Noise grain removal software
 

Can anyone recomend any free software for removing noise from photos please?

Noise Ninja & Neat Image both do a good job and are available a plugins to PS or stand alone although they are not free. For a comparison of various other options see here

If shoot in RAW and use PS you can do your noise reduction in Adobe Camera RAW when you convert using the luminance smoothing & colour noise reduction options - see here

I have herd about neat image but there is one slight problem, im not a Photoshop user. I have Nikon Capture nx and paint shop pro 7.

Nikon Capture NX has noise reduction software built in, seems to do a good job. Can't vouch for PSP 7, I've never used it!

nirofo.

Can you tell me where i find it in Capture please?

PictureCooler is very good http://members.chello.nl/r.kroonenberg2/
There is a free version and a paid for one, at $15 this is exception value, as it will work as an action within PS.

Use it for free as a standalone program.

Harry

I believe that PSP7 supports plugins :D

The free version of Neat Image doesn't work as plug in for PS 7 but can be used as a stand alone program. As a stand alone it shouldn't matter what program you use for other editing. It's a bit cumbersome to open pictures in two programs but it works for me. I like it better than the free PictureCooler.

Thank you for your help.

Open Nikon Capture NX, go to Adjust in the top menu bar, select Noise Reduction from the drop down menu!

nirofo

Thank you.

The excellent Neat Image is available as a plug-in for Paint Shop Pro and for Photoshop, but it works just fine stand alone too. I can call it up from inside PSE or PSP but hardly ever do: mostly I like the simplicity and speed of using it stand alone. Great program, I heartily recommend it.

neat image?
 

I am slightly puzzled by the popularity of this prog, admittedly having only tried the free version which only works on max 1024x768 image, ie not on a full size one. Apart from that, it didn't seem to do anything that careful use of median didn't do, ie noise reduction is still at the expense of sharpness.

As noise is usually only bothersome on large areas of (should be) same colour, the median or similar noise reduction filter can be applied on only the selected area

Am I missing something?:confused:

Noise doesn't have to be visible and obvious to detract from picture quality. The extra clarity and punch to be gained from subtle use of Neat Image (and, I assume, other similar programs) can be quite significant. At 100 ISO or 200, it's rarely worth using NR software, but at 400 and up it's a great help. Visibly better pictures. no loss of detail: I couldn't live without it!

I had shot an entire airshow at iso1600 and i whant to try and salvage some of my photos.

Have you compared notes with en830? Your 2 boxkite pics look as if they were taken within seconds of each other. I note your keeness to keep the sky colour 'as it really was' and I am very sympathetic to correct reportage. Maybe you end up with 2 versions, the reportage for your memory and an edited version that makes 'a good image' which seems to need a threshold quota of colour and contrast as well as good subject to be popular

Assuming you were shooting RAW I would imagine you have far better control in Capture on which there seem to be a number of experts and a discussion thread
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...ead.php?t=1341
whereas I only had a brief dabble in the older version yet enough to see it goes for precise and comprehensible tools

I had upped my iso for the Old Warden everning show and forgot to turn it down for Sywell the next day.
I may well have been standing near En830 but i did not realise.

A shot I took this evening at 6.30 pm with the last light of the day. ISO 1600.
I am no expert with neat image and I often use the default camera profile. Apart from cleaning up the image a bit I find the main benefit is to get the file size down for the web. I have given the 2 images identical processing in PS except one was noise reduced first. I am sure if you wanted to fiddle in neat image for hours you could get better results.

Hi Ollie, I downloaded free version of Neat Image, was that impressed I purchased it, hope you don't mind I have run one of your pics through Neat Image, looks like it has done a good job.

I have no problems with that Nick. Im going to try that and run some of my Gransden photos through it.

I find that sometimes Neatimage will remove too much noise. It gives the picture a flat, artificial look. To avoid that I frequently change the default setting to "Remove half the noise". The picture of the foal in My Gallery was treated that way.