Topaz Sharpen AI

Image quality these days is of paramount importance, regardless of the type of photography one performs or of the image medium. One of the most prominent, recurring issue is that of noise, blur or grain in images. Topaz Sharpen AI is an app that will perform image sharpening, noise reduction or grain control, all within a clear, uncluttered package that emphasizes ease of handling.

As always, simple concepts yield the best results, and it is evident that developing this app was made with that idea in mind. Featuring a basic image viewer and adjacent side-panel that holds all the feature controls, the app offers a quite accessible package.

Having added an image, and yes, the app does not support batch editing, users can proceed to edit it by removing blur, increasing sharpness or even adding additional grain. However, users must note that depending on the complexity of the added image, the processing could take substantial time.

The fact that the app offers sliders for controlling the parameters makes handling very easy, but more demanding users could be craving for numerical input as well. The ability to manually input parameter values can save a lot of time for future processing.

When performing the changes with the sliders, users can expect for the image preview to update rater slow, and during our tests, we have experienced a rather sluggish operation. Since this is a standalone sharpening app, a faster and lag-free process is usually what to expect.

This application is a good tool for editing images and improving their sharpness, adding grain or even increase stabilization in very shaky photographs. However, due to its very slow processing time, it might not be ideal for advanced users.