Neat Image

[sleipnerofasgard]

i know a lot of people on here use it but i never seem to have much joy with it,anything i put through it comes out with blurry parts .here is a filtered and original for comparison

[Dan Salter]

Im not entirely sure what your talking about or what we are supposed to be looking at? is "neat image" a software or something?

The two pics...one seems softer in places that the other is this what your on about?

[sleipnerofasgard]

yes it is a free software programme to reduce noise and the pics are before and after it's use and a lot of people on here use it with excellent results.just not me

[GerryNick2]

The before and after images are what you would expect from using Neat Image which has a softening effect and can result in loss of detail.

I use Noise Ninja which gives you greater control over the level of noise removal and can also be used to target specific colours which is ideal for backgrounds. Any noise reduction applied can be removed from specific areas to retain sharpness and detail i.e. small birds etc. You can also download camera specific noise profiles.

Gerry

[matt_xyz]

it's important to only apply Neat Image to those parts of the image that are not meant to have any detail i.e. the out of focus background parts, not the bird. To do this you really need to be using Neat Image as a plug-in in Photoshop and then you can select areas and only apply Neat Image to those. If you're using Neat Image as a stand alone application then you will need to use layers and apply it to a whole layer, create a copy layer in PS and then erase the bits of the filtered layer that you don't want so as to reveal the original layer below.

Matt

[Words]

Ok that's a fairly tricky shot as the levels of noise are consistent across the image so even if you set a profile it's going to be tricky for any software. What I would do in an image like that is mask the bird first and just run Neat Image on the rest. I use the plug-in which gives more options for running from within your image editing software. Alternatively you could reduce the level of the luminance channel a bit to see if that helps. Neat Image does offer a fair bit of control in the advanced tabs (colour etc). I very rarely just run the standard default.

[John D]

Originally Posted by GerryNick2

The before and after images are what you would expect from using Neat Image which has a softening effect and can result in loss of detail.

I use Noise Ninja which gives you greater control over the level of noise removal and can also be used to target specific colours which is ideal for backgrounds. Any noise reduction applied can be removed from specific areas to retain sharpness and detail i.e. small birds etc. You can also download camera specific noise profiles.

Gerry

Hi Gerry, I don't agree that's what you would expect from Neat Image. Just like Noise Ninja if used properly noise can be removed in a controlled fashion and from specific parts without softening the 'image'.
I have used Neat Image, set up as a 'plug in' in Photoshop Elements 5, for some time and have no problems with it.
John D

[matt_xyz]

Originally Posted by John D

Hi Gerry, I don't agree that's what you would expect from Neat Image. Just like Noise Ninja if used properly noise can be removed in a controlled fashion and from specific parts without softening the 'image'.
I have used Neat Image, set up as a 'plug in' in Photoshop Elements 5, for some time and have no problems with it.
John D

I agree John. Neat Image has no more of a softening effect than any other noise reduction tool, it is superbly effective when used carefully. I rate it more highly than any other that I've used.

Matt

[Dan Salter]

Could one of you photography lot post an advice/technique thread with maybe some pics to highlight what exactly noise is that you all talk about so much...i have had it described but im a guy who learns from seeing things !

im also a musician so noise to me has always meant sounds...normally unwanted sound ha ha....i realise this is the same deal but could you show some examples of images with and without noise? ta.

Im sure im not alone in this ...pictures and noise is an odd combination

[John D]

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

Could one of you photography lot post an advice/technique thread with maybe some pics to highlight what exactly noise is that you all talk about so much...i have had it described but im a guy who learns from seeing things !

im also a musician so noise to me has always meant sounds...normally unwanted sound ha ha....i realise this is the same deal but could you show some examples of images with and without noise? ta.

Im sure im not alone in this ...pictures and noise is an odd combination

Hi Dan, See attached for an explanation. Hope this helps.
I unfortunately don't have an example at present since all images where required have been edited using Photoshop Elements/Neat Image.

What Is... Noise? - Digital Photography Tutorial - Photoxels
John D