I currently have a monthly subscription for Abobe; I only use Photoshop (never got used to or cared much for Lightroom). Years ago I had the standalone version of Noisware. My older version of Noisware is not compatible with my current OS, and I don't want to pay a monthly subscription just to use it just a few times.
I currently ownt the following cameras;
- Canon R6II
- Sony A7c
- Sony A7iv
- OM System OM-5
Any alternatives for either a plugin or stand alone noise reduction program I can buy outright without having to subscribe to?
2nd vote for DxO PureRAW. It's a standalone app with no subscription and easy to use. I use that within my Capture One workflow and it works very well.
But like Kenneth mentioned, Photoshop has some denoise too and from what I've read it also works quite well. I'm not sure how it compares directly to DxO but I am quite impressed with what DxO can do.
snegron7 wrote:
I currently have a monthly subscription for Abobe; I only use Photoshop (never got used to or cared much for Lightroom). Years ago I had the standalone version of Noisware. My older version of Noisware is not compatible with my current OS, and I don't want to pay a monthly subscription just to use it just a few times.
I currently ownt the following cameras;
- Canon R6II
- Sony A7c
- Sony A7iv
- OM System OM-5
Any alternatives for either a plugin or stand alone noise reduction program I can buy outright without having to subscribe to?
I want to amplify something already mentioned — you do not need third-party NR software with current Adobe products.
I’ve done this long enough to remember when we all did have to buy third-party NR plugins, but those days area long behind us now. Photoshop itself has some pretty decent NR capabilities, but the AI Denoise feature in Adobe Camera Raw is, in my view, nearly miraculous. Beyond that, the earlier NR tools in ACR still exist, and they are pretty powerful, too.
Try it before you invest more time in looking for third-party alternatives.
For many cases, the Adobe offering is good enough (and certainly more convenient if you're already in an Adobe workflow), but I have kept my DxO Pure Raw version 4, for the few cases where it out-performs Adobe noise reduction.
DxO Pure Raw is now at version 5, but I have so far avoided this upgrade, after seeing what appears to be poorer performance than version 4. Apparently they improved one aspect, but harmed another.
As @gdanmitchell wisely recommended: Try it before you invest
Have you had a chance to explore the capabilities of Adobe’s AI Denoise in ACR or Lightroom? If not, give it a go. There aren’t many situations that I can think of of that that couldn’t be handled by that and, in a few cases, the previous Adobe NR controls.
I’m not kidding when I say I have been amazed by what AI Denoise can do. I’m used to (and adept at) using the amount, radius, makes controls to do some pretty sophisticated NR. But I virtually never both now with this new feature.
I almost fell guilty not using my understanding of how to combine settings in different situations… but the results are generally as good as or better than what I’d get the old way.
I have older photographs that I had written off as being unusable — underexposed and shot at high ISOs — that become usable with AI Denoise.
Kenneth Lee wrote:
For many cases, the Adobe offering is good enough (and certainly more convenient if you're already in an Adobe workflow), but I have kept my DxO Pure Raw version 4, for the few cases where it out-performs Adobe noise reduction.
DxO Pure Raw is now at version 5, but I have so far avoided this upgrade, after seeing what appears to be poorer performance than version 4. Apparently they improved one aspect, but harmed another.
As @gdanmitchell@ wisely recommended: Try it before you invest
Canva Affinity, a very Photoshop like editor, is now free and has a built in denoise filter. I have used Affinity for 2-3 years and like it. Used Photoshop Elements 8 for many years before that (before it became subscription also). Haven't used Photoshop for years.
gdanmitchell wrote:
Have you had a chance to explore the capabilities of Adobe’s AI Denoise in ACR or Lightroom? If not, give it a go. There aren’t many situations that I can think of of that that couldn’t be handled by that and, in a few cases, the previous Adobe NR controls.
I’m not kidding when I say I have been amazed by what AI Denoise can do. I’m used to (and adept at) using the amount, radius, makes controls to do some pretty sophisticated NR. But I virtually never both now with this new feature.
I almost fell guilty not using my understanding of how to combine settings in different situations… but the results are generally as good as or better than what I’d get the old way.
I have older photographs that I had written off as being unusable — underexposed and shot at high ISOs — that become usable with AI Denoise.
Thank you for the suggestion of using AI Noise in ACR! I have never used it until after reading your suggestion (I had no clue it was even there)! Next question is if there is an easier way to save it as jpeg after opening it in PS? Only jpeg option is jpeg 2000. Flattening layers won't give me the option to save as jpeg either.
