A.I. Clear is a tool from Topaz Labs that claims to eliminate noise, remove artifacts, restore detail and sharpen images simply and easily.

How does it work?

The company describes it this way:

A.I. Clear uses the insight of a custom neural network that was trained by analyzing millions of images. This network detects and reduces noise while enhancing details in your images automatically. Topaz Labs has always been at the forefront of image noise reduction. In 2010, Topaz Denoise had been already considered the best high-iso noise removal software in the market, a position it has maintained to this day. The reason is that Topaz Denoise employed an algorithm that approached a theoretical upper-bound in terms of SNR (signal to noise ratio) increase. Therefore there were no much room for us, or anyone else for this matter, to improve it substantially. That is until deep-learning in Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) emerged.

Where is it most useful?

Here are some examples from the Topaz Labs website.

High ISO: Reduces/eliminates unwanted grain in high images and creates a better-looking image.
Nighttime: Noisy skies become less noisy and look better
Action: Helps reduce blur due to fast-moving subjects in your photos
Telephoto: Increase the quality of faraway images by synthesizing detail and bringing new life to them.

Where do I use it?

After some experimentation, I find that I’m using it as a starting place, as a preprocessor most of my photographs. It doesn’t matter what editing software I’m going to use, I use this first. Below are some examples from my own images shot from my Inspire 2 drone with Zenmuse X5S camera/gimbal from about 350-400 feet. I’ve zoomed in to allow you to see the differences more clearly.

Here are the controls for AI-Clear.


At first, I was skeptical, but after using it for four months now, it has become the first plugin that I use with most of my images and I preprocess them with it. Then I use my other editing tools. It is fast to use without too many controls, but enough controls that I can enhance it to whatever level I want. I can also control the opacity (0-100%) of the overall adjustment within Topaz Studio as well and this gives me added control over the final result. What I like most about it, is that for me, it removes the noise and adds back details without looking artificial.

The great news for you is that you can try it for 30 days before you buy it to find out if you like what it does! You can find that here.

How much do I like it? I purchased a copy.

I hope you enjoyed this article and thanks for taking the time to read it.