noise reduction software...suggestions?

Kevin CTMP

I'm looking for a good, yet reasonably price noise reduction software and/or plug-in. I've had some dark churches recently for weddings and had to use high ISO, and sometimes I just could'nt nail the exposure perfect or the shutter was just too slow. any opinions would be great, I've heard of noise ninja before, but thats it.

Cuong

Check out Noiseware from Imagenomic. I love the batch processing feature of the standalone version. You can download and try the community edition for free.

Cuong

colourbox

What are you using for processing software currently? The reason I ask is because if you use Lightroom or Photoshop, Lightroom 3.0 is known to be using noise reduction so advanced over the current version that some using the public beta are saying they won't need to spend extra money on a NR plug-in any more. It's expected that Camera Raw will have to share the same noise reduction code. Meaning if you intend to upgrade to the upcoming CS5 or LR3 you might want to hold off on a NR plug-in until you evaluate how well the new noise reduction works.

Richard

Another vote for NoiseWare. I did a fairly thorough comparison of NoiseWare, Noise Ninja and Neat Image about a year ago. I think they give similar results, but I preferred the user interface of NoiseWare. I have been quite pleased with it, and no longer worry about shooting at ISO 1600 or 3200.

One other thing to consider: the forthcoming upgrade to ACR in CS5 and LR3 is said to have improved noise reduction features. If you are planning on acquiring either one of these, you might want to wait to see whether it's good enough for your needs.

Edit: Colourbox beat me to the punch. Again.

Ric Grupe

colourbox wrote:

It's expected that Camera Raw will have to share the same noise reduction code.

Kevin CTMP

Cuong wrote:

Check out Noiseware from Imagenomic. I love the batch processing feature of the standalone version. You can download and try the community edition for free.

Cuong

hmmm...I'll have to check out the trial of that....i absolutely LOVE portraiture from Imagenomic...Hopefully this is just as good..lol....when you say batch processing, does that mean I could easily apply the application to say, all the pictures taken at a ceremony?....simliar to the sync feature in lightroom?

Kevin CTMP

colourbox wrote:

What are you using for processing software currently? The reason I ask is because if you use Lightroom or Photoshop, Lightroom 3.0 is known to be using noise reduction so advanced over the current version that some using the public beta are saying they won't need to spend extra money on a NR plug-in any more. It's expected that Camera Raw will have to share the same noise reduction code. Meaning if you intend to upgrade to the upcoming CS5 or LR3 you might want to hold off on a NR plug-in until you evaluate how well the new noise reduction works.

I use lightroom 2.0, and photoshop CS3.....CS5 is long off as a upgrade for me, but I am hoping to upgrade my lightroom soon....maybe I would be better off....I use the noise reduction in lightroom now, but it always seems to make it a little too soft

Cuong

Kevin CTMP wrote:

hmmm...I'll have to check out the trial of that....i absolutely LOVE portraiture from Imagenomic...Hopefully this is just as good..lol....when you say batch processing, does that mean I could easily apply the application to say, all the pictures taken at a ceremony?....simliar to the sync feature in lightroom?

Yes, similar to the sync feature in LR even though it's not that instantaneous. You tell Noiseware which files or folders with the desired settings (noise reduction profile to use, where to save, file name format and file quality) and it'll do all of them for you in one big batch. Each file only takes about 5-6 seconds. This feature is a lifesaver for those who shoot events or sports.

Cuong

AFBlue

Kevin CTMP wrote:

I use lightroom 2.0, and photoshop CS3.....CS5 is long off as a upgrade for me, but I am hoping to upgrade my lightroom soon....maybe I would be better off....I use the noise reduction in lightroom now, but it always seems to make it a little too soft

You might try the Lightroom 3 public beta and see what you think of the noise reduction vs. softening of that new engine. I was a beta tester for CS5 (which has the same noise reduction engine a LR3). CS5/LR3 do a good job of reducing noise without serious damage to detail, but they are still applying noise reduction globally. I prefer the selective/targeted approach of some other programs. We all know that not all parts of all images have the same degree of noisiness, so why would we want to soften parts of the image needlessly?

Jerry

ABCL

NoiseNinja imo is the best solution, the guy who designed it is also a computer scientist! It uses some mathematical calculation to remove noise without muddying or reducing the quality of the overall image. It has plugins for Aperture, Elements and other Photoshops and also as a pre-bundled standalone .exe or .app.

It really is fantastic..