Moving forward, will future updates to the existing Topaz Plug ins only work in Studio, or will we be to work directly out of Photoshop as we have in the past?
You need to ask Topaz Labs as this is only user to user. Most organizations wont reveal roadmaps. The only thing that I have seen is that the original Clarity will not be updated anymore.
Exactly. And I know these forums are monitored by Developers from Topaz. It only makes sense.
According to the TL web pages the plug-ins will not be developed further once they are ported to Studio. So, you will be able to continue to use your existing versions as plug-ins. But, the future dev path will not be the plug-ins. I assume the plan is to eventually migrate all of the plug-ins to Studio so at that time they would be frozen as far as new dev.
And I know that many folk will not agree with me but I think this is a backward step and as a salvation DXO has acquired Nik colllection and will have updated it for full service by next year. Studio is just not my cup of tea - the plug-ins are and will continue to be as long as they work but for me it is Bye Bye Studio
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I could not agree more. Topaz built their market as a Photoshop plug in, which obviously features strongly in our workflow. I just do not like Studio, which will never be a Photoshop replacement.
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Studio is not intended to be a Photoshop replacement, imo. I own six Topaz Effects. Why is it not better to call Studio once as a plug-in from PS rather than 4+ times? Studio doesnât have to be used stand-alone.
Am I missing something? Yes, the new work-flow does take some getting used to. At first, I wasnât too thrilled either, but Iâm getting used to it. Old habits die hard.
The plug-ins had inconsistent GUIâs which was somewhat annoying. So far, it has been pros and cons for me. but mostly pros and getting better.
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Nik collection may continue being deved as stand-aloneâŠor the tech may be absorbed into DXO.
I have the (free) NIk collection but I never warmed up to it. YMMV.
Of course, you both hold the ultimate solutionâŠdonât use or buy it if you donât want to.
Unfortunately your solution is too late. I have bought all the Topaz plug-ins and as they were always so superb, their webinars first class and their support the best there is, I also bought Studio not expecting to find it so outside of my way of working, nor to take so long for me to be able to use it at all on my computer. So the money has been spent - too late to say donât buy it, but I donât use it. I have a workflow which is tried and tested, it works well and efficiently for me, I just donât have the spare hours that Studio needs to reach my desired results. So as I say the plug-ins will be used as plug-ins for PS until such time as they no longer work. As for NIK - DXO have already said that the collection will be developed and updated plug-ins will be available next year.
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"I also bought Studio not expecting to find it so outside of my way of working. "
âSo the money has been spent - too late to say donât buy it.â
All the pkgs have Trials. I think the idea is to try it before you buy it. Even then many have a 30-day money back. In the last month I have Trialed: ON1,ACDSee, Affinity, DXO, EXP-X3 etc and it didnât cost me anything.
âI have a workflow which is tried and tested.â
And yet you purchased a new pkg without trying it first? 
One could argue that loading one multi-plugin is more efficient than many round-trips of discrete plugins, but to each his own. Good luck with Nik. Perhaps TL will allow you to sell your Studio claims to me? 
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I donât disagree with this question you ask, but there are folks (myself included) who currently prefer the safety and usefulness of layers in Photoshop.
For the record, I recently experimented with applying several Studio adjustments as separate layers in Photoshop. This approach as a replacement for invoking multiple Topaz plug-ins (some with differing interfaces or groups of available adjustments) does work, which still provides the safety net of a layered and non-destructive workflow along with the benefit of having those individual adjustments existing in a single image document.
That said, I definitely see a future for me with Studio when I will edit some of my photos to apply the same two (or more) groups of adjustments, and reserve layered work for my âartistic expressionsâ.
âI donât disagree with this question you ask, but there are folks (myself included) who currently prefer the safety and usefulness of layers in Photoshop.â
You make an excellent point and I use PS layers, too. But, as you mentioned, you can continue to create multiple PS layers each serviced by Studio as a plug-in. So, I guess the original point still standsâŠwhat is lost in having the flexibility to utilize either method?
Also, within Studio having the ability to turn on/off each discrete effect largely gives me the functionality that I used PS layers for previously with far fewer round-trips. I understand that others may use layers differently (eg for creative edits etc).
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As I previously stated I had all the plug-ins and was exceedingly happy with them all. Who knew tha Studio would not be the same? I trusted Topaz to produce another incredible bit of software and was initially willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. But using layers in Studio has nowhere near the flexibility that using layers in Photoshop allows, and blending modes do not therefore work in the same way. Masking is now more difficult - masking in the individual plug-ins was very good, but I have found Studio far too cumbersome - and although it is possible to undo, the flexibility is not there. And I had tried it - found it severely wanting but was continually told âit will get betterâ, âit is early daysâ, âlots of developments in the pipelineâ⊠Unfortunately for me whatever the dvelopments were, or are, they did not come near what I need in spite of long conversations via the help section. But we live and learn. As for Nik - I used Nik software before I had bought any Topaz software and always got on well with them. So I donât really see any problems for the future. But Iâve been proved wrong before!
âAs I previously stated I had all the plug-ins and was exceedingly happy with them all. Who knew that Studio would not be the same?â
I had the plug-ins prior, too. I still thought it wise to try out Studio first before purchasing any Pro enhancementsâŠto not do that makes zero sense given the opportunity.
As someone pointed out you can still make as many layers in PS as you wantâŠeach one calling StudioâŠand each one using only one Studio effect if that is what you chooseâŠusing PSâs layering.
Is there some reason that doesnât work for you?
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I DID try out Studio first - it didnât work well but I was continually told it would improve - it didnât - I shouldnât have believed it would improve - perhaps it will in a yearâs time but I havenât got years left Iâm afraid.
If I decide to blend two layers using for instance Multiply in order to darken the image it is a matter of two keyboard strokes. In Studio it is complicated and takes longer. I may then decide to use a mask on a section of the image so another new layer - and all these layers are connected - not new interpretations of the original image, when I have masked he section that I want I can then add a new blending mode to either the masked section or the unmasked section or two different blending modes to each section. This all becomes very complicated in Studio partly because the layers are not linked in the same way - they are not all a part of the whole. Using Studio within Photoshop causes a much slower workflow with the added problem that quite frequently the whole thing crashes. My Computer has 16 Gb Ram, 2 graphics cards, Intel i7 and 2.50 Ghz which should cope with Studio. Studio is just not worth the hassle it causes me.
And why would I go to all that trouble when I can, at the moment, use the plug-ins perfectly well within Photoshop without all the hassle of Studio, thereby taking minutes instead of hours.
âI DID try out Studio first - it didnât work well but I was continually told it would improve.â
Live and learn. I make it a point to never buy software based on promises.
Do you want to sell/transfer your Studio claims?
Not at this time
