Show your Bird Portraits

I use PhotoAI sporadically, usually for photo’s where the sharpness is a little off. At the time Topaz Denoise was good, the results from PhotoAI are usually over-sharpened. Animals and birds look like someone has combed their hair or feathers.
The improvements in LR for noise reduction, DxO Pure Raw for ‘problem’ photo’s and the introduction of a subscription model will be the end of Topaz for me.
But you can easily reduce the amount of sharpening when using Topaz AI.
Their "auto mode" tends to oversharpen and to produce strange artefacts.
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Mushrooms And Fungi Of Any Kind

Thank You!

I use helicon focus to render the images.


If You like jelly You might like also those: :cool:
Maybe a Tremella globispora

R5m2 + Laowa 25mm macro
stack of 61 frames
View attachment 226523

Maybe tremella spicata
R5m2 + RF100L
stack of 130 frames
View attachment 226524
I can't tell what species of Tremella they are but I like the photos (but not jelly...)
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Show your Bird Portraits

I never used Topaz on RAW. If I needed it, I would just apply it to an exported jpeg from DxO.
I use PhotoAI sporadically, usually for photo’s where the sharpness is a little off. At the time Topaz Denoise was good, the results from PhotoAI are usually over-sharpened. Animals and birds look like someone has combed their hair or feathers.
The improvements in LR for noise reduction, DxO Pure Raw for ‘problem’ photo’s and the introduction of a subscription model will be the end of Topaz for me.
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Show your Bird Portraits

At the time Topaz told me that they had to wait for Libraw library for R5 Mk II. After Libraw support for the R5 Mk II became available, it took Topaz almost 2 months to release PhotoAI. They went from a Pay once, to pay every 12-18 months, to pay every month. The quality of their products declined with every step.
I never used Topaz on RAW. If I needed it, I would just apply it to an exported jpeg from DxO.
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Canon EOS R6 Mark III & RF 45 F1.2 STM November 6

Wikipedia confirms the $2,499.00 price for the R6 mark I and mark II.
But not €2499, never.

I like to add that it's important to be specific when mentioning prices. In Europe, different prices apply for different countries. This also applies to the launch of these products. For example, the launch price for the R6 Mark II in the Netherlands was €2929. This includes 21% VAT. Other countries have a different VAT rate. And even without the VAT prices were/are different. Therefore, it's a mistake to use or quote a single RRP price for European countries. Because there isn't one.
Absolutely, but not differences like €2499. I wish it were...
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Show your Bird Portraits

I don't think Topaz Labs likes me anymore, I laid into them about this among other things. Their dumba** CEO actually sent a mass mail saying AI would replace most photography.

Not a big loss, their software is terrible.
At the time Topaz told me that they had to wait for Libraw library for R5 Mk II. After Libraw support for the R5 Mk II became available, it took Topaz almost 2 months to release PhotoAI. They went from a Pay once, to pay every 12-18 months, to pay every month. The quality of their products declined with every step.
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Canon EOS R6 Mark III & RF 45 F1.2 STM November 6

The R6 Mark II, if I remember correctly, was released at 3049€ body only.
I like to add that it's important to be specific when mentioning prices. In Europe, different prices apply for different countries. This also applies to the launch of these products. For example, the launch price for the R6 Mark II in the Netherlands was €2929. This includes 21% VAT. Other countries have a different VAT rate. And even without the VAT prices were/are different. Therefore, it's a mistake to use or quote a single RRP price for European countries. Because there isn't one.
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RF 300mm f2.8 on the horizon?

The price of the EF 300mm f2.8 II was between 6000 and 6500€ (including VAT). IMO that is not a price for ‘the wider customers’.

Canon has a range of affordable primes and zoomlenses (from 16mm to 800mm). If you want a 300mm but cannot, or do not want to, spend 9500$/ 12000€, Canon has the RF 200-800mm (no need for extenders) or the RF 100-500mm, both are excellent lenses. Or wait until the rumored RF300-600mm is released. The rumored price is around 6500-7000$ if the rumors are correct, this zoom is f4 for 300mm and f5.6 for 500mm and 600mm.
I have the 100-500 and the option of f2.8 is what makes the 300mm so attractive. I wonder what the weight of the 300-600 would be....I look with envy at the Sony 300mm f2.8 coming in at under 1.5kg.
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Canon EOS R6 Mark III & RF 45 F1.2 STM November 6

Canon EOS R6 Mark III Specifications (Confirmed)​

  • 34.2mp/32mp (Same as the Cinema EOS C50)
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with multiple subject detections
  • IBIS: 6.5 Stops
  • Pre-capture
  • Max Framerate: 40fps E-Shutter
  • Max ISO: 64000
  • Open Gate
  • Price €2899
  • Price: $2899
  • Shipping late November (Tentative)

Canon EOS R6 Mark III Specifications (Unonfirmed)​

  • Dual UHS-II SD Card Slots
  • Full-Size HDMI Port
  • LP-E6P Battery & Partially compatible with other LP-E6 series batteries
  • CLog-3
  • Dynamic Range won't match the claimed 16-stops of the Cinema EOS C50
  • 3″ Articulating LCD (Sadly, not a new mechanism)
  • 5.76m-Dot EVF (0.76x)
  • DIGIC Accelerator
  • Passive Venting
BTW, open gate + dual UHS-II SD Card Slots? I don't think so.
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Show your Bird Portraits

I was offered the choice and chose computer. I repeated this morning using the Cloud but gave up after several minutes with RAW, a full-size jpeg then a tiny crop. Each even took a minute or so to upload. Maybe there are problems from over here but it is clearly not practical for me even to test. Topaz has always been amusing with its almost daily updates and have to download 20 gb each time.
I was not amused that I had to wait 3 months for PhotoAI to support the R5 Mk II raw files.

Their new subscription model charges 17$ a month ($199 annual billing) for their Photo app. That is more expensive than Adobe’s Photography Plan for Lightroom and Photoshop. I wonder how many of their customers are going to transition to their subscription model.

This is what you get when you take a Topaz Studio subcription:
IMG_0451.png
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RF 300mm f2.8 on the horizon?

Lenses used to be Canon's strong point now, not so much...they seem to be majoring on keeping their pro-base happy more than looking at what the wider customers think.
The price of the EF 300mm f2.8 II was between 6000 and 6500€ (including VAT). IMO that is not a price for ‘the wider customers’.

Canon has a range of affordable primes and zoomlenses (from 16mm to 800mm). If you want a 300mm but cannot, or do not want to, spend 9500$/ 12000€, Canon has the RF 200-800mm (no need for extenders) or the RF 100-500mm, both are excellent lenses. Or wait until the rumored RF300-600mm is released. The rumored price is around 6500-7000$ if the rumors are correct, this zoom is f4 for 300mm and f5.6 for 500mm and 600mm.
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Mushrooms And Fungi Of Any Kind

Thank You!
Are you using in camera stacking or some external program:
I use helicon focus to render the images.

Love the Jelly in the last shot especially!
If You like jelly You might like also those: :cool:
Maybe a Tremella globispora

R5m2 + Laowa 25mm macro
stack of 61 frames
Tremella globispora 61.jpg

Maybe tremella spicata
R5m2 + RF100L
stack of 130 frames
tremella spicata 130.jpg
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RF 300mm f2.8 on the horizon?

The 300 is the only prime lens that has been replaced with a zoom, so far.
There’s 135, 400, 600, 800 and 1200mm primes.
There’s no 200mm yet, but that wasn’t a 2.8 either, so it just hasn’t been replaced yet.

The 100-300 weights about 300 grams more than the EF 300mm f/2.8 IS II without adapter, and it can take teleconverters as well.

Sure, it costs a big chunk of money, but it delivers. I doubt they’ll make a fixed 300mm f/2.8 anytime soon.
Thank you. When you can't afford two of the classic workhorses (they are also missing an RF version of the 500mm f4) whether it delivers is a moot point. I am moving back from Olympus to FF, and it is these gaps in their lens line-ups that is making me compare adapting EF lenses or stump up the extra and go to Sony. But I really like Canon.
Lenses used to be Canon's strong point now, not so much...they seem to be majoring on keeping their pro-base happy more than looking at what the wider customers think.
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Canon EOS R6 Mark III & RF 45 F1.2 STM November 6

Everytime I see these prices I laugh my ass off... How is the Euro worth more than the dollar when the Eurozone lacks Britain, and every country except Germany and France are going broke or are already broke???
Because you do not have a clue about Europe and the state of the economy: France has a debt of 116% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (almost twice the EU norm of 60%), the UK 103% of the GDP. Germany 64% of the GDP. The USA ratio is 125%, forecasted to rise to 143% by 2030.

Source IMF country data mapper: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile

They have tool where you can view the data by clicking on the country on a map: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/GGXWDG_NGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD
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Show your Bird Portraits

After selecting Wonder, this window (minus the red rectangle) appeared:
View attachment 226520

For this particular fix, the total time (after clicking Process in cloud) was about 90 seconds (including upload, processing and download).

I've had some other decent results with the various Topaz products, but admit that the product is no panacea.

=====

Were you 'offered' the choices of cloud processing or processing on computer (...in the Wonder BETA window)?

I have not read any of the recent promotional material regarding Topaz Photo and Topaz Photo AI, and admit to a certain confusion about these 'two' products (pricing and subscription terms etc)...but will try to respond in full to the responses in this thread.
I was offered the choice and chose computer. I repeated this morning using the Cloud but gave up after several minutes with RAW, a full-size jpeg then a tiny crop. Each even took a minute or so to upload. Maybe there are problems from over here but it is clearly not practical for me even to test. Topaz has always been amusing with its almost daily updates and have to download 20 gb each time.
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RF 300mm f2.8 on the horizon?

is it all high quality zoom now?
The 300 is the only prime lens that has been replaced with a zoom, so far.
There’s 135, 400, 600, 800 and 1200mm primes.
There’s no 200mm yet, but that wasn’t a 2.8 either, so it just hasn’t been replaced yet.

The 100-300 weights about 300 grams more than the EF 300mm f/2.8 IS II without adapter, and it can take teleconverters as well.

Sure, it costs a big chunk of money, but it delivers. I doubt they’ll make a fixed 300mm f/2.8 anytime soon.
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