high iso noise removal software/techniques

[samester]

hey all,

just wondering how to best remove some noise from pics shot at ISO800

i really need them to be as sharp as possibe and would appreciate any suggestions on noise removal sotware or techniques that may be appropriate.

cheers,
sam

[Oneputt]

Try Neat Image a very good piece of software.

[Alex]

Hi Sam.

I used to try Noise Ninja, but the final results look unnatural. Nowdays I convert the image into LAB mode and do Gaussian Blur (up to 3.0 radius) on channels A and B (L, where details are, is unaffected by this blur). I find this method much better. This is followed by the USM on the L channel.

Alex

[Gordon]

The best technique is to adjust the ISO from 800 to 200!
I find the noise introduced by anything higher than ISO 400 on the D70 to be objectionable for daytime photography. Sometimes I have needed to go to higher than this for astrophotos - that was my main motive for buying a 30mm f/1.4 and 20mm f/1.8 prime lenses, the slow kit lens just isnt up to the task.

Gordon

[samester]

Try Neat Image a very good piece of software.

Hi Sam.
I used to try Noise Ninja, but the final results look unnatural.
Alex

i have neat image and was contemplating trying noise ninja. haven't used noise correction software in a while and was wondering what's in fashion these days.

hey oneputt, is there any specific setting that you would recommend when using neat image? i think from memory i used the remove half noise option and that seemes reasonable

thanks for the suggestions guys, really appreciate it.

[Aussie Dave]

Neat Image works magnificently. I can atest to how well it works...even on ISO1600.

SEE HERE (first couple of pics were all ISO1600)

Of course, if you badly underexpose your image, you're not going to be able to do too much to make it look great.

[Oneputt]

Samester I bought the pro version (quite cheap) and use the auto profile and fine tune. Sometimes it can remove too much noise and make areas of flesh look unnatural.

[xerubus]

I use noiseware and would highly recommend it.

http://www.imagenomic.com/

cheers

[Big V]

I would give neat image a go, here is a pic taken last night at 3200 ISO with my canon 300D and run through neat image using the full auto setting..

[Grev]

I would give neat image a go, here is a pic taken last night at 3200 ISO with my canon 300D and run through neat image using the full auto setting..

Sorry, at first I thought this was a Canon joke saying that the picture of the moon turned out to have faces when photographed with a Canon.

[mudder]

G'day Sam,

I also use some reasonably high ISO's (up to about 800 or so) with the D70 for animal stuff in nice soft light.

I purchased Neat Image Pro so I could use it within Photoshop as a plug-in, so as with any filter actions use it judiciously, on feathered selections of an adjustment layer so you can adjust the opacity and strength of the effect on your image, and running the NR stronger on areas that don't have as much detail, weaker on detailed areas etc.

Also, with Neat Image, play with the Noise levels for low, mid and high frequency values in the "Noise Filter Settings" tab. I believe they effectively refer to the relative "type" of noise, worth playing with as it seems like a way to tailor things to your liking or type of noise... Try the free/trial version to see if you like it...

A way that helps with color noise during PP (although I believe the D70(s) has more chroma noise than color) is: filter/noise/median - blur 2-5 pixels, then immediately after that, edit/fade median - color. Might be worth a play with fade luminosity to sus out reducing chroma noise too...