Noise reduction methods

[TheNissanMan]

Right then, I've just walked in the door from a morning at the Andover hawk Conservancy where light was abysmal and the shutter speeds and ISO was ramped right up so noubt going to have quite a bit of noise in a lot of images.

I've seen mention of running images through noise reduction software but not seen much detail about noise reduction methods so thought I had better put a post up before I start processing.

So, a couple of questions for you generous people in the know.

Rather than write a load of quotes I'm just going to post a load of questions, I hope they make sense and as usual not posting noob quesitions

1) Is it worth it, I am not expecting miracles from noise reduction but how much noise can it get rid off?

2) Is it a worthwile purchase (if it's not free) for someone who only uses their camera as a hobby?

3) How easy are the packages to use, is it as simple as sliding a few bars and seeing what gives the best results?

4) Is noise reduction best done before you start your main processing or after?

5) Best packages to use in terms of ability and ease of use?

6) Are they standalone or CS5 plugins?


I guess that's a few for starters, any help greatly appreciated!

 

[swanseamale47]

The noise reduction in camera raw in CS5 is pretty good to start with, I did some comparrison tests a while back and I found for a plug-in Noiseware pro came out about the best as far as removing noise without loosing too much detail.

 

[haggis]

Noiseware pro for me too

 

[AJQS]

I just use the default stuff in my Raw converter, which does a very good job for me up to ISO 1600, above that then I have to start thinking about additional noise removal. TBH a lot depends on the shot in question, I've yet to find a general setting that works on all images.