Topaz DeNoise Software

Technology continues to advance when it comes to noise reduction software. After reading reports of a new Photoshop plug-in called Topaz DeNoise I decided to give it a try and am really blown away. I've gotten pretty darn good at using the noise reduction filters inside of CS5 yet after my best efforts I couldn't come close to match the results of DeNoise. He's the tests side by side. You judge the difference.

Original using CS5





Topaz DeNoise

I've got Topaz Labs plug-ins on my Photoshop Bob. Imagenomic is another I use for noise.

You need to watch you don't overcook them though especially with skin.

I tend to require a touch of noise reduction on some of my bird backgrounds as ISO on my older camera models isn't as forgiving.

I realize now that the before & after was not a fair comparison as the before shot had major processing faults due to lack of technique. I've learned a lot since then about selective sharpening, color control and noise reduction while retaining significant detail. My basic point is that the noise reduction software does one hell of a job once you learn how to use it properly. I just replaced the original edit with one after I took a tutorial on how to use DeNoise & already it's even better. Thanks Phil.

I have been using noise ninja for CS5 which I find very good. Even so, the Lightroom 3 noise reduction is still very good.

My preference for noise reduction is try it in Lightroom 3 with the inbuilt noise reduction and if i am unable to get the result I require, I then transfer it to CS5 and use the Neat Image plugin. Used other noise reduction software on "try it" basis and none have been better than Neat Image

There are a lot of plug-in software packages out there. I used to have Noiseware before getting 64 bit CS5. I'm just amazed at how easy it is to use DeNoise and to see the drastic difference it can make. I watched their "How To" video on YouTube and it steps you right through the process.

Still a bit unsure what I'm looking at here Bob.

Are these two new images what you've got after using CS5 noise reduction on an image and then Topaz noise reduction on the same original image ?

I only ask as it's hard to compare the two noise reductions as the two files appear to have been treated differently in other ways.

I agree with Phil.

I cannot see images at work but now I can see these images have been processed completely differently. The first has been processed to within an inch of it's life whilst the second looks relatively untouched. The writing paper and fork in the foreground are the givaways.

To demonstrate the effectiveness of a plugin both images need to be identically processed except for the addition of the plugin effect in the workflow of one of the images.

It would be interesting to see the result of such an experiment.

Steve

You are correct Phil & Steve they have been completely redone. I guess my point is strictly aimed at the noise reduction not the blurring in the first photo or the need for a curves adjustment in the first. I started with the RAW file from scratch and achieved the better of the two using Topaz DeNoise. Sorry for any confusion.

heres a little test i've done to compare 3 noise plugins, feels free to add to it with other plugins, i'll include the cropped image in the post for comparison..





I think that Noise ninja does the best job overall as it keeps the sharpness more than the others but what do u think?