Noise Ninja for Dummies

[Kenneth Sky]

Does anyone know of book that explains Noise Ninja and how it fits into the work flow for neophytes? The "help" button gives you a guide but it doesn't explain the effects of the buttons well or how to pre-visualize the effects. What I need is a book by someone like Scott Kelby or Noise Ninja for Dummies.

[Jonathan Wienke]

I use Neat Image, so I can't really comment on specific settings, but in general noise reduction should be done immediately after RAW conversion. If you're processing a JPEG, the first thing you should do is convert to 16-bit mode and then perform noise reduction. The noise reduction will treat the 8-bitness (all values evenly divisible by 256) of the image data as a type of noise, and the processed image data will mostly consist of values not evenly divisible by 256. This means you'll have more latitude to adjust the image with levels and curves before encountering posterization than you would if you stayed in 8-bit mode or converted to 16-bit mode without performing noise reduction.

[Mark D Segal]

I seldom have enough noise in my images to require it, but for those that do, I have the most success using Noise Ninja by creating a custom noise profile for each image as the program easily allows, and applying that profile on the image for which it was created. When creating the profile I first select an area of the image that shows the most noise. It usually works fine with no more tinkering. I agree with Jonathan, it is best to do this after RAW conversion and before any sharpening.

[macgyver]

I guess this is somewhat on topic, but in general, how much does Neat Image or Noise Ninja typically impact the clarity and sharpening of your work?

[Mark D Segal]

I guess this is somewhat on topic, but in general, how much does Neat Image or Noise Ninja typically impact the clarity and sharpening of your work?
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Depending on the strength of the clean-up required, there could be some reduction of image acutance, which can be generally restored easily and inconspicuously using a good sharpening program - such as PK Sharpener Pro.

[budjames]

Michael R., if you are reading this, sounds like a good tutorial subject for a future issue of the LLVJ.

Bud James

[Mark D Segal]

You may be aware Michael has reviews of both Noise Ninja and PK Sharpener Pro on the website. I don't think there is any material about using them in sequence.

From my experience with them, this is a matter of experimenting with what works best on particular images. If this is of any assistance, after using Noise Ninja, and after PK Capture Sharpening, if I think the photo still needs a bit more sharpening I go into PK Sharpener Effects and use generally a fairly low level of either Luminance Sharpening, High Pass Sharpening or Edge Sharpening, depending on what looks best. Since they all work as layers and the program runs quite quickly, there is no risk and little time lost creating and trashing different types and strengths until you get what looks best, being careful not to oversharpen. Bruce Fraser has recommended viewing the sharpening effect on the monitor at 50% or 75% magnification.

[Kenneth Sky]

So it's all trial & error!!??

[Mark D Segal]

So it's all trial & error!!??
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Like so many things in life........it's judgmental. Photography is part science, part art, no?

[jimhuber]

There are a lot of variables on what you're inputting, too. When I used a Sony DSC-F828 almost everything had to go through Noise Ninja. I switched to a Canon Rebel XT and now I only use Noise Ninja for shots taken at ISO 800 (sometimes) and ISO 1600 (usually). When I do use Noise Ninja, I do it immediately upon bringing the image in to Photoshop (which is immediately after color correction, straightening, cropping, and pre-sharpening in Adobe Camera Raw).

I also went through the process PictureCode gives to profile each of my cameras at each ISO, and use those profiles with very good results.