Noise reduction and sharpening for RAW

canongrapherL · 1st November 2006

Anyone can tell me if noise reduction and sharpening is performed in RAW or it can only be done in jpeg?

Can I do USM on RAW? If I choose to use software like Noise Ninja and Neat image, it can only be done when the RAW file has been converted to jpeg right? how can I avoid this since converting to jpeg and resaving after the noise reduction would have already reduced the image quality?

Thanks

jdredd · 1st November 2006

Originally Posted by canongrapherL

Anyone can tell me if noise reduction and sharpening is performed in RAW or it can only be done in jpeg?

Can I do USM on RAW? If I choose to use software like Noise Ninja and Neat image, it can only be done when the RAW file has been converted to jpeg right? how can I avoid this since converting to jpeg and resaving after the noise reduction would have already reduced the image quality?

Thanks

most raw converters.. will have some sharpening/ noise reductino options.. but it is the same as USM in photoshop, although the effect may be similar. as USM is only available in photoshop, and photoshop can only work with JPEG/TIFF etc... you cant use USM on RAW.

noise ninja and neat image, similarly can only be used on processsed raw files. if you want to preserve image quality, then i suggest you work in TIFF and only convert to JPEG when all your Post processing is done.

kietgnoel · 1st November 2006

Let's say you use Adobe Camera Raw to convert a RAW file into Photoshop. As long as you have not saved the file in Jpeg format yet, it's still "in full" i.e. there's no loss due to stuff like Jpeg compression. You then work on it e.g. sharpening, colour adjustment, noise reduction (there's a Photoshop plugin version for Noise Ninja), etc. then save it when you're done with it.

By doing it this way, you will not lose any image quality. If you need to save the file for further processing later then save it in TIFF format.

espion · 1st November 2006

Originally Posted by kietgnoel

... convert a RAW file into Photoshop ..."

What do u mean by that?

To convert a RAW file means to make it into an image and it must be in one of the image formats, like TIFF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, etc etc and what have you. Only question is whether you want to save it as a lossy or lossless image.

All the USM, NR and other image manipulation stuff only works with images not RAW data.

The image you see when doing RAW processing in Adobe RAW is an image in memory - in some Adobe format - to which u can apply various algorithms such as sharpening and NR, but only that which are available within Adobe RAW. If you want to use third party algos then it has to be a plug in to Adobe RAW which I do not think there are any, are there?

The real question then is: is Adobe RAW algos for sharpenening and NR better than that in Photoshop? I do not know. Either you experiment and use your eye to make a judgement, or some Adobe insider have to tell you, if they know anything at all.

Or maybe your camera RAW convertor and NR algos applied during RAW processing is still the better option.

Macky · 2nd November 2006

I would suggest taking the pictures in RAW with all the in camera settings set to default and white balance to auto. The only adjustment in the RAW converter (whichever one you use) that I would do is perhaps changes to white balance if necessary. Then convert your RAW files to TIFF format and then do all your manipulation (noise reduction, USM, etc..) after that on Photoshop or whichever program you fancy.

That would be my usual workflow.

Firefly · 4th November 2006

Hi, has anyone else used Helicon Filter? There is a free basic version and a paid Pro version. The free version allows noise reduction on RAW files, even Olympus, before saving into other format. URL to use : http://www.heliconfilter.com

canongrapherL · 4th November 2006

Hmmm... now i am very confused.

Firefly mentioned that a third party software can do Noise Reduction in RAW while others have mentioned that you need to do it in TIFF or JPEG.

???

Firefly · 7th November 2006

OK, I'm not the expert here. All I know is that Helicon Filter allows the user to open a RAW file and apply NR to it. I think an earlier poster had mentioned that in order for a RAW file to be displayed, it has to be converted into one of the format. Only thing is I don't know what format Helicon Filter uses to display the picture. After processing, the picture can be saved as JPEG.

The question that comes to my mind is the application supplied with the camera to "process" RAW files do display the picture when we are applying the correction; e.g. exposure etc. What format is used to display? If the file has to be converted for display, then the correction we make are done on the converted file and not the RAW? That will defeat the purpose of correcting the RAW file won't it? So can RAW files be displayed without conversion?

1st November 2006	#1
canongrapherL Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 273	Noise reduction and sharpening for RAW Anyone can tell me if noise reduction and sharpening is performed in RAW or it can only be done in jpeg? Can I do USM on RAW? If I choose to use software like Noise Ninja and Neat image, it can only be done when the RAW file has been converted to jpeg right? how can I avoid this since converting to jpeg and resaving after the noise reduction would have already reduced the image quality? Thanks Last edited by canongrapherL; 1st November 2006 at 10:27 AM.

1st November 2006	#3
kietgnoel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 618	Re: Noise reduction and sharpening for RAW Let's say you use Adobe Camera Raw to convert a RAW file into Photoshop. As long as you have not saved the file in Jpeg format yet, it's still "in full" i.e. there's no loss due to stuff like Jpeg compression. You then work on it e.g. sharpening, colour adjustment, noise reduction (there's a Photoshop plugin version for Noise Ninja), etc. then save it when you're done with it. By doing it this way, you will not lose any image quality. If you need to save the file for further processing later then save it in TIFF format.

2nd November 2006	#5
Macky Gallery Subscriber Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Central Posts: 154	Re: Noise reduction and sharpening for RAW I would suggest taking the pictures in RAW with all the in camera settings set to default and white balance to auto. The only adjustment in the RAW converter (whichever one you use) that I would do is perhaps changes to white balance if necessary. Then convert your RAW files to TIFF format and then do all your manipulation (noise reduction, USM, etc..) after that on Photoshop or whichever program you fancy. That would be my usual workflow.

4th November 2006	#6
Firefly Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: North East Line Posts: 64	Re: Noise reduction and sharpening for RAW Hi, has anyone else used Helicon Filter? There is a free basic version and a paid Pro version. The free version allows noise reduction on RAW files, even Olympus, before saving into other format. URL to use : http://www.heliconfilter.com

4th November 2006	#7
canongrapherL Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 273	Re: Noise reduction and sharpening for RAW Hmmm... now i am very confused. Firefly mentioned that a third party software can do Noise Reduction in RAW while others have mentioned that you need to do it in TIFF or JPEG. ???

7th November 2006	#8
Firefly Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: North East Line Posts: 64	Re: Noise reduction and sharpening for RAW OK, I'm not the expert here. All I know is that Helicon Filter allows the user to open a RAW file and apply NR to it. I think an earlier poster had mentioned that in order for a RAW file to be displayed, it has to be converted into one of the format. Only thing is I don't know what format Helicon Filter uses to display the picture. After processing, the picture can be saved as JPEG. The question that comes to my mind is the application supplied with the camera to "process" RAW files do display the picture when we are applying the correction; e.g. exposure etc. What format is used to display? If the file has to be converted for display, then the correction we make are done on the converted file and not the RAW? That will defeat the purpose of correcting the RAW file won't it? So can RAW files be displayed without conversion?