Reala blue sky grain

[robert goldstein]

I have scanned many scenics taken with Superia Reala and have noted a disturbing

problem. Deep blue skies often have an offensive level of grain that is not easy to remove

with grain/noise removal software. My scanner is a Minolta 5400, and I scan at 5400dpi.

Multisampling does not seem to alleviate the problem.

 

Is the problem with the film or with the scanner? I do not have as much difficulty with

400UC blue skies.

[Ed_Ingold]

Reala has grain. 400UC has grain. Grain is particularly noticeable in clear, blue sky when you use negative film. Multi-sampling will reduce random, thermal noise, but have no effect on grain. If you use sharpening, you should mask off sky areas first. Reversal film has less noticeable grain, but holds less shadow detail. It's an imperfect world.

[digitalirony]

All film has grain of some sort - which becomes more obvious in large areas of similar colour, especially shadows. If the grain is bothering you you could use some software to reduce it after scanning.<br><br>

<a href="http://www.neatimage.com/" target="_blank"><b>Neat Image</b></a>, and <a href="http://www.picturecode.com/" target="_blank"><b>Noise Ninja </b></a> are two popular applications. I haven't used either but I'm sure that they are people in the Digital Darkroom Forum who can answer any questions you may have.

[ted_marcus1]

The pedantic purists will insist that what you're seeing in scans is "grain aliasing" rather than film grain, but the result is the same. Even the finest-grain film will have a noticeable grainy appearance in smooth or out-of-focus areas, particularly in blue sky.

 

The best solution I have found is NeatImage, although I'm sure competing products like Noise Ninja will also work. The key with NeatImage is to apply only enough filtering to reduce the grain to an unobtrusive level. Applying too much filtering (i.e., enough to completely eliminate the grain) will probably impart a "plasticky" look to the entire image.

 

If you don't want to spend the money for the plug-in, you could painstakingly select the sky and other smooth areas. Then use trial-and-error to apply various combinations of despeckling, blurring, and possibly flood fill, while praying to the deity of your choice. Believe me, NeatImage is a lot easier and works better.

[bill_tuthill]

It's really not hard to select the blue sky, feather edges, and run

Gaussian Blur in Photoshop or GIMP (free). You don't absolutely need

NeatImage. Perhaps the situation will be improved by NPS and NPC

replacements, 160S and 160C. Konica Impresa had much finer grained

blues than Reala, but it's gone.

[robert goldstein]

Thanks, guys. I already use Noiseware Professional, which has replaced NeatImage in my armamentarium. Sometimes, grain removal leaves an uneven mushiness that is hard to describe. For the most part, I have already switched to transparencies, which do not have this problem. Still, I have a sizeable number of nice shots on Reala waiting to be scanned, and I was hoping to find a simple solution.