So recently Adobe released denoise; their
AI noise reduction in both Lightroom and Camera Raw.
But how does it compare to other noise reduction software that's been out
on the market for quite a while now and people like you and me
have paid good money for software like Topaz, DxO, On1 and Luminar.
Let's find out.
Okay, so Adobe's
Denoise came out recently and there's definitely been a mixed reaction.
Some folks like me getting great results.
Some experiencing a few crashes.
Some saying it takes a really long time to process
and some not even being able to make use of it
due to their current computer not being powerful enough to support it.
Now, Adobe Denoise apparently uses artificial intelligence
and the interface couldn't be more simple and straightforward.
Unlike some of the other software available, it only works on raw files
and there's just an amount slider and a preview area.
So let's do a comparison with other noise reduction software using this portrait
here that I took of a World War Two veteran Squadron leader Eric Robinson.
This is the final edit, and this is the original raw image
which you can see was shot at an ISO of 1250.
If I zoom in on the raw image, you can see there's definitely noise
visible in the shadow areas and you can also see how that noise
has affected detail in the clothing and on his face.
So let's kick off then with the raw file open
and I'll go to the detail tab in Lightroom and choose Denoise.
As soon as I do this window opens up.
and straightaway Lightroom gets to work, giving me a preview of what
the noise reduction would look like using the default setting of 50.
Now it only takes a moment or two before we get to see the preview,
which we can click down on and release to see a before and after,
and also click and drag around to see different areas of the picture.
This works fine, but I wish it had a smaller thumbnail
included too that you could tap down on or drag the magnifier
around to move to that part of the picture quicker
much like we have the navigator in Lightroom when we zoom in.
Instead, you click on
the minus to zoom all the way out and then tap on the area.
you want to zoom back in.
But anyway,
you can see that even at the default settings, this has given a great result.
The noise has definitely been reduced, but it's done really well to still maintain
the texture in the canvas effect background I was using.
Also the detail on the hair face and the skin looks great.
The detail is definitely still there.
It looks sharp and not smoothed out, which can happen when reducing noise.
Okay, so I'm going to leave it like that now and then I'll press enhance.
Before I do you can see here an approximation
of how long it will take to process.
So I'll click on Enhance.
When I do, we get back into Lightroom and we can see the progress bar in the top
left as Lightroom creates a DNG copy
and applies Denoise to that rather than our original raw file.
And here is the processed result which does look really good.
Okay, so then I’ll drag this file
into this noise reduction folder here that I've made.
Next, let's try Topaz Denoise, which I think it's fair to say
is currently the most popular noise reduction software.
So I'll go to photo ...
edit in ... Topaz DeNoise AI.
Now, Topaz DeNoise isn't just limited to working on raw files.
So I'll open this up in Topaz DeNoise as a tiff with Adobe
RGB color space and high quality settings.
Then I'll click on edit.
So when Topaz opens, I'll go to Split View so I can move this vertical divider
to see the before and after the original image on the left of the line
and the noise reduction version on the right hand side of the line.
There's also this magnifier view, which I really like
so you can quickly move to a portion of the image.
We have a few options we can choose from.
We have standard, clear, low light, severe noise and raw.
And I can click on compare to see what each of them will do. Now,
when I do that straight away, I can see that each does give different results.
But what's really interesting is this
If I go to the side of the head, you can see in each of them
how the texture on the background seems to disappear.
And in the severe noise option, it's completely gone.
I'll go to single view, then turn on this option here
to automatically use the recommended model for this image.
We also have this model preference here.
If I turn it on, it will detect the recommended settings for this image
controlling the remove noise and enhance sharpness sliders.
In fact, when we do that, the clothing here has definitely lost
all of its texture and the hair almost looks like brush strokes.
But anyway, I'll click on a place that processes the image
and send it back into Lightroom.
Now that's done. I'll give it a color label.
Let's go for red, and then I'll drag it into the noise reduction folder.
Okay, Next. Let's try DxO.
You'll notice that doesn't appear
as an option in the photo menu and we actually need to go to file,
plug in extras and then process in
DxO Pure Raw 3.
When I choose that, it opens up the dxo pure raw 3 software
and we get to choose which raw processing and denoising technologies to use.
Now, Dxo pure
raw only works on the original raw state of the image,
so any adjustments made will be removed and then it does the processing.
You can see here when I hover over the question mark, that
deep prime produces breathtaking results, which sounds great,
but Deep Prime XD is a more powerful version,
producing enhanced details but will take longer to process.
We don't get to see any before and after preview,
but just choose the output option.
So I'll choose to have it produce a DNG just like the Lightroom denoise did,
and also have it to save back into Lightroom.
Now it doesn't take long to process and when it does, it creates
a new folder called Dxo and here's the processed raw file
that you can see no longer has the initial edits on it.
So I’ll drag this
file into the folder with the original raw file
and I'll sync the edits so we can look at the results
of the Dxo noise reduction.
So I'll give this one a yellow label and drag that into the noise
reduction folder.
Let's now take a look at On1.
I'll go to photo editing and choose On1
No noise AI 2023
and just like topaz On1 can work on both raw and other file formats.
Once in on1 no noise the default settings are applied
and like Topaz, we can move this vertical bar
to see the original on the left and the processed version on the right
and we can move it around to see the results in different areas.
To me though, the results look too processed, too sharp,
but also seems to add a painterly, waxy kind of look to the skin
and the hair almost looks like brushstrokes.
It's also removed
the original texture off the background.
Now I can change the AI model used from original
to high detail, but that now looks way overdone.
Look at how that's affected the skin on the cheeks being over sharpened.
There's also the option to use the tack sharp AI software
with the no noise software by choosing both.
But again, that looks overprocessed.
I'll just choose no noise
and original and click on done.
That sends it back into Lightroom
so I'll give this one a blue label
and drag it into the noise reduction folder.
Lastly, we have Luminar Neo,
so I'll send that over as a tiff
and once open I then go to edit
and Noiseless AI.
Luminar Neo recommends the AI model to use, which
in this case it tells me to use the low option.
It then does this fake AI display animation type of thing,
which is cool the first time you use it, but then does get a little bit tedious.
Zooming in and out
is a real pain in the *** with this software,
but if I do manage to get in close, you can see how the low
setting still has some noise visible.
So let's try middle.
Again we get this pointless animation
and then I'll zoom in to 200%.
Let's just drag it so we can see.
Actually, No, hold on. Just try that again.
Let's go for 200% and drag it to the right Luminar
Drag it to the right and no cancel that.
Right ...
Luminar Neo is a no go.
I'm not even going to bother with it until they can sort out this magnifying thing.
So let's just look at the results
from the other four bits of software we've already used.
So this is Lightroom Denoise.
We can see it's done a great job removing the noise
even at the default setting, I can still see all the fine
texture detail in the background that I use and the skin looks great
and the hair looks great with plenty of detail and sharpness.
Then we have Topaz Denoise AI.
Now to me there does seem to be a slight waxy look now to the skin
and the hair looks a bit too smoothed out, almost like it's been painted.
But what's interesting is how the background looks,
noise has been removed, but also there are patches in the background
where there is no texture at all and patches where there is.
So I don't like that result.
Then we have dxo pure raw 3.
Now I did use that deep prime XD option which from their description
promised breathtaking results, but this is way overdone.
Far too sharp.
To be fair, I also did it using the deep prime version, not the XD
and this is the result it gave, which again to me looks to sharp.
But the background is very patchy with some smooth areas with no texture at all.
Then we had on1, which I think has made this portrait look very waxy
and in fact it's removed all of the texture
that was on the background that I use.
So I do not like that one.
So for me, the winner just has to be the new kid on the block, Adobe Denoise,
which does only work on raw files, which is fine by me, but if we do
try to use it on a different file format, we see the message ...
“Denoise is not currently compatible with this file format”
suggesting that won't always be the case.
The results are great.
The interface is incredibly simple
and I've not had to pay any extra for it, which is definitely a bonus.
Right that's all from me
so as always, if you've liked this video, or you’ve got something from it, click
that thumb icon to give us a like, and if you haven't yet, click on Subscribe
because it's just a great free way that you can support this channel.
But for now, that's me. I'm done.
I'll catch you in the next video.