Posted by Grant Collier on November 29, 2008 at 2:45 AM
I just purchased the Noiseware Pro plug-in and have a few questions on a recommended workflow for those who use this.
1) Should I turn off all noise reduction in Lightroom and only use Noiseware to reduce image noise? (I'm assuming I should but figured I'd ask).
2) Should I use Noiseware immediately when I open the image in Photoshop or should I do the Capture Sharpen first and then do Noiseware?
3) Do you generally just use the default settings and / or presets like Landscape or Night Scene or do you find that manually fine tuning it can be better? (the defaults seems pretty good so far in my limited use).
4) Do you usually run Noiseware on a separate layer so you can mask out some of its effects if necessary or do you find the results are good enough that this isn't necessary?
Posted by Paul Beiser on November 29, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Hi Grant,
A couple of opinions (one could also do some simple experiments on the first 2 items and see what one prefers visually).
1) I would surmise that the noise reduction in Lightroom still should be used because one is working on data that has not been rendered, and hence the noise reduction will be better or less destructive, before all of the image processing and color space conversions have been done.
2) Use Noiseware first, and then do Capture sharpening (but I would suggest doing the Capture sharpening as well in Lightroom - again, one is working on data before lots of processing has been applied and the image processing pipeline in Lightroom will apply the steps in the proper order).
3) I use Neat Image and I typically use it on a separate layer.
Posted by Nat Coalson on November 29, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Grant-
1) Should I turn off all noise reduction in Lightroom and only use Noiseware to reduce image noise? (I'm assuming I should but figured I'd ask).
Usually, if you're going to use Noiseware don't use any other noise reduction. (The less processing the better.) Leave it off in LR.
2) Should I use Noiseware immediately when I open the image in Photoshop or should I do the Capture Sharpen first and then do Noiseware?
Whenever possible, do noise reduction before sharpening.
If you're using PK Sharpen do it after running Noiseware.
And if you're using PK Sharpen turn off Sharpening in LR too.
3) Do you generally just use the default settings and / or presets like Landscape or Night Scene or do you find that manually fine tuning it can be better? (the defaults seems pretty good so far in my limited use).
If the defaults work for you, no need to change them.
4) Do you usually run Noiseware on a separate layer so you can mask out some of its effects if necessary or do you find the results are good enough that this isn't necessary?
Yes, always run Noiseware on it's own layer (a merged copy of the composite layers, at the top of the stack).
Posted by Kalin Wilson on November 29, 2008 at 6:45 PM
I agree with Nat, that's pretty much how I use it and I love the results. You can still do most of your raw processing in LR before moving to PS, but leave sharpening and noise reduction off for the conversion. If the file is very noisy, I'll run it through noiseware first thing. If noise is slight, I'll run PK capture sharpening, do any blending, etc., then run a composite layer through noiseware before any creative sharpening.
I generally like the results of the defaults that the plugin selects. Sometimes I'll choose the landscape setting. I rarely fiddle with the individual settings unless there are large areas of color or detail that I want to protect or something. But generally, I haven't taken the time to learn the nuances of the individual controls.
Good luck with your workflow, I'm sure you'll enjoy the program.
Posted by Les Barstow on November 30, 2008 at 3:00 AM
Another vote for Nat's summary. One NR is all you need or want; I have yet to meet a RAW converter that knows more than a dedicated NR program on how to reduce your image's noise, and usually they know considerably less.
Posted by Paul Beiser on November 30, 2008 at 11:32 AM
I would only add that a light touch of Luminance correction in Lightroom (esp 2.1, Thomas Knoll has improved it considerably) before rendering might be useful - miight be worth an experiment to check it out. In theory capture sharpening should be better/cleaner before rendering - can't hurt to try
Discussion
5 replies1) Should I turn off all noise reduction in Lightroom and only use Noiseware to reduce image noise? (I'm assuming I should but figured I'd ask).
2) Should I use Noiseware immediately when I open the image in Photoshop or should I do the Capture Sharpen first and then do Noiseware?
3) Do you generally just use the default settings and / or presets like Landscape or Night Scene or do you find that manually fine tuning it can be better? (the defaults seems pretty good so far in my limited use).
4) Do you usually run Noiseware on a separate layer so you can mask out some of its effects if necessary or do you find the results are good enough that this isn't necessary?
Thanks in advance!
Grant
http://www.gcollier.com
A couple of opinions (one could also do some simple experiments on the first 2 items and see what one prefers visually).
1) I would surmise that the noise reduction in Lightroom still should be used because one is working on data that has not been rendered, and hence the noise reduction will be better or less destructive, before all of the image processing and color space conversions have been done.
2) Use Noiseware first, and then do Capture sharpening (but I would suggest doing the Capture sharpening as well in Lightroom - again, one is working on data before lots of processing has been applied and the image processing pipeline in Lightroom will apply the steps in the proper order).
3) I use Neat Image and I typically use it on a separate layer.
Usually, if you're going to use Noiseware don't use any other noise reduction. (The less processing the better.) Leave it off in LR.
Whenever possible, do noise reduction before sharpening.
If you're using PK Sharpen do it after running Noiseware.
And if you're using PK Sharpen turn off Sharpening in LR too.
If the defaults work for you, no need to change them.
Yes, always run Noiseware on it's own layer (a merged copy of the composite layers, at the top of the stack).
I generally like the results of the defaults that the plugin selects. Sometimes I'll choose the landscape setting. I rarely fiddle with the individual settings unless there are large areas of color or detail that I want to protect or something. But generally, I haven't taken the time to learn the nuances of the individual controls.
Good luck with your workflow, I'm sure you'll enjoy the program.