Noise Ninja or Neat Image - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

01/17/2008 01:23:16 PM · #1

What is the best noise reducing software: Noise Ninja, Neat Image, or any other suggestions? I do have CS3, but was recommended to get a plug-in. In the near future I will be scanning alot of old photos to put on line for family members to view and I was told these plug-ins could help clarify old photos.

Quasimojo

Canon EOS-30D

01/17/2008 01:27:28 PM · #2

The few reviews that I've read have all pointed marginally towards NI, but NN always comes up well. I use NN personally and it seems to do the job fine for what I need.

N

Yo_Spiff

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

01/17/2008 01:42:28 PM · #3

I just picked up a magazine yesterday that had a review of both of them, plus Noiseware. The two you are looking at came in pretty close to each other. Noiseware was last, though still did pretty good.

fotomann_forever

01/17/2008 02:07:11 PM · #4

I don't think either NN or NI is going to help clarify old photos from prints. Neither is designed to do this. They are designed for digital noise suppression, not film grain or aging prints.

01/17/2008 06:55:43 PM · #5

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

I don't think either NN or NI is going to help clarify old photos from prints. Neither is designed to do this. They are designed for digital noise suppression, not film grain or aging prints.

This is a quote from the Noise Ninja website "Noise Ninja is the most effective and productive solution for removing noise and grain from digital photographs and scanned film images. It is a must-have tool for anyone shooting in low-light or fast-action situations -- including news, sports, wedding, and event coverage -- where high ISO photography is required and the resulting noise compromises the image."

Do you think that this is not true or may only help minimal?

fotomann_forever

01/17/2008 06:59:40 PM · #6

I think it only reduces the noise introduced in scanning, not that cause from film grain. I could be wrong though.

Either way, a little grain or noise in old photos is NOT a bad thing and removing it often causes more issues than leaving it.

pineapple

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

01/17/2008 07:01:22 PM · #7

I'm not sure about NI, but I use Noise Ninja occasionally and it works well. For instance, I might use it on blue or red channels of after dark photos and selectively on portions of the photo. It has pretty decent control and I am happy with it. It passes scrutiny on a 100% basis. With the Canon 5D, I find myself using NN much less since that camera is blessedly noise free at low ISO. ETA: NN was a blessing when I was shooting only with the Canon 350XT. I think you will find it is useful for scanned prints and film. As I say, you can use it selectively and once you learn the settings you might well be able to somewhat automate the process.

Message edited by author 2008-01-17 19:03:21.

Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

01/17/2008 07:02:15 PM · #8

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Thanks fotomann. I really appreciate the input..

Ann

Olympus OM-D E-M1

01/17/2008 07:02:25 PM · #9

You can get free eval copies of both. Try them out and see if they do anything for you. My experience is that they're both good, but on different types of images.

zxaar

01/17/2008 07:42:14 PM · #10

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

You are not wrong, that statement is more of a marketing gimick than an absolute truth. Due to nature of algorithm behind it, it might remove some noise but you will lose lots of details, effectively making it useless.

Monique64

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

01/17/2008 07:50:45 PM · #11

Try Noiseware, its free and I have found it really good. I haven't used it on scanns but it has saved some very noisy photos that definately needed rescuing.

dsmil

Olympus E-510

01/17/2008 07:51:09 PM · #12

Noise Ninja is great because it has profiles and also lets you add noise back for added sharpness. Be aware tho, that RAW files will have to be saved as a .jpg or .tiff first and the custom profiles will not work after it has been converted. But the manually created noise profile works well on the converted raw file.

slickchik

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

01/17/2008 09:44:48 PM · #13

I have had great experiences with Noiseware Community Edition. It is free and does a pretty good job.

bdenny

Sony DSC-H5

01/18/2008 10:48:22 AM · #14

I haven't used Neat Image, but I have Noise Ninja and I'm satisfied with my results.

smurfguy

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

01/18/2008 05:09:22 PM · #15

Originally posted by cintiaz:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
I think it only reduces the noise introduced in scanning, not that cause from film grain. I could be wrong though.

Either way, a little grain or noise in old photos is NOT a bad thing and removing it often causes more issues than leaving it.

Thanks fotomann. I really appreciate the input..

FWIW, NI (maybe others, I use NI) also removes JPEG artifacts. It may do something for film grain. If you want to send me an example, I'd be happy to try it in NI.

-Jeff

Monique64

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

01/18/2008 05:19:51 PM · #16

This was a quick example of what the Noiseware programme can do. Please bear in mind that I did this within 5 minutes of downloading the programme a couple of weeks ago and just used the default setting. I haven't had a chance to do much more playing with it.