Topaz Owners - Upgrade Fyi

Follow up:

I upgraded the three apps recommended. There was little change in DeNoise and Detail. Simplify was a major upgrade.

Dan, omg....Detail is a major upgrade to 3.2 from whatever I had from last year. There is a bunch of new effects with it, in addition to feature, micro, etc that was there. No wait, I was in lens effects, too - that was some serious cool stuff, I can't remember all of them, unless they were there before and I never noticed, which is not beyond the realm of possible.........I don't think they were though. Check top left corner list, I didn't catch the change at first. I'm going to recheck if I need upgrades on the other ones. Well darn, I'll look again, I've just confused myself...time for sleep I think!

edit: okay, yes they did add many new effects in detail that are a cross over from some of the other suites. But lens effects - I just really tried out tonight and explored, will load image later. Very cool stuff from subtle to bolder.

Glad it worked out for you, Melissa. For many years I did not use Topaz, thinking Nik and others did basically the same thing. But with the new upgrades and effects, Topaz has left both OnOne and Nik far behind. JMHO. Lately I've been studying DeNoise. With it's individual adjustment capabilities - such as noise on separate color channels - it leaves Nik dFine far behind - which I used for years. Seems when Google took over Nik and dramatically lowered the price, topaz was given a wake up call. And no, I do not work for topaz. LOL. I'm just really, really impressed with their new products.

Dan

Do you use clarity? That is pretty damn awesome!

Hi Dan,
I just wanted to say thanks for this thread. I've never used Topaz, saw your post and downloaded it. WoW - I played with one image and loved the effect I used.
I use PSE 10 or 11 and have been seriously considering buying the new version of PS/Student version (not as good as the regular I'm told) but now having played with Topaz I am rethinking that decision.
I have 30 days to play so I will, but do you have any suggestions for individual packages or do you own the full package?

Thanks,
--Donna Proctor

Edit @ John - I tried it and was amazed at the difference between it and PSE.

Donna, I have the full package, it was on sale last July. If you can wait - there will be a sale I'm sure!

Melissa -

LMAO, but I don't want to wait ;) It's like being a child who has never walked into a candy store! I'm now playing again with the same image I used before - but turning it into a "painting." Oh boy - I might need you to tell me how to classify it ;) Seriously . . .
Is summertime generally the time of year that they do that?

--Donna Proctor

I hardly use Photoshop for most of my edits. I pull them up in ACR (which is awesome) make a few adjustments in camera raw, then open in Photoshop.

I copy the image in Photoshop and then use two or three Topaz filters to edit my work.

I basically use Photoshop to create HDR and Pano images, but I EDIT those in Topaz.

Donna,

I bought my Topaz filters one at a time and it probably would have made more sense to buy the suite. There are some Topaz filters I have no need for but the 3-4 I do use I use A LOT! But comparing the price of 3-4 separate is pretty darn close to buying the suite. Even at full price the suite isn't that expensive (compared to something like the cost of Photoshop)

John -

Thanks for the information. I looked at the individual prices and I think you might be right. I probably wouldn't use many of them either, but when I add up the ones I am playing with now, it comes pretty darn close to the full suite. I have to say that it's really fun to play around with them and I think I needed something fun to kick start me back into creating.

Re's Photoshop - yes, I'm not willing to go full tilt on it for my photography - that's why I mentioned the student version. My son went back to school and can purchase it for less than what I could for the full suite.

--Donna proctor

@Donna, FYI, the student version of PS is the same software as the full version. It's just that they discount it for students. The downside is, you can never upgrade. You have to buy a full new version each time. (Which is probably moot anyway, since they are strong-arming everyone into the cloud.)

Loree -
Thanks for letting me know - I was under the impression the SV had less tools to work with, so I'm glad to hear otherwise. The downside to never being able to upgrade is probably a deal breaker for me. I don't want to put good money into a program I can't upgrade and I really appreciate the info! Hmm . . .
I've read a bit about the cloud here, and would prefer to stay away from something that charges me every month.
What do you think about the cloud, or do you own the full version and upgrade when necessary?
Ahh.. you have given me much to think about.

--Donna Proctor

I own CS5. Bought it under student pricing since I took a class at the local community college to learn how to use it. That's how I found out about the upgrade restrictions. Last I heard, you could only get CS6 till they run out of hard copies, then everything is cloud. I don't like the subscription idea either, because once you are on it, they have you and can keep increasing the price little by little until you're paying out the nose! I also have LR4. I'm looking at LR5 because it has some really cool new stuff that LR4 doesn't have. So far, they have kept LR available as a standalone program, but probably before too long they will discontinue that and force LR users into the cloud as well....*sigh*

Another thing about the student edition is if your computer bites the bullet you cannot get another copy. They limit you to like one copy a year (or maybe it's two).

@Donna, ha!! I understand not wanting to wait, just didn't want you to see a sale on it after you purchased! Oh, and about what to call your photographic "art", since there is no consensus in sight, sigh....just make it up like everyone else seems to be doing!!!

Photoshop, I've been avoiding this program, I'm sure I would need to take the class to get benefit out of it, as I've been muddling along with other programs but I'm sure I'm not using ANY of them to their full advantage. Do not like the subscription thing at all, and I might still could get it discounted right now since I have LR4 and elements but I have a real problem with a constant drain on my bank account that could increase significantly over time. When and if they decide to change that, I'll probably bite.