single photos Drop

These drops aren't easy to catch, but once achieved, they look quite

photogenic.

In my opinion this is the not the type of photo that benefits from excess noise or grain.

Well, the noise that appears in the photo was, mainly, due to having used ISO 1600 and having brightened it in post processing. Later, I thought it would be more appealing to accentuate it through sharpening than masking it with noise reduction.

So, was the grain an effect you were after, or a result of trying to get as fast a shutter speed as possible? I disagree with the noise reduction over sharpening argument - Neat Image has a product that has an excellent noise reduction algorithm. I took your photo and scrubbed it through once, with everything set to default. You'll see there is a huge difference in the amount of grain without sacrificing the subject matter.

Thanks, Dough, it seems that NeatImage makes a really good job in what it is intended for. I agree that this image feels more pleasant in a smoother representation and would surely be more usable in color. I generally use the noise reduction tools in RSE, but I see NeatImage is a lot more powerful, so I should give it a try. Thanks for the constructive critique.