Luminar Neo has added Supersharp AI as a part of its Extension Pack. We kick the tires on Supersharp AI, seeing the way it works on a few images.
What’s Luminar Neo Supersharp AI?
Luminar Neo SuperSharp AI is for sharpening your images. Fortunately, it does so with a minimal of artifacts and halos by using machine studying. It’s a part of the Extension Pack, with varied extensions that you could be add on to Luminar Neo.
Skylum, the mother or father firm, describes Supersharp AI like this: “Supersharp AI refines the blur on an object’s outlines brought on by motion, missed focus, or a shaky digicam and logically stabilizes the entire picture. The neural community at its core analyses depth, perspective, and the atmosphere of the picture and works out with a compression algorithm. The result’s a crisp and naturally sharp picture, simply because it was meant to be.”
How can Supersharp AI assist me?
Supersharp AI can deal with images that aren’t very sharp in 3 ways: movement blur, common, and missed focus (defocus). As a result of we right here at Photofocus are writing about this product because it’s being launched, Supersharp AI solely has movement blur proper now as of Luminar Neo Replace 1.5.0. Will probably be added later. All of us have images the place for no matter purpose, the topic was shifting, we moved the digicam, the digicam didn’t catch focus appropriately, the shutter was too sluggish, or different causes. Supersharp AI intends to deal with all of that.
How nicely does Supersharp AI work?
I used Supersharp AI to try to sharpen two images. As a result of it solely had movement blur, I used it on one picture the place somebody was shifting. Nevertheless, I used to be curious to see how it could deal with one other picture that I’ve at all times wished to sharpen. Let’s take a look!
First picture: Sharpening an iPhone SE 2020 lowlight picture of a rock present with somebody shifting
My first check was to see how Supersharp AI would work with guitarist Victor Gutierrez of Sodaboxx, who have been acting at El Cid in Los Angeles. The picture was carried out in very low gentle whereas the band was shifting. It’s consequently somewhat blurry. I’ll present a few screenshots of the method.
Not like Upscale AI, one other one of many Extensions in Luminar Neo, Supersharpen AI seems within the Edit Menu within the Extensions part. I had issue discovering it at first since Upscale AI seems to the correct of the picture within the Catalog.
Clicking on Supersharp AI opens a dialogue field. Inside, you can also make changes, together with selecting what sort of blur you’re addressing (when the opposite two modes develop into out there) and masking. Inside the masks window, you might choose from a number of completely different strategies of masking, together with utilizing a brush. But in addition, there’s a Masks AI part, proven above. Right here, I’ve chosen “Human” since Sodaboxx had human on stage that night.
Above: The left picture is the unique picture earlier than sharpening. The correct picture was after sharpening, solely utilizing Supersharp AI.
As you possibly can most likely see, the picture has been sharpened. I wouldn’t say it’s a startling, miraculous, magical quantity. It could have been attention-grabbing to see what the common or defocus modes would have carried out. Nevertheless, that is largely about movement blur since he’s shifting, so this was probably the right mode.
I used this on “Excessive” Mode. I used to be shocked that it didn’t “ugly” and stuffed with artifacts. In reality, I’m shocked that it didn’t sharpen extra.
Picture two: Milky Method picture of Mobius Arch in Alabama Hills, Owens Valley, CA
For the second picture I wished to sharpen, I examined a photograph of Mobius Arch. I felt like I missed focus barely on the arch of this single-exposure picture as a result of I needed to place the tripod somewhat too near the arch. At night time, it regarded just like the arch was in focus. On a bigger display screen, not a lot. This has at all times bothered me, as I felt this was in any other case an interesting picture. May Supersharp AI deal with this?
I used Masks AI this time, utilizing “Pure Floor.” I used to be curious if this is able to work since ordinarily, pure grounds aren’t within the form of an arch. No drawback. It masked a lot of the arch. I brushed in somewhat extra for good measure.
Above: Earlier than (left) and after (proper) making use of Supersharp AI to the arch.
Ordinarily, one would most likely choose “defocus” to attempt to deal with the missed concentrate on the arch. I solely had movement blur to pick.
An attention-grabbing shock when sharpening the rocky arch
To my shock, Supersharp AI mounted the blur fairly nicely. There’s a caveat, although. The sample of the rocks in a part of the picture had modified! That is probably attributable to it utilizing AI to fill within the sharpening slightly than aggressively making an attempt to sharpen the “comfortable” (out of focus) areas.
As a result of I don’t actually care whether or not the patterns of the rock are correct, this doesn’t matter to me. Nevertheless, if it have been one other topic, corresponding to a particular costume or article of clothes, product, constructing, individual or one thing else, I don’t suppose I might need this. However I’m hoping that with completely different modes, the machine studying would deal with the varied topics extra particularly. Regardless, I used to be slightly happy that my barely out-of-focus arch regarded noticeably higher.
Right here, too, I used “Excessive” Mode. And as soon as once more, I believed I would get artifacts and get this somewhat ugly. On reflection, I most likely ought to have used “Medium” since this the arch is teetering on the precipice of being over-sharpened. However when testing these, I do wish to max out the controls to see what occurs.
The right way to receive Upscale AI or the whole Extension Pack
For extra info, go to Skylum’s “2022 Extensions Pack” webpage. You may get this as an add-on to Luminar Neo. There are a number of plans, together with a lifetime license.
