Noise Ninja

[Anbesol]

Can someone break this down for me, I just got it and I am wanting to use it to its full potential. Anyone who is familiar with it and can help give me some pointers - thanks in advance! Before this I have only ever used photoshops built in noise reduction, which is effective but doesn't usually do a whole lot.

*edit - I am using Photoshop CS2

[Alison]

Do you shoot in RAW?
Then there isn't much need for noise ninja
I have Noise Ninja but hardly ever use it.

Open a raw image.
Maximize it to 100% (circled in red).
Click the icon (circled in green).
And turn up your luminance to the strength you require.

[gahspidy]

I have Neat Image, and like Alison have never really find the need to use it much. I may in a rare case use it if I'm going to enlarge an image that was shot at a higher iso and the noise would not be appreciated. I know that the best, and most effective results will be had from using profiles made from the cameras images.
With Neat image, and I'm sure NoiseNinja as well, you can select a profile for which the program to determine what is noise and what is not.
I created a profile for each ISO setting that I would most likely use, such as 100, 160, 200, 400, 600, 800, etc. I did this by shooting up into the clear blue sky with no clouds, same aperture (8.0) at the different ISO settings. then i stored the images in a seperate folder called profiles and use the corresponding iso profile for whatever image i want to reduce noise from. I find it works great.
However, even without the profile you can get very good results.

[Anbesol]

Thanks for your help. With raws I have to do this in sony's image browser, as my A700 raws don't process through CS2...

Gahspidy - Thanks for the advice. I really would primarily use it for very high iso images, 1600-4000. Anything under 1600 is very slight and easy to take care of satisfactorily with even the base PS plug-in.

[mjs1973]

I downloaded a copy of Noise Ninja a few years ago. I never did much with it though. I found that when I did use it, in order to get the noise reduced to an acceptable level, the image became too soft. I never took the time to really explore and learn how to use it properly, but my initial thoughts were that it was an extra step that really wasn't worth it to me. When I got my new computer, I didn't even both to install Noise Ninja. I try to avoid higher ISO's so noise isn't an issue, but I know that's not always an option.

[Photo-John]

If you shoot action in low light or just do a lot of handheld low light photography where high ISO settings are necessary, then noise reduction software is a godsend. I try to keep the ISO as low as possible in order to minimize noise. But sometimes it can't be avoidedd. And careful noise reduction application can make a huge difference. And this is regardless of whether or not you shoot RAW. Shooting RAW can minimize some digital artifacting. But it doesn't actually help eliminate noise. Noise comes from the sensor and that's that.

I don't use Noise Ninja, so I can't speak to the specifics of that program. I use a Photoshop plug-in called Imagenomic Noiseware Professional. It's very powerful and has all kinds of adjustments. Yes, it does soften images, although there are sliders to help retain detail and sharpen. The bottom line is, sometimes it's the right thing to do. And having the noise reduction software available makes me more comfortable shooting at higher ISO settings. And sometimes that's what you have to do to get the shot.