Raw file) does not.
Many modern lenses, notably those for Micro4/3, rely heavily on software distortion correction. Lr automatically applies these corrections, even in the denoised DNG, but AFAIK other vendors' apps do not.
I use topaz but lightroom has upped their game and I use lightroom more now with this update and it doesn't cost a cent. This is a major improvement
Makes sense doesn’t it? And the results are fantastic
I have to laugh at people who say it's free. It's costing you $10 per month whether you use it or not. The new Denoise will not run on any perpetual version of Lightroom.
100 denoise is too much for Adobe Denoise so you are loosing detail(everything above 70 gets you a waxy look). Also you could have just increased the sharpness in Adobes file to get sharper result. But no matter how you put it it's splitting hair and I see no reason whatsoever to use anything other then Adobes solution.
You speak the truth.
Well as far as i know the lightroom/Adobe RAW enhance feature still requires a raw photo. Topaz can handle this or that, this could be a very important detail depending on someone's workflow. For example, if I need to stack images before using a denoise process (in order to increase signal to noise ratio first), this isn't possible in lightroom.
I'm amazed how everytime I think I know everything & every shortcut in Lr, I still learn something new almost weekly! Mannn could I have used that f2 function YRS ago as I went through so much pain keeping track of comparing virtual copies and trying to remember what I did differently to each copy, especially while learning & not really knowing what would produce a better result lol
I’ve done similar comparisons on multiple images between LR, Topaz Denoise, and DXO 3. In every case DXO 3 did the poorest and I could see very minimal differences between LR and Topaz. I do like the flexibility of Topaz and for “special” pictures I tend to use it. However, I am now using LR Denoise more often in my usual workflow.
Thanks again for great video. For my 2year old computer LR denoise takes 15 minutes and make usage impossible, where Topaz runs 20 seconds. No brainer, Topaz is clear winner from a usability / time perspective.
LR doesn’t do the slider, if you used it at 100 in the image before the slider stays at 100. You have to decide yourself what number you put the slider on. 50 and some sharpening afterwards, gives the best result, better then Topaz.
On my 2-year old laptop LR Denoise AI takes up to 5 minutes to process a RAW image, which makes it virtually unusable. In marked contrast, Topaz Denoise AI takes about 20 seconds max to process a TIFF file. Apart from this processing time difference, I think both applications do a very similar job in removing noise whilst retaining detail. It seems the applications have significantly different GPU requirement. Hopefully, LR De Boise will improve its processing speed with future updates.
I have a similar slow speed result on my SurfacePro 7with LR, but not on my desktop. will stay with Topaz until the speed issue addressed
I have an old non upgradable version of Topaz Denoise AI and it’s displaying every time I open it a non removable popup to buy the new version 😩😤😠
I’m glad to see Lightroom is finally offering something similar. It’s not worth the hassle opening Topaz anymore.
I’m curious about the other offerings….
Good work! Thank you Anthony!
I appreciate the direct nature of the video and the 'just the facts' presentation.
We were talking about this in Photo Club just last night, and I remarked that it seems like everyone has some massive update to their Denise AI - like some new technology or algorithm just got out in the wild.
I am not sure if it is just the video compression, the the LR image showed a bit of banding on the left side while I was watching at 4K.
Based on my own tests with all the Denoise apps, Lightroom to me does a much better job, it’s straightforward to use and the results are natural or organic no unexpected weird artifacts or dumb sharpening leaving me with the option of dialing in my own sharpness if needed. Not sure how Adobe pulled it off, but it makes the most sense when it comes to Denoising.
I've had the same experience. LR denoise gives me far better results than anything I've gotten from topaz. Topaz tends to look unnatural to me, or creates weird artifacts etc.
Photo AI, however, does a better job than Denoise AI, which is NO longer being maintained.
@@librarycollection3795 I've tried photo ai too, and it seems to work great on some photos and terribly on others. I'm finding LR denoise works very reliably on all images I've thrown at it.
I've done my own comparisons at home and I think LR does a slightly better job. I would never use the LR slider at 100%, it removes detail and looks artificial. Mine defaults to 50% and I've often used 56%. I think if you'd backed off that slider in LR it would have been a closer comparison and shown more detail. Also of course Topaz Denoise adds sharpening as part of the noise removal, which LR does not. I've used Topaz Denoise AI for years and generally been happy with it, but in most cases I think LR Denoise does a better job.
thank you for the effort and the sharing. i am an appreciative subscriber. i use topaz denoise and have been satisfied. that said, since the LR denoise is within the app, i would probably give that a go if speed was a concern. thumbs up.
Thank you for this comparison. In all fairness though the sharpness in Topaz Labs Denoise AI was tweaked but not in Lightroom Denoise AI. I think if the sharpness were to be left as is they would be pretty much the same.
Yes, Anthony, I too think we are "splitting feathers/hairs." But I do agree that TL DI is a little better. In my comparisons it most always wins out. As always, another great video! Thanks!
It only wins out here because of the idiotic settIng of 100 chosen by the "reviewer". In my tests Topaz was hopeless because inconsistent across the subjects...
Topaz applies sharpening along with denoise, in LR sharpening is supposed to be applied after denoise.
Many thanks, Anthony, for doing this so quickly and masterfully. And curses, Anthony, as I now have to renew Topaz Denoise AI. :)
I wouldn't, not on this failed test - the default setting is 50, the 100 chosen for LR Denoise is resulT of his ineptness.
Topaz looks a touch better I agree but wonder now if the price for topaz is worth it if I can get 90% of the results in Lightroom. Also Lightroom will certainly have adjustments and additional models at some point in the not very distant future. So now can Lightroom replace my Topaz Denoise and Sharpen apps so I don't have to pay for upgrades for those anymore? Maybe...
Simply set LR Denoise to the default 50 and Topaz looks as bad in comparison as it does in other tests...
Thank you for this wonderful comparison! Great info! I prefer Topaz Labs now too.
The biggest difference is that the color (probably white balance) is very different. LR Denoise appears to have altered the colors, which makes direct comparison slightly harder.
TIn your example Topaz is much better to me, especially for bird photography, details in feathers are very important and a tiny bit of noise is better than too flat, thank you for this video well done!
Good demo. Topaz can also process batches of files with the same settings if need be.
I used all three denoise programs over the past week pretty extensively (PureRaw, Lightroom DeNoise and Topaz DeNoise) and by the end of the week I just went straight to using Topaz DeNoise and never liked the results of the other two. My Lightroom DeNoise defaults to 50% and I never felt the need to increase that. I did run Topaz out of Photoshop so my RAW edits were already done and Topaz was the first thing I did in PS. One quirk I found with Topaz was that if I edited a color slide film scan (scanned using my Nikon Z9), it would consistently only apply the changes to 3/4 of the image, leaving either the right or left 1/4 of the image noisy. Fortunately that was usually a blurred background so I could just apply some Gaussian blur to that section. I notice that the Lightroom Denoise image in your example has a ton of magenta mottling in the background that is not there with Topaz.
Good! But if you want to compare the two versions, you have to compare with the same setting. On Topaz you use quite a lot of sharpness in the setting, while in Lightroom you reduced the sharpness to zero. Then two images with completely different sharpness are compared and Denoise is sharper. I do the same and reduce the sharpness before using noise reduction. But sharpens after this. Then you get a comparable picture.
I don't do that, but the comparison would be better if you had put the sharpness before the noise reduction in Lightroom.
In my limited usage of the new denoise feature in LR the default level is whatever you last set it at. The first time I used it the setting was definitely 50%, but if I moved it from there it will use that as the new default. So, it's really not a default other than LR gives you a 50% starting point on the first application of the feature. I don't know if that is something that can be changed in the settings, but have not changed anything since updating LR. It would be curious to see if you used something less than 100% in LR, such as 50-70% if it would still look slightly less sharp than Topaz Labs Denoise. I think with the 100% setting you used it probably softens it up too much.
Double click on the settings name to get back to the default of .... 50...
You added sharpening with Topaz Denoise and left LR on 0, I find when using the sharpening in LR then masking it out to only have it on my subject I get better results and on par with DxO pure raw 6.
LR looks better from this end.
I going to try LR denoise at 100% just once for a look. Older computer LR said 4 hours to do one image, so much fun.
Thanks for your videos Anthony.
On my PC this process is done entirely in the GPU with 0 activity in the CPU so I need to update my graphics card, not the PC as a whole. Still they're expensive enough.
It's obvious from the video that more details are visible in the DeNoise AI versions of your test image. But, most of us know that DeNoise AI also sharpens a bit, so we may be looking at images with slightly different high frequency contrast. the Low light mode is the only one where the sharpen slider can be set to zero - and even then it is known to sharpen. There seem to be no sharpening with the Lr AI Denoise, so to compare more fairly I think a small amount of sharpening should be added to the Lr result.
Thanks for the good video. I'm happy with Topaz and DXO, and usually try to avoid Lightroom anyway, though I do like the way it does b&w conversions
The difference is so slight I think I will just stick with the new Adobe noise reduction.
I find myself increasingly preferring Lightroom Denoise on my Canon raw images. The Lightroom Denoise GUI is inadequate, but with practice, I have found it consistently outperforming Topaz Photo AI (fewer artifacts). It is important to experiment with that crude slider (50 is a better starting point than 100). Once Adobe sees fit to include a proper set of controls, it will be easier to appreciate the full potential of the algorithm.
I'm still a Topaz fan basically demonstrated in you video here. I see in the comments a number of folks like the Lightroom better - often times because they don't have to fiddle with sharpen adjustments, whatever. Fine. However, Topaz is continuing to develop their program Photo AI all the time. Lightroom is just now, after Topaz had been out for years, getting around to providing a quite good denoise.... Perhaps you should compare noise reduction in Photo AI (all other settings cancelled out) and see if there is much difference.....Thanks for this comparison.
Hi Anthony I've watched a lot of your videos and like them. I have had difficulties seeing differences in some of your before/after, approach 1 vs approach 2 comparisons. I'm sure RUclips's compression doesn't help.
A suggestion - use Lightroom's Compare side by side feature rather than switching back and forward between the two versions of an image. Zoom in where you think there is a difference.
Another option would be send two images as layers to Photoshop and use a Difference blend to see exactly where any differences are. Apply a Levels adjustment on top to amplify the difference values. Even if you didn't show this in the video then at least it would tell you where to look. Perhaps this is too artificial, if you can't see something with the naked eye it might not matter.
Adobe denoise is the best denoise software so far ever created. No added sharpening and it reduces the noise by about 2-3 stops of light without losing details and making a picture look mushy. Making a ISO 3200 image look like image shot at ISO 800 or 400 if you keep denoise slider somewhere between 40-60 %. Also, creating a new DNG may be slow if your picture is originally on a slow HDD. Sometimes it's just a transfer speed issue.
Another great video. Just one observation the Lightroom Denoise sharpening was left on zero and the Topaz had some sharpening I think? 👍
Will wait for the NoNoise from ON1 one!
You didnt sharpen the lightromm photo,. You added sharpening to denoise AI
Yes, Is there a way to add sharpening to the LR denoise function? Or does denoising and sharpening requires two actions?
Interesting note on processing speed , my PC is old and LR Denoise is unusable as I get estimated processing times of over 200mins yet Topaz denoise works absolutely fine with most images taking a couple of mins at most .
I several times had ~300 min estimation, then the job was done in half an hour ;-)
Still 30 minutes sucks agains 15 seconds in Topas
I have done a few tests, and it seems to differ from photo to photo, but when you think about what you pay for… If you don’t have Topaz, DXO or any of the others, is it really worth buying a plugin? I don’t think so, but if you like me have both Topaz and DXO 3… I’m still testing, but I’m not sure I will continue to pay for plugin upgrades at this point. Time will tell 😊 Wish you a great weekend ☀️
I agree. It varies from one shot to the next. Now I need to print some comparisons to see them at realistic resolution rather than pixel peeping on screen.
Hi Anthony. Thanks for another greatly explained video. Can you explain why the LrC denoise makes me wait 14 minutes instead of 14 seconds . I hear more people struggle with this problem.
I have same issue. The time difference is immense. LR run forever. Topas runs seconds
@@jblookonimages6749 Thanks JB. The answer I find on the internet is that I should buy another (better) graphics card for my computer but I can't believe that everything worked fine with LrC always and after one update my equipment is outdated. By the way I bought my computer six months ago...
A very informative video, as usual. Thank you. Is Topaz Photo AI replacing their Denoise AI - maybe a comparison with Photo AI? Thanks Again.
Very helpful as usual. QUESTION: can you use LR Denoise AI, then sync across many images, even though it will take a very long time?
You can select multiple photos and run it through Denoise AI, processing will just take longer. You can’t sync…
Anthony, you had zero sharpening on the Lightroom DeNoise file. I find when sharpening is used before noise reduction, LR DeNoise is really good. Try adding LR sharpening on this file and then compare them.
I suspect that topaz Denoise is doing some sharpening as well in my testing. When I add a mask to the subject in LR and add a bit of sharpening they are identical.
12400f and rtx 3060 12gb adobe denoise ai 10sec, it is magic, i have used on d750, d3300, sony nex 3n raw files with great results if the photo is in correct focus and correct shutter speed (no shake) and correct exposure, 12gb of vram are all used
I have always 50 preset in Lightroom
Thanks for the video!
I ran a test on a 20mp shot at 12,800 iso with both TDenoise and LrDenoise on my PC, the most interesting thing was Lr is totally using GPU only and my rtx 2060 was running at 100% took 2minutes 30seconds but Topaz is CPU only and my i9 9900 did it in 20 seconds. So if you are running a big rtx 4090 or similar Lr will blow thru it pretty quick.
To me, it's so close that it seems one could make them equal quite easily, and having only one program vs. two for one's workflow would be a factor.
Something you did with Topaz Denoise AI is that you added sharpness. This you did not do with the Lightroom Denoise test after creating the new image. I think this is something you should have done with this new image with Lightroom. This does not mean that tweaking the sharpness in Lightroom that the image would look better necessarily because some noise might be reintroduced. Just a thought.
I prefer the lightroom denoise. Then don't forget you can continue processing in lightroom, including sharpening. It's better and included in the monthly subscription. there is no need to pay for less effective plugins.
Topaz definitely shows more detail. I'm preferring DXO PureRaw 2 deep prime against LR AI noise reduction. PureRaw yields more natural details, has a faster processing time and smaller DNG file sizes. (based on Fujifilm XT3 raw files)
There is more "detail" because AM chose to obliterate the image in the LR Denoise through setting it to 100.
I suggest to give a chance to LR AI once again, with denoise set somewhere between 20 and 50%
A question: if you were to add a tweak in sharpening to the LrR denoise, perhaps it would be closer to each other? As you said, splitting hairs but for that prized image, it might make the difference. Love your videos...
Everyone keeps stating that the Lightroom slider is a default for the particular image. In my tests with 5 different cameras it appears to be a sticky setting. It always opens up to the last setting used.
Thank you
I have found the LR Denoise occasionally adds odd digital artifacts to faces even at low levels. In that case I use topaz.
In Topaz Denoise, its just click and no hassle like in lightroom. U have to learn lightroom to use perfectly
I find all your videos very valuable and informative in general, but I think you're going wrong here in the comparison. In lightroom you take the default setting, and you don't change anything (definitely not always the best choice, I might add) while in Topaz you make several changes. I don't think that's a comparison that does justice to Lightroom. I don't know how Lightroom would have turned out if you had paid a little more attention to the slider setting there, but now you're not giving it a fair chance.
Consistent with both my years old prejudice and this last week's experience. Adobe Camera Raw vacuums [1] at detail preservation. If you want to see what detail preservation is possible then upsample in Gigapixel AI to 32,000 on the long side. Shocking. Yes, you have to pixel peep to see and appreciate the differences, but hey, we used an 8 times magnification loupe to verify an 8"*10" slide, way back.
Printed at A3 (16.5" * 11.7"), you're not likely to see these differences, but at A2 (23.4" * 16.5") most definitely. Then you can argue that people should look at your images from 6 times the image diagonal - the old photography school norm or assumption. That's theory and the first thing people do is press their noses up to your picture and look at the details.
The Mudbricks [2] have done an OK job, but not good enough for me - they are still behind the forefront and I still need 3rd party apps to fix their flaws.
[1] sucks. And yes, this is where the new Denoise algorithm happens
[2] the programmers at a firm who's name means mudbrick
Great video till you got to the part where you compared sharpness when lightroom wasn't sharpened
Topaz have more texture, but i feel good with lightroom, only by my workflow
You did not apply sharpen to the Lightroom Denoise image. Maybe that is why the Topaz image appears more sharpen.
I have seen Lightroom’s Denoise with both 50% and 100% on the slider. I haven’t seen any other values so far.
Thanks for the great video Anthony! I use Topaz Denoise and was excited when LR came out with their version. However LR denoise make my monitor flash terribly. I have a newer HP desktop, up to date drivers ect. I will use Topaz and hope LR fixes the bugs.
Yes, I agree....Topaz Denoise is better.
Slightly iff topic, but what laptop/desktop arw you uaing? Denoise takes forevwr on mine.
Question Anthony. If you use Denoise AI as a stand alone on a RAW file and then save it as a DNG once it finishes processing does Topaz Denoise AI retain the same, original camera settings that you said Photoshop Denoise does when saving as a new DNG?
Can you use topaz Denoise AI with canon Dpp4 photo programs ?
It seems to me that since I already pay Adobe, and as Mr. Morganti says the difference is minor, buying into Topaz doesn't make sense.
Thanks for the video! Do you know why Lightroom's denoise needs to create a brand new DNG file, rather than just applying the denoise results to the original raw file the way that the regular noise reduction does? Also, why is the new DNG file literally 3 times bigger than the original raw file?
Is it not working as a plug-in if you in Lightroom use "File - Plug in extras -- Denoise with Topaz Photo AI? Topaz says this is the best method and it retains profiles.
I find that Lightroom denoise is significantly slower on my computer than the Topaz labs version. I don't know why this can be. Both work well however.
LR Denoise is mostly using cpu at present. Topaz has been optimised for gpu which can be many times faster depending on graphics card. LR will over time shift to gpu I’m sure
Different algorithms, Topaz claims to be AI but the algorithm doesn't show the telltale signs of being one - it doesn't seem to rely on a ML model which would hammer the GPU/ML accelerator
I do not have any experience with Topaz labs or any other noise reduction product. It took just about 6.5 minutes to render a DNG using Denoise in LR.
@@richardcarner6813 runs in 30 secs for me. Depends perhaps on raw file complexity maybe? My computer is a few years old. Might be worth testing on a friend’s device
@@longboardfella5306 LR Denoise doesn't use the CPU at all if the GPU has some machine learning capabilities. If it doesn't there is no benefit to using the GPU, it will only be slower because then the transfer of data to the GPU will even slow down the process even more.
Odd that Adobe chose the same name as Topaz Labs... Perhaps Adobe just licensed a version of Topaz labs?
On video the pictures look horribly plastic without any noise. I'd keep some in on a semitransparent layer. If Topaz has done so, then it is preferable.
lightroom denoise ai at 100% will have some detail loss. having you tweaked topaz, and left lightroom at defaults, the result is kinda expected.
Good sir
I saw a color shift between the two.
Lightroom controls colour shift and banding better than topazes, and keeps better details.
The first time I used LR Denoise the slider was set at 50. Each time I now open it, the slider is at the setting I last used. Mine doesn’t reset to any particular value. It remains where I last set it.
Is it on the mobile app
Since Topaz is moving to Photo AI as it's main product, why not compare it to Lightroom Denoise AI? Also, since you applied some sharpening while in Topaz denoise AI but not while in Lightroom, wouldn't you expect the Topaz image to be sharper?
great video. thanks, I'm getting outrageously long processing times using LR Denoise AI - like 30-45 minutes per image. I did recently upgrade to Windows 11. my processor seems fairly fast and I've included the specs. I'm I missing some setting that would speed things up? Thanks.
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz 1.99 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.8 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
the ram is ok, the processor is slow. we are now in 13th gen, and your processor is 8th gen, so was made in 2017. you should get any modern computer with 12th or 13th gen processor with a graphics card of Nvidia 3070 or 3080 or 4070. or you can get an apple M1 computer, and that should be fine also.
@@truthseeker6804 thanks for your helpful advice! any suggestions for brands or specific laptop models? thanks!
@@peterguman7298Asus pro art laptop and Lenovo legion laptop both brands provide good value for money just make sure it's stated as 12th or 13th gen and the graphics should state Nvidia 3060 or 3070 or 3080, the higher the gen the better. But if you've got the money to spend I would recommend the "macbook pro m1 pro".
If you're buying any laptop try as much to get 32gb ram not less.
You added sharpness to Topaz but not to LR.
You cannot fairly compare Topaz denoise with lightroom deoise unless you account for the fact that the latter requires using RAW while the former allows jpeg.
As might as well shoot raw if you’re going to be doing heavy post-processing
Topaz Denoise AI is sharper and keeps background color, in my opinion. Good video.
Agree, topaz a little sharper.
Do you find Lightroom denoise takes a lot longer to work, compared to Topaz?
I am finding this though it’s still tolerable…but you lose the advantage of having just one program
The LR noise reduction seems to work well, but the whole time it is producing the DNG file and finishing its denoise, my screen is flashing. Anyone have that issue?
Yes mine flashes like that. My graphics card, which is where this process is being done, is too slow and I need to look to replace it but it does do it in the end.
@@andrewbealing Thanks... I thought that might be the issue but I just got a new computer with a good size graphic card. Using the AMD Radeon RX 6600 with 8G. Not good enough I guess.
@@bobrutan4735 Hmm that's a shame. I think Lightroom prefers Nvidia cards for some reason and you might want to check in preferences that its picked up the GPU.
@@andrewbealing Thanks Andrew....
Sorry, but your comparison is seriously flawed in two ways. First of all you need to understand that LR Denoise does not have an automatic setting like Topaz. The slider amount was on 100% on this image because you manually put it there on a previous image. Your comment that other people say the default amount is 50% but you never see this is laughable. Why you would set the slider on 100% is totally beyond my comprehension. I can only conclude that you have no idea how to actually use this new Adobe AI Denoise yet you are setting yourself up as some kind of guru. Secondly, Topaz adds sharpening, LR Denoise doesn't. The whole video needs redoing. Please don't carry on with this series of videos comparing Lightroom Denoise with other denoising software until you have admitted your mistakes and get the basics right.
Topaz AI is slow on my computer vut Lightroom AI takes EONS! 133 minutes estimate.
I find Lightroom Denoise to be very slow. In my opinion it's nowhere as good as Topaz.
👍😀
Boy have I gone down the wrong rabbit hole again...I've really missed the point of photography if I end up watching videos where someone zooms in to 3000% to check if the feathres are clightly sharper. Ok bye!
Topaz looks better to me.
No wonder with the inept setting of 100 - the default is 50, often less is sufficient already. Then Topaz does lose in every regard but especially in consistency across the subject.
Lightroom Denoise makes skin look like plastic. The higher the slider, the worse it is. DxO is better.
Nice video, BUT Dude, it's NOT how you're pronouncing it, "dih-noise", like the song "Bring in 'da Noise." It's pronounced DEE-noise, like to de-magnetize, or de-clutter. A long e sound.