Noise reduction and ACR 4.2 (CS3)

[marc_schmidtmayer]

Hi,

I do not have any experience with noise reduction software but have read a

number of topics here on photo.net.

 

From what I've read, I conclude that noise reduction is best done as the first

'manipulation', especially when using the 'profiles' which can be optained.

 

When using RAW-files ... is it possible to use as first 'manipulation' ?

 

I do a lot of editing (B&W), so I'm interested in 16bit noise reduction.

 

So, can anyone tell me how to do noise reduction on RAW-files in 16bit ?

Which workflow is adviced for this ?

 

Thanks, Marc.

[ronald_moravec1]

I just use the luminence and color noise sliders in ACR 4.2. I think they are in the details tab.

 

You just move them until the noise looks less, but if you go too far trying to get a perfect, the image deteriorates. Use 100% mag.

 

Finish with the smart blur filter in PS. Again be careful not to go too far.

[roger_smith4]

Order of operations should not really matter using ACR/Lightroom. To use noise profiles (presets) you'll need a program like Noise Ninja. If you go that route, applying the profile first and then editing in ACR/Lightroom is perfectly fine.

[marc_schmidtmayer]

That's something I thought, but I wonder if those programs can handle RAW files directly ??

 

 

Anyone experience with RAW-files and using Neat Image or Nois Ninja or NoiseWare ?

[emre]

Those plug-ins do not work with the RAW data, but they work very well.

[ted_marcus1]

I leave the ACR noise reduction sliders at zero and use NeatImage as the first step of my workflow after opening the image. NeatImage is usually more effective, but sometimes NeatImage can't find large enough uniform patch in a "busy" image to build a profile. That's when I go back into ACR and use the sliders. That seems to work better than Photoshop's own noise reduction tool.

[marc_schmidtmayer]

Hi Ted,

When you say that you "leave the ACR noise reduction sliders at zero and use NeatImage as the first step of my workflow after opening the image" ... does this mean you do this in PhotoShop after Camera Raw adjustments ? Or before Camera Raw ?

 

Thanks.

[ted_marcus1]

Marc, I was a bit unclear in my post. It should have said "... use NeatImage as the first step of my workflow after opening the image <i>in Photoshop</i>. Obviously, a raw file needs to be converted into an image in ACR before you can do anything with it in Photoshop. The button in ACR to open the image in Photoshop (as opposed to cancelling, saving the image as a TIFF or JPEG, or the "Done" button that saves the adjustments to an XML file but does nothing else) is marked "Open Image," so that's what I really meant.

[marc_schmidtmayer]

Ted, thanks. But like I thought, it is surely not first step in the workflow if one does a lot of 'changes' within ACR...

[roger_smith4]

Right, Marc.

 

In practice I'd put noise reduction further down in the workflow if I have a raw file- I want to keep it raw for long enough to recover highlight data, get the overall image in good shape before converting to a 16 bit Tiff to play with in Photoshop.

 

In practice Lightroom's noise reduction is good enough to use most of the time- I only use Noise Ninja on problem files with my 20D.

[marc_schmidtmayer]

Roger, thanks for your answer.