Tuesday December 30, 2008

Noiseware Review

I dig Noiseware Professional!

If you choose to buy it too, consider getting all the Imagenomic products at once to save money.  When you order the Full Suite for Windows or the Full Suite for Mac online, be sure to use the Imagenomic Coupon Code of “STUCKINCUSTOMS” to save even more.  Note you enter the Coupon Code after you click “Proceed to Checkout”.  It’s one of those late-in-the-process things.  If you just want Noiseware Professional, you can nab it by going right to the  Imagenomic website.

Probably the only two things I need to do for this review are to say that I love it and use it, and to show you the screenshot below. I mean, look at that shot below – are you kidding me?

The program is very easy to use. They have a standalone and a plugin for Photoshop, which is the one I chose. Previously, I had been using Noiseninja for a while until I recently discovered this. Now I honestly ONLY use Noiseware Professional.

As some of you know that came here from my HDR Tutorial, this is an important step in my post-processing. The HDR process can often create some noise, especially at night. I’ve found that adding this noise-reduction step in the process has been a real time saver, and it really helps the photos to have more of a professional finishing touch.

By the way, Imagenomic makes another great product called Portraiture. Read about it in my Portraiture Review right here on the site.

Old Tutorial - it was bad... trust me (by Stuck in Customs)

Here is another image of Noiseware in action with the default settings:

Any questions about the nature of these reviews? Visit my Ethics Statement. It’s all quite simple!

About Me

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  • http://www.strivearth.com Zenstrive

    I prefer Neat Image…..

  • http://flickr.com/photos/pcfishhk Tin

    Thanks for the coupon. I was wondering what’s up with the black text on the active tabs? (I am using the trial version of noiseware now and I have that issue too. It doesn’t really affect anything but …)

  • James Bradford McGinley

    Have you compared this software to photoshop and photomatix noise reduction?

  • http://www.stuckincustoms.com tratcliff

    Yes – I have used the photoshop one a lot as well as the photomatix one – I prefer Noiseware for sure.

  • Granger

    Good review and the coupon works! I decided to get serious and compared Noise Ninja, Neat Image, and Noiseware. I found Noiseware to have less problems with pixelating really noisy areas. Otherwise, after a bit of tweaking most give similar results. Noiseware’s community version was a bit soft, but the pro version has a detail extraction control that really works great.
    I also like the interface MUCH better. The tweaking options are more logical. Its also much quicker and gives you an excellent default noise profile and noise reduction as soon as its opened. This makes it very easy to use as a one click action. I had some questions and customer support was great too!

  • http://www.urbanhdr.com scott webb

    I normally use Noise Ninja, however I am open to different things. I like the screen shot because I like the look of the sliders. It looks simple and I will check it out.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Carlroy-Laxina/749171708 Carlroy Laxina

    how to load noiseware in photoshop? i have no idea how i put the plugin in photoshop sorry for the stupid question.

  • when_night_falls

    Excellent application. Thanks for the pointer!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/montegariphotography/ Angela Ponte

    Carlroy Laxina….. I was able to locate Noiseware in photoshop Elements in the filter section of the tool bar. Look for Imagenomic in the list after you click “Filters”.

    Hope that helps….. I just noticed it’s been a while since you posted your question.

    Regarding the product, I downloaded the trial Pro Plugin for Photoshop (OS X) and I like it SO much that I MUST purchase it. This is what my HDRs have been missing……. Thanks for putting it out there.

  • s hask

    Wait a minute; look at the building’s windows in side by
    side photos above; lose significant detail after application
    of noiseware.

  • Jason

    Thank you for getting a discount coupon and posting it on your site. Now have Noiseware and it works a treat. Thank you so much.

  • Ronald Slaughter

    Great recommendation, thanks!

  • http://noiseware adil

    s

  • http://www.upsilon.ch/?from=d3d3LnN0dWNraW5jdXN0b21zLmNvbQ== Raphaël Fleury

    s hask :
    All noise reduction softwares “unfocus” some details on your picture, but as Trey was explaining, you can use a mask to reveal details you want to keep.
    ”

    The only tip I can add beyond this, for a full master’s touch, is to create a duplicate layer of your finished product before doing the noise reduction. It may get rid of some details you quite like, in which case you can use the masking tricks above to just keep the details and noise how you best see fit for your own work of art.

    “

  • Kris Navarro

    Thanks for writing such a great recommendation it has helped push my images beyond what I believed possible.

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  • Walter

    It seems that Noiseware pro stand alone is only for windows? Is that right? Any stand alone Mac app you would recommend as I also don’t have photoshop.

  • http://tagchips.com/skunkworks.html DARYL BUTCHER

    Downloaded Noiseware demo and compared it to Topaz DeNoise 3. Results were VERY similar. Noiseware has a more professional interface and processed quicker. No sale. The paranoia of putting a grid on the work even before saving is irritating to say the least. Some bean counter is out of control. Some kind of noise reduction is often essential for HDRs with a dark background particularly as ISO and noise rises. In fact, Photmatix often returns files that are unusable because of the excentuation of noise by the algorithms … in low light. Bottom line: since I already have Topaz, Noiseware is not an essential.

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  • Jonathan Palfrey

    Like Daryl, I use Topaz Denoise, and the example shown of Noiseware doesn’t make me want to change. But it’s interesting to hear about what’s going on. Competition is good.

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  • http://www.timelightdistance.com Chip Chapin

    I’ve been leaning toward Topaz DeNoise because I can get it as part of their bundle with Adjust etc. But I just wasn’t satisfied with the results. Wanted to love it, but didn’t.

    Downloaded Noiseware Pro and tried it. Immediate reaction: “Oh – yeah!” I’m glad some folks are getting good results with DeNoise, but for me it’s a simple choice. I paid up fast.

    Appreciate the review — I wouldn’t have realized there was so much difference.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Rogers/1419677842 John Rogers

    Trey, I’m with you. After reading your original review I started using Noiseware & then added Portraiture. It’s another one of those little things that have made a huge difference in the quality of my images. In my effort to post a new image every day on http:/JohnRRogers.com I occasionally revert to my archives. I can immediately tell if an old image was processed before I started using Noiseware. If so it’s only about 30 seconds to make a marked improvement in the old image.
    Thank you again.

  • http://jacklarson.aminus3.com Jack Larson

    I think that Noiseware is superb. I have tried a number of noise reduction plug-ins but always have come back to Noiseware. No more playing around. Since we are on noise, one of the things that I have noticed is that when I use some of Nik’s Color Efex filters (Tonal Contrast, Brilliance/Warmth, etc.), noise begins to show up where I didn’t see it before. The same thing holds for Topaz’s plug-ins. Thus, I often need to do my noise reduction toward the end of my processing. My main point is, check for noise when you have finished your processing.

  • Jesse

    Just curious, do you all use Noise reduction software before or after Detail/sharpening software?…it seems sharpening and then noise reduction would be ideal, but I’m not sure?

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  • http://www.ainsworthimages.com Tom Kostes

    Thanks for the review. Very helpful. Nice screenshots.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Werner-Kunz/533133716 Werner Kunz

    Hi trey, I agree with you and use for almost all of my photos noiseware. It is a most of the time a one stop solution. Mostly the andscape or night preset does everything for me and get rid of the noise without having a visible impact on details.

    Only if noiseware doesn’t do the job completely i switch to Nikon Define (Happens sometimes with stronger artifacts in the sky). Here you manually train the algorithm what should be smooth and what not. Also past but not so convenient like noiseware.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Wilson/730559509 Dave Wilson

    I’m utterly stunned at how well this works. I did a head-to-head with Topaz Denoise using some of my nastiest Photomatix skies and Noiseware was amazingly good. Given that both plugins cost the same, the choice was a no-brainer. I paid my $62 immediately (using your code – thanks. Hope you get a decent commission from this!) and am looking forward to making this a standard part of my HDR workflow from now on (probably replacing sky masking in quite a few images).

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000583224908 Matt Moser

    I currently you Topaz DeNoise and love the results. Especially with their new upgrade. I haven’t used Noiseware so I can’t really compare. I’m guessing they both probably get the same results.

  • gilad

    hi’ is noisware works on raw???

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  • Jan

    Trey, what do you think about the new Lightroom 3 noise reduction vs. Noiseware?

  • http://www.stuckincustoms.com Stuck In Customs

    It is much improved – BUT – that does me no good because of my workflow – I often need to do noise reduction later in the process – not during import

  • Jan

    I usually have my processed Photoshop files return to LR for cataloging. Is it bad to do noise reduction then, after it’s back in photoshop?

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  • Kenneth Leung

    Hi Trey,
    Noiseware Professional have a standalone and a plugin for Photoshop.Can you tell me the difference between them?And which one is better?Thanks !!

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    Thanks for ones great posting at http://www.stuckincustoms.com/noiseware-review! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you can be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back sometime soon. I want to encourage yourself to continue your great job, have a nice morning!

  • Dave

    I use Topaz DeNoise and tried to compare the results for the same photos I processed with the demo version of Noiseware. Frankly I didn’t see any difference. Has anyone else done a similar comparison? I know my tests are not exhaustive.

  • http://www.briankrecik.com Brian Krecik

    Photoshop has the same capabilities and you can apply a layer mask. Of course much of this “noise” can be eliminated by use the lowest ISO possible, using the best lens available, and using either a full frame or medium frame sensor.

    On the other hand… sometimes noise is fine. Artistically speaking, sometimes images are less about the image and more about what your photo evokes emotionally or visually. Just something to think about…

    Brian

  • http://digitalblind.com John

    If you are on a 64 bit mac with CS5, I would try Neat Image, as Noiseware Pro isn’t supported. http://www.imagenomic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2032

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