Denoise AI

[ClintLloyd]

With the advancements in AI denoise and for those who use it, how do you feel about noise in general compared to the way you felt only a handful of years ago before this type of software was available?

Obviously within reason, but is sensor noise mostly a concern of the past now?

 

[Ysarex]

With the advancements in AI denoise and for those who use it, how do you feel about noise in general compared to the way you felt only a handful of years ago before this type of software was available?

Obviously within reason, but is sensor noise mostly a concern of the past now?

Yes, it's a non-issue as long as you save and process raw files. Decent noise filtering remains too processor intensive for SOOC JPEGs -- so still an issue there.

 

[Jeff15]

I have been using Luminar 4 for a few years and its good enough for me....

 

[ClintLloyd]

Yes, it's a non-issue as long as you save and process raw files. Decent noise filtering remains too processor intensive for SOOC JPEGs -- so still an issue there.

Are you shooting predominantly in JPEG? I just assumed that most people here would be shooting almost entirely in RAW.

 

[Ysarex]

Are you shooting predominantly in JPEG? I just assumed that most people here would be shooting almost entirely in RAW.

No, and noise isn't generally a problem for me -- I'm usually able to expose enough to avoid it. I just tend to keep up with the tech.

Here's some fun. It's a demo I shot for my class to address the cause of noise. It's an APS sensor with the ISO set at 25K and just the default noise setting in C1: ISO 25K

 

[Peeb]

Noise is not a total thing of the past, but it is much less of a 'thing' than it used to be.

 

[ClintLloyd]

Here's some fun. It's a demo I shot for my class to address the cause of noise. It's an APS sensor with the ISO set at 25K and just the default noise setting in C1: ISO 25K

That turned out alright!

 

[Ysarex]

That turned out alright!

Yes, but it's a parlor trick. The ISO was set to 25K but the camera was tripod mounted and I exposed much more than the ISO would have indicated. The point was to show my students that exposure (not enough) is the cause of noise and not something that ISO is doing in the camera.

 

[smoke665]

To answer your question you have to first determine which noise you're talking about? There are three common types (Fixed Pattern, Random, and Banding).

Fixed occurs in long exposure, low ISO shots, and is affected by heat build up on the sensor. Random occurs in short exposure, high ISO shots. Banding is highly camera-dependent, and is noise which is introduced by the camera when it reads data from the digital sensor.

As Ysarex said the better the exposure (SNR) the less noticeable the noise. Under exposing and boosting post is across the board amplification, any noise you introduced when you took the shot gets amplified. In the case of banding probably more so than the other two.

I seldom need or use much noise reduction, but I always strive to maximize my exposure regardless of ISO.

 

[Ysarex]

That turned out alright!

Here's a look at state-of-the-art noise filtering. Canon G7 w/1" sensor (noisiest camera I have) ISO 12K, low-light photo of my wife's fish candle holder. First the processed image at an appropriate Internet display size and then a side by side illustration (100%) of the image with no noise filtering and DXO's Prime noise filtering at default settings. If I tolerate a little more noise I can have the image sharper.

 

[adamhiram]

I can appreciate that Denoise AI gives users a 1-click option for noise reduction, but in my opinion it takes too long to process, and ultimately doesn't do as good of a job as understanding how to do it manually.

Sharpening and noise reduction go hand-in-hand. Noise isn't always a bad thing, and is sometimes preferable to loss of detail as a result of excessive noise reduction. But finding the right balance of NR and sharpening can often enhance an image without also degrading it.

I came across this tutorial on Fstoppers about 6 years ago that walks through the different noise reduction and sharpening settings in Lightroom, and still holds up pretty well today. The article links to this video from F64 Academy.

 

[smoke665]

Noise isn't always a bad thing, and is sometimes preferable to loss of detail as a result of excessive noise reduction.

This ^^^^^^^^^. Sloppy exposure calculation creates problems which in most cases is compounded by attempts to correct the problem.

 

[ClintLloyd]

To answer your question you have to first determine which noise you're talking about? There are three common types (Fixed Pattern, Random, and Banding).

Which types does Denoise software try to remove?

 

[ClintLloyd]

Yes, but it's a parlor trick. The ISO was set to 25K but the camera was tripod mounted and I exposed much more than the ISO would have indicated. The point was to show my students that exposure (not enough) is the cause of noise and not something that ISO is doing in the camera.

So you're saying that raising the ISO has nothing to do with sensor noise?

 

[ClintLloyd]

I can appreciate that Denoise AI gives users a 1-click option for noise reduction, but in my opinion it takes too long to process, and ultimately doesn't do as good of a job as understanding how to do it manually.

Sharpening and noise reduction go hand-in-hand. Noise isn't always a bad thing, and is sometimes preferable to loss of detail as a result of excessive noise reduction. But finding the right balance of NR and sharpening can often enhance an image without also degrading it.

I came across this tutorial on Fstoppers about 6 years ago that walks through the different noise reduction and sharpening settings in Lightroom, and still holds up pretty well today. The article links to this video from F64 Academy.

How long would it take to get an image right if you're doing it manually?