Digital Home Thoughts: Topaz Labs DeNoise 4.1 Review: A New Generation of Noise Reduction Software

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Topaz Labs DeNoise 4.1 Review: A New Generation of Noise Reduction Software

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Software" @ 07:00 AM

Testing and Results

Now, while noise does happen when you push up the ISO setting, it also can vary from situation to situation, and camera to camera. As a result, I decided to test it on my two current cameras, the Nikon D300 and the Panasonic GH1, in both day and night time settings.

Also, in order to make sure both of the noise reduction software packages are shown in their best light, the settings for each photo have been made to pick the best balance between noise reduction and detail preservation. It also means that I did not use the same uniform settings throughout the test. I also loaded Noise Ninja with the D300 profiles, which were available on the Noise Ninja website.

Photos were processed with Adobe Camera RAW, with the default 0 Luminance and 25 Chroma noise removal settings. Files were then saved to JPEGs at near-minimum compression levels.

The files used in the test are available for viewing. Use them to make up your mind on which aspect of detail vs. noise you wish to see. (30MB each)

Day Test Images

Night Test Images

Day Test

Figure 3: Day time test crops. Full-sized images available above.

As you can see in the crops, Topaz DeNoise did a good job at removing luminance noise from the image, and manages to keep enough detail in the image. Note that the clumps of leaves in the shadows still have definition in them. Noise Ninja still has some luminance noise in the image, though it is a match here for Topaz DeNoise in the chrominance noise removal. Both the GH1 and D300 images show similar results for both plug-ins.

The Topaz DeNoise images may look softer, but the detail is still in the image. A little unsharp mask to increase the edge contrast will make the image look better. Topaz DeNoise gives the better results here.

Night Test

Figure 4: Night time test crops. Full-sized images available above.

The night test, with much less light than the day test, taxes both cameras' sensors quite a bit more. Here, the differences are not quite so clear cut. Topaz on the whole with the right setting will produce cleaner files, at the expense of detail. Note that the image looks a little devoid of detail, especially in the shadows. Noise Ninja goes the other way; it is better able to preserve detail at the expense of more luminance noise. The GH1 images do lose more detail in the shadows for Noise Ninja, however.

At this point it really is a matter of preference, I feel. Do you need the cleaner look from Topaz DeNoise, or the slightly grainy but more detailed look from Noise Ninja? I think I'll call this a draw here.


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