Digital Noise

Art Scott · December 18, 2005

When do you run a digital noise remover on your images? While raw or after converting to tiff or Jpeg? :scratch

What is the best noise remover?

Thanks in advance.

rjpat · December 18, 2005

I use the noise reduction on my raws in Raw Shooter, and, since I only shoot in raw, that is all I ever do.

Art Scott · December 18, 2005

rjpat wrote:

I use the noise reduction on my raws in Raw Shooter, and, since I only shoot in raw, that is all I ever do.

wHY RAW SHOOTER AS opposed to PS or the raw software that came with your camera?

Essentials or Premium? Or the Bundle?

BenA2 · December 19, 2005

ART SCOTT wrote:

When do you run a digital noise remover on your images? While raw or after converting to tiff or Jpeg?

What is the best noise remover? Thanks in advance.

When I shoot in RAW, I use the noise filter in ACR to remove noise. These are genrally shots from an SLR, so they don't even have that much noise to begin with. Works great. When I use my P&S, I'm stuck with JPEGs that tend to be very noisy. In this case, I appreciate the power of Noise Ninja, which I think is great. From the testimony of others, Neat Image is also an excellent program. Both of these cost a small amount but are totally worth it, especially for batch processing and Photoshop plug-ins. There are other free options available out there, but I feel it's worth spending a nominal amount on a good noise-removal program.

Good luck,
Ben

Art Scott · December 19, 2005

This is the digital noise I was hoping to remove with a noise removing software.

I still have the raw files...Do you think Raw Shooter essentials will do the trick? or do I need noise nija or neat image...or ist very subjective and mostly personal preference as to what to acquire?
If I remember correctly this was shot a iso 64 and some between 28 and 200 mm ....

Thanks again.

BenA2 · December 19, 2005

ART SCOTT wrote:

This is the digital noise I was hoping to remove with a noise removing software.

I still have the raw files...Do you think Raw Shooter essentials will do the trick? or do I need noise nija or neat image...or ist very subjective and mostly personal preference as to what to acquire?
If I remember correctly this was shot a iso 64 and some between 28 and 200 mm ....

Thanks again.

First of all, let me say "Wow" that is a fantastic picture. And, personally, I don't see any need to remove the ice particles. I think they add to the see.

However, if you do want to get rid of them, I do think you're going to have to go beyond the noise filter of a RAW converter. To my eyes (and limited experience) the ice does not manifest itself in the image as typical sensor noise. So, I think it's going to need a bigger, more specialized hammer with the control of a third-party filter like Noise Ninja or NeatImage. But, before you try that, you might also try some techniques within Photoshop--perhaps using the despeckle filter. I know I've seen tutorials where people are able to isolate specks like the ice in your picture and eliminate them. I wish I could remember where.

You might consider reposting this question to the Digital Darkroom Software topic to solicit more response.

Again, though, I think it's fantastic as is. Great work.

Ben

HeldDown · December 19, 2005

Not to get off-topic, but did you photoshop just beside the tree on the left, and at the treeline at the very right hand edge? It looks very much like it, and it drives me nuts looking at the pic. What's in the original?

BenA2 · December 19, 2005

HeldDown wrote:

Not to get off-topic, but did you photoshop just beside the tree on the left, and at the treeline at the very right hand edge? It looks very much like it, and it drives me nuts looking at the pic. What's in the original?

Ooooo, good point. There is some obvious cloning there. I missed that at first glance, but now it does stick out to me. It should be easily fixed though.

rutt · December 19, 2005

As an alternative to special purpose noise removers, try using the Surface Blur filter on a layer and then using blending options and a layer mask to fine tune. Maybe start with Threshold=9, Amount=3.

photocat · December 19, 2005

Is this really noise? Looks like you shot it through a window with some ice on it... You could take the noise away in this case with the healing spot brush tool, but as previous poster said: In this photograph, that what you call noise does not bother me.

Rohirrim · December 19, 2005

ART SCOTT wrote:

wHY RAW SHOOTER AS opposed to PS or the raw software that came with your camera?

Essentials or Premium? Or the Bundle?

Hi Art,

Just to give you my thoughts on RAW software. I've used Adobes Camera Raw (ACR), Capture One and now Rawshooter Premium. Of the three I feel Rawshooter is the best because its faster, the workflow seems easier to me. It has Curves, Levels, a Neat Vibrance tool and a bunch of other nifty features.

The noise removal in RSP is pretty good although, I usually use photoshop for noise removal. You can fine tune noise removal better in Photoshop. By removing noise from seperate channels you can often remove noise without degrading the rest of the photo.

BTW, I like the photo you posted as is. Although I agree with others that it looks like there is a cloned in area on the left of the tree that is distracting.

illuminati919 · December 19, 2005

I highly doubt that was shot through a window, composition is too good. But yea the noise really doesnt bother me, I think its an awwwing photo, I really like it.

Art Scott · December 19, 2005

This is great...I am learning a bunch from your comments...and I was busted.....The photo was hand held standing a couple of hundred feet just out of the blowing Ice (my noise.....) that was a crazy ice storm that hit us last year.....

A GREAT MANY THANKS TO ALL THAT HAVE COMMENTED.

i truly appreciate the help.

rjpat · December 19, 2005

Art, in answer to your question on my first post. I don't have PS so I don't use ACR and Raw Shooter has given me the best results of the other ones I have tried, especially on the noise issue.

Art Scott · December 20, 2005

Still pertaining to but different.....
With adobe (right now my only choice)...when I am done editing a raw file and I hit the save as choice.....I get psd, tiff, etc..etc.....but no Raw....this is telling me I cannot save the worked on raw as a raw.....

Is this true for all Raw Programs?

Why would I want to do this....I have found that I may like my results now and then put thme a way for a day..week or month opnly to realize I truly need to make changes, but I want my tiff as the starting point and unless I keep a log book of each and every step I use I sometimes can't get back to where I want.

Thanks everyone for all your help.

BenA2 · December 20, 2005

It's OK
Don't worry Art, Adobe Camera RAW saves the changes you've made to the RAW file as parameters in a sidecar XMP file. So, assuming you don't move the RAW file out of the directory in which the XMP file resides and if all is working correctly, when you reopen the RAW file in ACR, your changed settings will be remembered.

Alternatively, you could also convert your RAW files to DNG format, in which case ACR will save the changes directly to the DNG file, but still preserve all your original RAW data.

Hope that helps,
Ben

Art Scott · December 20, 2005

BenA2 wrote:

Don't worry Art, Adobe Camera RAW saves the changes you've made to the RAW file as parameters in a sidecar XMP file. So, assuming you don't move the RAW file out of the directory in which the XMP file resides and if all is working correctly, when you reopen the RAW file in ACR, your changed settings will be remembered.

Alternatively, you could also convert your RAW files to DNG format, in which case ACR will save the changes directly to the DNG file, but still preserve all your original RAW data.

Hope that helps,
Ben

Sounds great...next time I open a raw I see if it give the DNG option.

Thanx

BenA2 · December 21, 2005

ART SCOTT wrote:

Sounds great...next time I open a raw I see if it give the DNG option.

Thanx

To make a DNG file you need to download Adobe's free DNG converter here. This program will batch convert your RAW files to DNG files. If you're not familiar with the DNG format (sometimes called the digital negative) it's a non-proprietary, open format for RAW images. Some info on the DNG format is available on Adobe's website and here.

Rohirrim · December 21, 2005

ART SCOTT wrote:

With adobe (right now my only choice)...when I am done editing a raw file and I hit the save as choice.....I get psd, tiff, etc..etc.....but no Raw....this is telling me I cannot save the worked on raw as a raw.....

Is this true for all Raw Programs?

Why would I want to do this....I have found that I may like my results now and then put thme a way for a day..week or month opnly to realize I truly need to make changes, but I want my tiff as the starting point and unless I keep a log book of each and every step I use I sometimes can't get back to where I want.

Thanks everyone for all your help.

ACR, Capture One and Rawshooter will all retain the last changes you made to your RAW image. They also allow you to quickly get back to the original image with just a click or two. I believe this is true for most RAW converters.

Digital Noise

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