Topaz Studio was an incredible creator application to add filters and custom looks to images. Sadly, Topaz Labs discontinued Topaz Studio in 2020 in an effort to focus on their image and video enhancement software (which are pretty amazing programs).
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The download for the legacy software is still on the Topaz Labs website.
I did a test to see if I could use Topaz Studio 2 for free since it’s been discontinued. I downloaded the software and was prompted to log in. I created a new account and was able to use the program. I can’t guarantee this will always be an option.
What are Alternatives to Topaz Studio?
With Topaz Studio discontinued and no longer being developed or supported by Topaz Labs, what are alternatives?
Of course if you’re looking specifically for image enhancements, Topaz Photo AI and Video Enhancer are still available. But those don’t give us the filters and customized looks that Topaz Studio did.
The best alternative to Topaz Studio 2 is the Nik Collection from DXO. While not quite as user friendly in my opinion, the Nik Collection gives as much or more control over creating custom looks for images or renders using enhanced filters.
Like Topaz Studio, the Nik Collection is currently a one-time purchase (at about the same cost as Topaz Studio) with no ongoing subscription.
What’s Included with the Nik Collection?
The Nik Collection includes eight desktop applications that can also be used as Photoshop or Lightroom plug-ins. The one I find the most useful for giving custom filter looks to my renders and images is Nik Color Efex.
But here’s a run-down of all eight programs the collection includes. Some applications are more specific for photographers while others have broader use cases.
Nik Color Efex
Nik Color Efex is the single best alternative to Topaz Studio 2. It can do everything Topaz Studio could do and works more non-destructively when used as a Photoshop plug-in. It can also be used as a stand-alone application.
When an image is loaded into Nik Color Efex, a long list of filters are available on the left side of the user interface. We can add filters individually and then customize them and stack on more filters. The filters act as layers and have compounding effects on the original image.
When used as a Photoshop plugin, the filters are applied non-destructively as smart layers. This means we can continue to edit and refine the filters without changing the underlying image.
Nik Analog Efex
Nik Analog Efex allows us to add several effects to an image to make it look old or vintage. There are a lot of effects to choose from for endless customization of antique looks.
Nik Dfine
Nik Dfine (pronounced “Nik Define”) removes digital noise from images while minimizing damage to the original photo. It’s a great tool for denoising images without losing important detail or quality.
If working with multiple images, we can save custom settings profiles for quick access later. All of the results are in real time and could be a time saver over expensive render engines for 3D artists.
Nik HDR Efex
Nik HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a tool for enhancing intensely highlights and shadows of images. With a larger color range comes more creative possibilities. I’m no expert on HDR effects, but just playing around with some of the settings I can get some pretty impressive results.
Nik Silver Efex
The Nik Silver Efex application is everything you’d want to do with black and white images. It’s aim is to make your image look like it was processed in an old-school dark room. Burnt edges, sepia tones and vignettes are just some of the one-click features we can add for extra realism or style.
Nik Viveza
If you’re looking specifically to make an image’s colors “pop” Nik Viveza is a set of tools for just that. Similar to Color Efex, it uses filters but specifically focuses on color enhancements. On occasion I’ve used the two applications together to make some really interesting effects.
The white balance tool in Viveza is easy to use and very valuable for photography and digital photo editing. The thirteen color presets are one-click adjustments to automatically improve the look and feel of an image.
Nik Sharpener
As the name implies, Nik Sharpener is a tool for digitally sharpening images. It’s goal is similar to what some of Topaz Labs’ more advanced programs are achieving. But unlike the Topaz products, Nik Sharpener comes included with the Nik Collection for a single price.
Sometimes we want images sharper. Sometimes we want to add a distortion effect by removing image sharpness. With Nik Sharpener, we can fine tune sharpness to get it exactly how we want.
Nik Perspective
Nik Perspective is a photo editing tool to adjust the perspective of images. We can shift the angle of photos automatically, correct lens distortions and wide-angle stretching very easily. It also comes with a Bokeh simulation feature which is fun to play with. As with all tools in the Nik Collection, this is done with just a few clicks and is fairly user friendly.
One tool included with Perspective is the reshape tool which lets us manually warp the image to adjust imperfections at the local level within our image.
What you Don’t Get from Nik Collection
The Nik Collection is great and honestly more powerful than Topaz Studio was. But a part of me really misses the pre-designed filtered looks that came with Topaz Studio. Yes, you can create all of these with Nik but it’s a lot of adjusting sliders and settings.
Other than that, the Nik Collection of image filters is the best alternative to Topaz Studio I’ve found and I use it often in my digital art.
Brandon Stocking
