Studio 2 is probably what the original Studio should have been.

Some photographers will love the range and flexibility. On the other hand, I have to admit that one of my best-selling prints used a Topaz filter that emulated night lighting. They worked well, but in general, they went beyond what I use in an image editor. There's also a a lot of creative filters that go beyond the usual adjustments you find. It works nicely, and the best thing about it is you aren't stuck with the decisions the software makes you can adjust each parameter and even save your choices as a new filter. When you click on filters, you get an extensive set of options, some similar to what you would find in Lightroom and filters that go further, like AI Clear, which can enhance sharpness, remove noise, increase clarity, and recover details. The interface is streamlined, with two options on the right side of the screen: add filters and add looks. I used it inside Photoshop, so it opened the image I already had up. Topaz says they will be in an update, but they should have been in the original release. While reasonably complete, I found Studio 2 to be missing some basic tools, like cropping and healing.

Also, Topaz Labs has always been generous in offering YouTube videos, walk-throughs, and live demonstrations on the web. I took Studio 2 for a spin, putting it into my workflow as a Photoshop plugin.I found the GUI of Studio 2 more to my liking, and it is obvious how the tools work.

Certainly, you can make the standard adjustments as you would with most other editing software, but Topaz goes beyond that into the realm of advanced digital manipulation,that can give your photos a mildly painted look or a variety of ethereal or surreal edits. Topaz provides more than 25 filters offering control of things like color, texture, lighting, and more. Studio 2 offers two methods of editing, one with 'looks,' which are basically presets like we've seen from Topaz before and many other image editing apps, and then filters. This release seems aimed at creatives, and by that, I mean people who will take an image and go beyond the normal touch-ups of reducing highlights, boosting shadow detail, and sharpening. It's a similar arrangement to what Photoshop offers with layers, and there are blend modes and precise masking. It is faster, some bugs have been fixed, and most importantly, it adds non-destructive layers. Studio 2 is a complete rebuild of the original app. Like much of the software from Topaz Labs, we've got an extensive set of filters and ease of use that doesn't require a manual. With this release of Studio 2, Topaz is giving you a complete set of filters and editing tools, but appropriately, none of it is free. I know a lot of photographers who didn't like that approach, while some did. Studio was free, and it came with some filters, but the premium filters cost money and were added to the Topaz Studio app as you needed them. It follows the philosophy of do one thing and do it well versus trying to do everything and only half succeeding.The original Topaz Studio was a bit of an odd release. That's exactly what I, and many others, do. Actually, I consider that a plus as one can still choose the DAM they like independent of image processing. They are migrating the legacy plugins into the Studio framework and the legacy versions of the plugins are essentially frozen.Įxample of a photo I recently shot and then gave the artsy treatment with Topaz filters (including among others Impression).īTW, when the discussion steers toward DAM it is often pointed out as a weakness (for any photo package) when that is not integrated. But, they still run both groups on sale ever so often you can check their FB pages. In the past, there was a filter on sale every month but I don't recall seeing those sales since the advent of Studio/Adjustments. I think the Adjustment Pro-Pack was 50% off within the last six months IIRC. They have already done that a time or two.

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