Topaz denoise 5

[squishy]

I've just downloaded the trial of topaz denoise 5, after seeing it recommended on another forum.

Topaz DeNoise - Remove Noise, Recover Detail

The sample images on that page look too good to be true, but it really does seem to work that well on the images I've tried. Removes noise, even from detailed areas, but doesn't blur detail to any noticeable extent.

it's $30 off till the end of august too. (see banner at top of page).


I highly recommend it.

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by squishy

I've just downloaded the trial of topaz denoise 5, after seeing it recommended on another forum.

Topaz DeNoise - Remove Noise, Recover Detail

The sample images on that page look too good to be true, but it really does seem to work that well on the images I've tried. Removes noise, even from detailed areas, but doesn't blur detail to any noticeable extent.

it's $30 off till the end of august too. (see banner at top of page).


I highly recommend it.

Downloaded the trial and yes it does seem pretty good.

Couple of minor faults I found with it so far.

If you select your main subject, then inverse the selection and put the image through the noise reduction plug in it doesn't seem to take any notice that you only want the background or the inversed selection de-noising. It de-noises the whole image losing slight detail on your main subject. Unless I'm missing something in the user instructions.

Neat Image which I use only de-noises the area I want de-noising.

Also it's a little on the slow side compared to Neat Image.

Apart from that I would say it's a good alternative to Neat image

[squishy]

I would only use this over neat image when there is actually noise on the subject. It is slower, but it has that ability to remove noise in detailed areas while leaving the detail itself relatively intact.

[Geoff F]

A simple alternative that I often use. Just use the Blur Tool (name may vary) and paint over the required areas. Adjust the brush size and opacity as required. Works well to completely remove noise from backgrounds particularly with macro images.

[squishy]

Here's a simple example:


Here is a 100% crop from my 40D at ISO 3200 (shot RAW, no noise reduction or sharpening):


Here is the same crop with topaz applied:


And with topaz applied, and just a touch of sharpening:




All the little fine details are still sharp. Perhaps just softened a tiny bit, but you can undo that easily with a little bit of sharpening. But all the noise is completely gone, even from detailed areas.

[Ukwildlifeo]

that looks pretty impressive! I may have to check this out...

[squishy]

I was gob-smacked when I tried it. Honestly, unless you're viewing at 100%, it doesn't show any detail softening at all.

I'll next do a comparison with some very fine detail, and also include the same crop, but run through neat image instead.

The difference is massive.

[Tobyh]

Looks interesting - i'll check it out too.

Ollie - are you using the full version of Neat Image rather than the demo to be able to select ares of the image?

TobyH

[glsammy]

The full version allows you to work an any size image, plus as Roger said, any masked area.
I tried this one and for me it didn't really do any more than Neat image did. It could be me being daft, that's always a real possibility, plus I'm so used to using Neat image.

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by Tobyh

Looks interesting - i'll check it out too.

Ollie - are you using the full version of Neat Image rather than the demo to be able to select ares of the image?

TobyH

Yes Toby it's the full version.

The full version allows it to work as a plug in with PS and select any masked area that you want to work on.