DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 

DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> JUST GOT NEAT IMAGE...WOW
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 16 of 16, (reverse)
AuthorThread
 03/04/2006 07:54:36 PM · #1
i cant believe the difference it makes...I cant believe I have been selling pictures without running it through that first. Unbelievable.
Anyone care to share any tricks?
 03/04/2006 07:56:55 PM · #2
Sure - here is the most important one:

Pleeeeaassssseeee don't go overboard !!!!

Don't turn your models into alien barbie dolls with plastic skins. Please!
 03/04/2006 07:57:57 PM · #3
Good point Beetle ... the over neating is horrid ... take a note alixmiles.
 03/04/2006 08:27:59 PM · #4
Download your cameras profiles, and use them...I found it works the best that way for me...instead of trying to select an area manually.
 03/04/2006 08:42:21 PM · #5
just learning...should i let it do auto profile?
 03/04/2006 08:58:05 PM · #6
like deapee says and you can also use automatic profiling... the beauty of downloading the profiles for the 20D is that it just does it very conservatively as ooposed to making a drastic change... if you wanna see how NI does when gone overboard, just look at my portfolio and star_at_the_sun's portfolio ;)
 03/04/2006 11:35:39 PM · #7
Originally posted by deapee:
Download your cameras profiles, and use them...I found it works the best that way for me...instead of trying to select an area manually.


So which profiles do you prefer? There are several for the 20D. Any ones seem better than others?
 03/04/2006 11:38:02 PM · #8
i prefer Bibble ;)
 03/04/2006 11:49:51 PM · #9
Originally posted by alixmiles:
i cant believe the difference it makes...I cant believe I have been selling pictures without running it through that first. Unbelievable.
Anyone care to share any tricks?

Remember, NeatImage is just a tool for removing color and noise artifacts, nothing more. When used for its intended purpose it works wonders to improve your pictures. If you have photoshop you can buy a Plugin that works within it and can be selectively applied. That gives much greater freedom using it.
 03/05/2006 04:09:51 AM · #10
Neat image can be used creatively as well. Check out Alex Saberis blue ribbon for the Fantasy challenge.

Originally posted by stdavidson:
Originally posted by alixmiles:
i cant believe the difference it makes...I cant believe I have been selling pictures without running it through that first. Unbelievable.
Anyone care to share any tricks?

Remember, NeatImage is just a tool for removing color and noise artifacts, nothing more. When used for its intended purpose it works wonders to improve your pictures. If you have photoshop you can buy a Plugin that works within it and can be selectively applied. That gives much greater freedom using it.
03/05/2006 05:40:31 AM · #11
Here's another trick. Do your sampling for the noise profile *before* you downsize your image, if possible. I find I can usually get a much better quality profile from a larger source image.
 03/05/2006 05:57:59 AM · #12
Originally posted by Beetle:
Pleeeeaassssseeee don't go overboard !!!!
Don't turn your models into alien barbie dolls with plastic skins. Please!

Here's an example. This wasn't very agressively set but it just shows how bad you can do it.


Brett
 03/05/2006 06:09:28 AM · #13
Originally posted by PhantomEWO:
Originally posted by deapee:
Download your cameras profiles, and use them...I found it works the best that way for me...instead of trying to select an area manually.


So which profiles do you prefer? There are several for the 20D. Any ones seem better than others?

You'll notice on the web page, each of those different profile sets refers to the method you have used to convert from RAW. It obviously pays to match the profile to your workflow process. The profile will match exactly the noise generated by your camera and that process - as long as it's the first thing you do when editing your image. That's when NI is at its best. In the one below, I'd been messing around with it in editing, cropping and resizing before I remembered to NI it.

Brett

Message edited by author 2006-03-05 06:31:40.
 03/05/2006 06:29:17 AM · #14
Another question about NI while we're on the subject.

Does anyone use the sharpening in NI? I like the results because it doesn't add noise like PsP or PS can do. However I'm aware that a number of people have said that re-sharpening an image after resize produces major artifacts and basically wrecks the image.

Anyone confirm that with any techo backup? I just thought that NI might be different to the usual mantra of "don't sharpen an image until you've resized it"

That's prolly enuff for one nght, it's midnight, I'm off to bed - g'night ... Brett

Message edited by author 2006-03-05 06:30:17.
 03/05/2006 07:40:06 AM · #15
Originally posted by marksimms:
Neat image can be used creatively as well. Check out Alex Saberis blue ribbon for the Fantasy challenge.

Originally posted by stdavidson:

Remember, NeatImage is just a tool for removing color and noise artifacts, nothing more. When used for its intended purpose it works wonders to improve your pictures. If you have photoshop you can buy a Plugin that works within it and can be selectively applied. That gives much greater freedom using it.

Of course, any tool can be used creatively in special purpose circumstances such as in Alex's amazing FANTASY challenge entry:

Alex: ... Mine:

I overused Neat Image in the SOFT FOCUS challenge myself to score a 7.

That is not the point. The point is that Neat Image is a tool for noise reduction and it should be used for that purpose the vast majority of the time. Special creative situations can and do occur, but rarely.

The problem at DPC is that new users tend to try and artificially create those "special" situations or similarly misuse it. That is when abuse occurs.

I use Neat Image on nearly every picture I post process, including my three ribbon winners, but you would never know because it is used "correctly" in them.
 03/05/2006 08:23:41 AM · #16
I used to use a lot the NI. The results can be from almoust unnoticed to very plastic. Since I've tryed Noise Ninja I've used almoust exclusivly this to do the job. The result is very controlled and smooth.
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 09/09/2025 11:08:56 AM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 09/09/2025 11:08:56 AM EDT.